PwC opens Experience Centers in Amsterdam, Brussels en Luxembourg

PwC has in recent months opened three new Experience Centers in the Benelux. The new spaces have been created to better support customers in their innovation challenges, supporting them with an integral blend of strategy, experience, design and technology expertise. 

The business landscape has changed rapidly in recent years, and as a result innovation is becoming an increasingly important recipe for success. Research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that today, innovation is the most cited strategic priority of executives, and nearly in all cases commands a top-3 position in terms of priorities. Another study, by PwC, held among 1,400 CEOs, in fact found that innovation is the top focus area of CEOs (mentioned by 23% of the respondents), followed by human capital (15%), digital and technological capacity (both 15%), competitive advantage and customer experience (both 10%).

A mix of trends and factors is also changing the way organisations approach innovation, with new approaches and skills needed today to successfully realise transformations. “In order to cope with the complexity of large transformation projects, more is needed than purely strategic or technological capacities. Our experience shows that the biggest challenges revolve around three key points: Business, Experience and Technology [PwC calls this approach the BXT model]. New business models always stem from a combination of business insight, a unique customer experience and the integration of future-oriented technologies,” said Olaf Acker, an expert at Strategy&, the strategy consultancy practice of Big Four firm PwC. 

PwC, which is a frontrunner in the field of business and strategy, has seen technology take a leap in recent years in the strategic agenda of directors. “Previously, many problems could be solved without the help of technology – this was the exclusive area of the CIO. Today, no business strategy can do without a vision of technological change,” remarked Acker. 

'Experience' is a new ingredient in the mix, a development which is in line with broader developments in the market. Acker: “Experience is everywhere. People are looking for design, because that works. And people are looking for creativity, something that embodies the vision of a company.” To integrate experience in the firm’s approach in the Benelux and to help customers embrace – as PwC describes – “one of the three pillars of transformation”, the professional services firm has opened three Experience Centers in the region: Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg.

Prototyping, mock-ups and simulation

Working towards innovation is at the heart of what the Experience Centers want to achieve: “In our Experience Center, stakeholders experience the impact of organisational change works on customers, suppliers or employees. Through prototyping, mock-ups and simulation, they quickly gain insights into the next step in their transformation process.” Multidisciplinary work forms the starting point. “Imagine a data specialist, a cyberspecialist, a consultant, a programmer, the end user and a facilitator sit down together to develop a cyber security app within one week, from the first idea and the prototypes to the implementation. Such processes have to be fast and efficient nowadays. These teams need physical space in which they can innovate. We offer exactly that in our Experience Centers,” said Acker.

Patrice Witz, a technology expert at PwC, added, “The Experience Center breaks down silos, promotes collaboration and creates an environment where people can think creatively, co-create prototypes and test solutions.” 

Following previous launches in the US (Chicago, Miami), Europe (Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Rome, Belfast), Asia (Bangalore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo) and Australia (Melbourne), PwC’s country organisations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg have now followed suit with the launch of their own Experience Centers.

For PwC, the new way of working also means that the firm will have to attract new talent while fostering a culture of more collaboration between practices and teams. “Talent with a background in economics, mathematics, IT and science will remain remain extremely important to us, but colleagues with this profile do not answer the question of how people deal with creativity and technology. PwC has therefore started to hire more creative people and consultants who are able to realise optimal design – as a competitive advantage – for our customers,” concluded Acker.