How to standardize your internal processes with the core model?

What is the core model?

The core model is a methodology that originally originated in the design of websites and applications, whose scope has extended to the management of internal processes. The principle: to focus attention on the content essential to each department of the company and to define, from this base, a set of common practices, processes and tools serving as a foundation for all the group’s entities.

The core model simultaneously integrates three dimensions: business processes, a target organization and a repository of tools. This approach aims to simplify, clarify and harmonize working methods, information flows and business processes. It maximizes operational efficiency and structures true operational excellence, while streamlining exchanges and inter-departmental collaboration.

This approach is part of a broader logic of process optimization. As a specialized report on the art of standardization reminds us, structuring operations according to shared standards conditions sustainable performance and the ability to industrialize good practices.

Why deploy a core model in an international group?

Multi-site groups and fast-growing mid-caps frequently come up against the same reality: each subsidiary has developed its own habits, its local ERP, its own in-house indicators. This patchwork generates hidden costs, slows down trade-offs and complicates any transformation project. The core model responds directly to these challenges.

• Standardization of business practices between subsidiaries and business units, without diluting legitimate local specificities.
• Dissemination of the best practices identified in a pilot site to the entire group.
• Preparation for the deployment of a common ERP or a global HRIS: a functional core model is an essential prerequisite for any tooled integration.
• Consolidation of reporting and reliability of cross-functional management indicators.
• Reduced operational costs related to duplication of tools and dispersion of skills.

How to set up the core model method?

The deployment of a core model is based on five structuring steps, to be carried out with methodological rigour and managerial support.

1. Identify the essential content : analyze the existing processes and determine the elements essential to the proper functioning of each department (production, HR, marketing, finance, etc.). Key procedures, critical information, structuring documents, data mobilized for decision-making : everything must be inventoried.
2. Identify areas for improvement : Map workflows and identify bottlenecks. A bottleneck is a point in the process whose capacity limits the entire flow; its identification conditions the relevance of the optimization projects.
3. Develop standard templates : based on the core elements identified, formalize templates applicable to each business process. These standards must be readable, shared and adopted by all stakeholders. The goal: to determine where standardization produces the most value and to calibrate processes adapted to the needs of each site or subsidiary.
4. Optimize and simplify processes : Remove or streamline redundant steps within each business process, without compromising the quality or integrity of the outcome. The core model logic here joins that of lean management.
5. Involve stakeholders : encourage collective intelligence and establish close collaboration between departments. Training employees in new processes and tools is a structuring investment to anchor adoption.

The core model is not a fixed deliverable: it is part of a continuous improvement process and is subject to progressive adjustments according to feedback.

Real-world examples of how to implement a core model

Example 1 — Multi-site industrial group: harmonizing the quality function

A European manufacturer present at seven production sites notes a strong variability in quality standards from one site to another. Heterogeneous control specifications, non-comparable indicators, internal audits that are not very usable at the corporate level. The core model approach consists of: (1) auditing local practices on two pilot sites, (2) identifying the standards that work best, (3) formalizing a common quality reference framework with shared procedures, forms and KPIs, (4) gradually deploying on the other five sites with one local sponsor per subsidiary.

Example 2 — Financial management of a medium-sized company: converging towards a single ERP

A medium-sized company that has grown through acquisitions has three ERPs and five different closing processes. Before any IS integration project, the finance department formalises a finance core model: unified chart of accounts, harmonised monthly closing procedures, standardised approval workflow. The core model becomes the functional specifications of the future common ERP, drastically reducing specific developments.

Example 3 — HR function of an internationally expanding group

A group opening two new subsidiaries per year deploys an HR core model covering recruitment, onboarding, performance management and annual reviews. Each subsidiary has a ready-to-use kit (process, document templates, parameterized HRIS tool), while maintaining a margin of local adaptation to national regulatory elements.

Feedback from the field — Interim management missions devoted to the deployment of a core model show a recurring pattern: success is less due to the technicality of the model than to the quality of the managerial support. The subsidiaries adopt what they co-construct, never what is imposed on them. Choosing one or two pilot sites, documenting the gains made with them and then swarming in “pull” rather than “push” mode remains the most effective trajectory.

Best practices and mistakes to avoid

✓ To doIdentify a strong executive sponsor, start with a limited pilot scope, document quick wins, train local key users, provide dedicated governance for the maintenance of the model over time. ✗ AvoidWanting to standardize everything from the outset, ignoring legitimate local specificities (regulations, language, market), neglecting change management, delivering a theoretical model without tools or support.

The obstacles to change management are the first risk of failure. As a change management specialist reminds us, fear of the unknown, loss of reference points and fears related to the evolution of skills are the main resistances encountered. A core model deployment that underestimates this human dimension is exposed to a proper rejection.

What are the advantages of standardization through the core model?

• Maximized efficiency : elimination of unnecessary steps, clarification of processes, reduction of task processing time.
• Consistent and harmonized processes : homogeneity in the execution of operations and preservation of a standard level of quality, which is particularly valuable for groups with several sites or subsidiaries.
• Better visibility : overview of the internal practices of each department, structured documentation of processes and quick identification of malfunctions.
• More agility : Clear processes facilitate targeted adjustments as needs change.
• Enhanced control of operational risks thanks to traceability and documentation of processes.
• Faster decision-making and cross-functional operation without silos between business units.

Beyond these internal benefits, the core model becomes a strategic asset for groups: it accelerates the integration of acquisitions, secures major IS deployments and constitutes the backbone of any operational excellence approach at the group level.

The role of interim management in the deployment of a core model

Designing and deploying a core model requires rare skills: a cross-functional vision of processes, the ability to onboard multi-site teams, experience in comparable transformations, and a neutral third party posture in the face of internal political games. The use of an experienced interim manager makes it possible to structure the approach, secure the schedule and transfer control of the model to the long-term teams at the end of the mission.

Are you thinking of deploying a core model in your group?

Wayden supports general management and operational departments in the design and deployment of their core models, on the finance, HR, supply chain, quality or industrial functions.

Talk to a Wayden expert

FAQ — Core model and process standardization

What is the difference between a core model and a process repository?

A process frame of reference simply describes the existing or theoretical target. A core model goes further: it simultaneously integrates processes, the target organization and the tools, in a logic of operational deployment and effective standardization between entities.

How long does it take to deploy a core model?

The duration varies according to the functional scope and the number of subsidiaries concerned. An approach to a single function in a medium-sized group generally takes six to twelve months for design and pilot deployment, followed by a gradual roll-out to the other entities.

Does the core model have to be the same for all subsidiaries?

No. The principle is to define a mandatory common base (the “core”) while leaving a local adaptation zone for regulatory, linguistic or market-specific elements. The challenge is to make a fine choice between standardization and flexibility.

How do you measure the success of a core model?

Typical indicators include reduced processing times, consistency of KPIs across sites, user adoption of the repository, reduced operational costs related to tool duplication, and speed of integration of new entities.

What is the link between core model and digital transformation?

The core model is the functional prerequisite for any large-scale digital transformation. Deploying a common ERP, CRM or HRIS without first harmonizing the processes amounts to freezing heterogeneity in the tool, with considerable maintenance and specific costs.