Indian organisations need to get “Fit for Growth” says PwC Strategy& study

Mumbai, September 23, 2014 – Despite winning strategies, majority of Indian organisations are not ready for growth. As per the study titled “Why Indian companies need to get Fit for GrowthSM and what you can do” by PwC Strategy&, nearly 80% of surveyed organisations fall short of realising their growth potential as a result of being “strategically adrift”, “distracted” or “capability constrained” (as in Exhibit 1). In fact more than 60% were found to be in the “distracted” category, indicating a high degree of mismatch between strategy and execution. With the Indian economy beginning to bounce back, the time is now right for these organisations to get “Fit for Growth” by investing in building scale and achieving the next level of growth.

Bharti Gupta Ramola, Leader Markets, PwC India said, “The long economic slowdown led many organisations to adopt a reactive approach, often resulting in strategic misalignment. As organisations get back on track and refocus on growth, they will need to focus on three critical building blocks – structured corporate planning, robust cost structure and strong risk & governance mechanisms. We therefore see CFOs playing a pivotal role in driving organisational growth.”

The global story is not too different, with only 13% of over 200 surveyed organisations reporting high Fit for Growth scores. A strong correlation exists between the Fit for Growth score and company performance, demonstrating that organisations with high scores also generate premium returns (as shown in Exhibit 2).

Jai Sinha, Managing Director, PwC Strategy& India says, “In our experience, while organisations would rarely disagree that robust strategies, solid cost management and powerful organisations are critical to performance, few of them are masters in integrating all three elements which together form the foundation for a winning organisation. Our Fit for Growth approach evaluates companies on these very parameters, providing leadership teams with a set of guidelines on which to chart out their growth plan and can be directly correlated with market performance.”

As per the study only 3% of Indian companies are really “ready for growth” (refer to Exhibit 1). Others must look to overcome specific challenges to future-proof themselves – a “strategically adrift” organisation for instance should look to re-craft its corporate strategy and align it with core capabilities, a “distracted” organisation must operationalise its strategy by channeling resources towards core activities, a “capability constrained” organisation should review its operating model, organisation structure, processes, systems to become world-class and an organisation “in the game” must clear the last mile by creating a performance-centric culture, with strong risk & governance mechanisms.

Notes to the Editor:

• The Fit for Growth approach captures the essence of what constitutes a winning organisation– strategic clarity, optimal resource allocation and a supportive organisation – and evaluates how well a company fares across all three aspects. It provides leadership teams with a set of guidelines on which to chart out their growth plan, building competitive muscle while cutting the corporate fat. More details on the Fit for Growth approach can be read at https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/unique-solutions/fit-for-growth/fit-for-growth-book.html

Exhibit 1: India Fit for Growth SM Assessment

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