83% are optimizing the wrong operating model
15%-85% cost reduction comes from redesigning the model underneath, not layering AI on top.
Firstsource's consulting deliverable is at par, if not better, than any Big 4 consulting deliverable.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Why the model isn't working
Three market realities that make operating model redesign urgent in 2026.
AI layered, not redesigned
83%
of organizations apply AI incrementally, not redesigning the operating model underneath it.
Gartner survey of 140 senior supply chain leaders, May 2026
Unchanged workflows
21%
of AI users redesign workflows end-to-end. Most are optimizing a model built for yesterday.
McKinsey State of AI, March 2025
Rare high impact
6%
of organizations achieve significant profit impact from AI. All redesigned their operating model first.
McKinsey State of AI, November 2025
PROVEN OUTCOMES
What a redesigned model delivers
Realized outcomes from target operating model engagements in our portfolio.
£2.8M
direct cost savings across client acquisition and compliance processes, and sustained long-term benefits.
70%
cost reduction through an optimized operating model for a born-digital news start-up.
30%
increase in subscriber retention after operating model and service redesign for a global telco.
WHAT WE DELIVER
Technology lands. Costs reduce. People transform.
We improve what's in place, and redesign operating models for what's next.
Current state diagnostic
We surface the cost drivers, governance gaps, and process failures most assessments miss, using years of deep domain knowledge built from running your industry.
Target model design
We design people, process, technology, and governance together to create an operating model your organization can build, adopt, and run, not just present on a slide.
Location and right-shoring
We model the total cost of ownership across onshore, nearshore, and offshore scenarios, considering talent availability, the regulatory environment, and cultural compatibility.
Sequenced transformation roadmap
We deliver a prioritized transformation roadmap with defined benefit owners, realization timelines, and success metrics that your board can confidently defend, track, and hold us accountable for.
WHO WE SERVE
Industries where consulting became operations
Domain knowledge built from running operations, not just studying them.
Banking & Financial Services
A model that pays for the regulator
We redesign the operating model across client acquisition, KYC and onboarding, risk and compliance, and back-office operations to reduce cost-to-serve without weakening regulatory resilience. The right work is right-shored, while governance remains centralized.
Communications
An operating model built for churn
For telco, broadband, and wifi providers, we redesign the operating model around the subscriber lifecycle: order to activate, care, retention, billing, and field dispatch. Lower cost-to-serve, protect churn, and govern care quality across every channel.
Edtech
An operating model that scales with cohorts
We redesign the operating model across enrollment, learner support, assessment operations, and tutor management so student volumes scale without proportional cost growth. One governed operating model supports delivery across geographies and academic calendars.
Health plan
A payer model built around the member
We redesign the payer operating model across claims adjudication, member services, appeals and grievances, and provider operations to lower cost per member, reduce manual touches, and improve adjudication accuracy.
Healthcare provider
A provider model that closes the cash gap
We redesign the provider operating model across patient access, scheduling, and revenue cycle management to reduce the administrative burden on clinical staff, improve care throughput, and shorten days in accounts receivable.
Media
An operating model for streaming and publishing
For streaming platforms and publishers, we redesign the operating model across subscription management, content operations, audience support, and newsroom back-office functions. The result is a lower delivery cost per subscriber and an operating model that scales with audience growth.
customer story
Operating model redesign for a leading payments FinTech
Firstsource redesigned the operating model for a leading payments FinTech, transforming customer onboarding, lead conversion, and cost efficiency through a future-ready operating model.
Outcomes we drive
45%
projected reduction in direct costs (future state model)
£2.8M
in direct cost savings
70%
faster account opening
40%
more leads
HOW WE WORK
Transform. Implement. Operate.
Three phases. One continuous motion from diagnostic to live operation.
Design the operating model your business needs to run
Before any model is drawn, we immerse in what is actually happening. Kairos sensors tap into operational data, process intelligence, and domain benchmarks to produce a current state diagnostic faster and deeper than any blank-slate assessment. The output is a target model blueprint and business case your leadership can act on in 90 days.
Discover AI-native diagnostic
- Operational diagnostic: process and workflow discovery across every function in scope
- Cost baseline and benchmark against peer operations in your sector
- Technology and automation maturity assessment across people, process, and systems
- Governance and accountability gap analysis to surface what is structurally broken
Build what the redesigned model requires
We define the future state in precise terms: people, process, technology, and governance all designed together. We own every deliverable from current state through target model, and create a sequenced implementation roadmap with a business case the chief financial officer can defend. We do not leave at sign-off.
Define model design and business case
- Target operating model
- Right-shoring analysis and location strategy
- Business case: return on investment model
- Success metrics your board is measured on
Design roadmap and implementation plan
- Prioritized initiative roadmap with sequencing logic and dependency mapping
- Phased implementation plan with milestones, owners, and risk controls
- Change management strategy and stakeholder engagement plan
Run the operating model we designed together
Every decision made in the live operation builds a traceable intelligence layer your leadership can interrogate, report on, and act from. Kairos compounds that intelligence with every cycle, so the model improves continuously without starting over. Benefits are tracked against the original business case with clear attribution and outcome reporting your board and finance team can stand behind.
Deploy lead, land, and run
- Change and adoption management
- Benefits tracking measured
- Transition to steady-state operations
TESTIMONIAL
Firstsource CX strategy deliverable was super comprehensive and thorough, one of the best I have seen.
What Firstsource Consulting provides is a team of experts who can be real partners with us in driving innovation.
Firstsource's consulting deliverable is at par, if not better, than any Big 4 consulting company deliverable.
INSIGHTS
Latest from the Firstsource team
Insights from the field, real operations, real outcomes, and perspectives from the people making it work in live operations.
Case Study
The Baltimore Banner achieves 70% cost reduction through an optimized hybrid operating model
Firstsource's Insights, Design Experience and Advisory (IDEA) services team comprising news industry SMEs, digital strategy consultants, and program managers designed and implemented a target operating model.
Contact us
Start with discovery
- Rapid diagnostics: AI maturity mapped across your operations.
- Expedited benchmarking: Your position versus vertical peers.
- Fastracked roadmap: Where Kairos creates the most value, first.