Gloucestershire County Council Builds its Future with Capgemini

Capgemini’s collaborative approach really works – it has proved far more effective than sitting back and waiting for a gift-wrapped consultant solution. Peter Bungard, Chief Executive, Gloucestershire County Council

The Situation

With budget forecasts predicting a multi-million pound funding gap over the next four years, Gloucestershire County Council faced a stark choice -to cut services or make efficiency savings. Already delivering great value services, it chose the latter, opting to improve efficiency even further. The Council therefore embarked on a radical programme of transformational initiatives with consulting and technology partner Capgemini.

The Solution

The Council had one huge advantage in tackling the issues it faced. By early 2008 it had completed a major technology transformation in partnership with Capgemini, replacing standalone departmental systems with an integrated, enterprise-wide solution based on the latest SAP software -a springboard for wide-ranging business change, not simply a technology refresh.

Following successful implementation of the new IT platform, Capgemini was commissioned to produce a business case and plan to identify further efficiencies across all departments, eliminate waste and bureaucracy, and focus on customer service. This plan was quickly accepted and the budget approved. Working together, the Council and Capgemini are now in hot pursuit of some £60 million of cost savings, with Capgemini’s top transformation consultant, Alan Richell, seconded to the Council to lead Gloucestershire’s “Building our Future” programme.

The Result

As Peter Bungard, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire County Council, reports: “The technology transformation alone has given us annual savings of £5 million, proven and banked, much of which relates to real control over procurement and now with the full-scale business transformation planned in detail, we are realistically aiming for an additional £10 million in annual efficiency savings.”

Another early achievement has been agreement on plans and priorities for the way ahead, with three areas identified for immediate future activity: performance and financial management; organisational and cultural change; and customer experience.

We have succeeded in creating a true partnership with Capgemini, to the point where you cannot tell which organisation the people in the programme are from. Capgemini challenge and stimulate us to solve the issues with them. Peter Bungard, Chief Executive, Gloucestershire County Council

Watch an interview between the client and Michael Portillo, an advisor to Capgemini and former Member of Parliament – Portillo Meets Gloucestershire County Council