Innovation is widely seen as the key to organisational success and growth. Tools like the Business Model Canvas enable you to quickly create a high-level overview of your business (-model). It is simple to use and creates a clear overview that should answer important questions like: ‘What are we selling and to whom?”. With your current business model as a baseline it is easy to create a new business model on it.
The actual creation of the new business model is more of a challenge, a twofold challenge to be precise.
On the one hand we have the actual development of the new product or service: getting support, funding, resources and commitment from your organisation. This is, for this article, out of scope.
The other challenge is the ICT support needed to make the business model work. ICT is an integral part of business and without the right level of automation it is very likely that your product or service will not be possible or less successful.
Behind the innovation
If we take the business model canvas we see a number of areas like Cost and Revenue, Key Competences and so on. From these areas we can look at the systems behind it.
Business Model Architecture
From the canvas we go in three steps to a highlevel overview of systems, connections and functions that is as easy to read and understand as the orginal canvas.
We identifiy three levels of in the Business model Architecture:
- The top level identifies systems that are linked to the orginal areas, for instance Revenue and Cost ultimately are stored in an accounting system (e.g. SAP FICO) but can be fed from other systems like POS terminals, webshops or other sales channels. Each of the aeras identifies the system(s) that is required.
- The second level shows the supporting (secundary) systems that are needed for business. Forecasting, statistics, complaints and returns, external reporting requirements etc.
- The third level shows how each stakeholder (Customers, internal employees, partners and external entities accesses your system or get their information. It describes the access they have and the channel and methods of getting access.
The center of your business model
In the canvas the value proposition is the logical core of the business model, this is what you are offering and this is why customers come to you.