bcg -为什么零基转型不只是另一项成本计划 Why Zero-Based Transformation Is Not Just Another Cost Program

BCG

ZERO-BASEDBUDGETING

WhyZero-Based

TransformationIsNotJustAnotherCost

Program

ChristianSchmid,

Lisa-Katharina(Liska)Schmitz,

KarinvonFunck,

Kristin

By

VivekSarma,

Wheatley,and

DonatWunderlich

ARTICLEFEBRUARY09,20268MINREAD

Financialinstitutions

(FIs)facerelentlesscostpressuresfromregulatorycomplexity,legacy

portfolios,multipleclientsegments,andorganizationalsprawl.Butattemptstoreininthesecoststhroughtraditionalproductivityprogramsusuallyfallshort.Theytrimattheedgesbutdon’ttacklerootcauses—andcostsinevitablyreturn.Totacklethisdilemma,moreFIsarestartingtoconsideranoldideabutwithnewstrategicclarityandanemphasisonacceleratedvalueidentification:

zero-basedtransformation

(ZBT).

ZBTdivergesfromtoday’smorecommon“incrementalbudgeting,”whichlocksinefficienciesintoplacebyassuminglastyear’sbudgetistherightbaseline.ZBTflipsthatlogic,challengingevery

budgetlineitemthroughanenterpriselens.Ratherthanaskingwhatindividualleaderswoulddo

differentlyinisolation,ZBTstartswiththebank’sstrategicprioritiesandoperatingmodelandasks:

“Whatactivitiesmustremaintodeliverthestrategy,andwhatcanbestopped,simplified,orredesigned?”

Theimpactofthisapproachcanbesubstantial.FinancialinstitutionsthathaveimplementedZBThaveunlocked12%to30%savingsindirectlycontrolledoverheadwhileimprovingspeedand

clarityinday-to-dayexecution.

FIsArePerfectlySuitedtoZero-BasedTransformation

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ForFIs,thecoreZBTquestionbecomes:“Ifweredesignedourspendfromzero,givenourenterprise

priorities,whatwouldwekeep,change,oreliminate?”ZBTreallocatesresourcestowhatmattersmostwhileremovingduplicationandlow-valueworktocreatevalue.Crucially,itsurfacesdemand-and-supplytrade-offsacrossfunctions,aligningservicelevelsandownership,whicho允enbecomesthetriggertosimplifytheoperatingmodelitself,notjust

reducecosts

.

FIsfaceseveralrealitiesthatmakeusingazero-basedlensparticularlyeffective.

.People-heavy,judgment-heavyfunctions.Risk,compliance,operations,anddistributionalldependonexpertwork.Tochangecosts,FIsmustfirstmapactivitiesindetailtounderstandwhatworkactuallyhappens,where,andwhy.

.Highregulatoryload.Eventhoughlargeswathsofworkarenon-optional,leadersmustjustifyeveryroleandactivityagainstpolicyandcontrolneeds.Thepracticalleversforcosttakeoutaresimplification,automation,andsmartcentralization.

.Legacyportfolios.Decadesofdevelopingandofferingproductsandservices(andtherelatedreports)o允enresultinalongtailoflow-valueactivities.Azero-basedapproachgivesleadersanexplicitmechanismtomake“stop”decisions.

.Enterpriseservicedependenciesandcomplexity.InFIs,businesslinesdependheavilyonlargeenterprisefunctions(notablytechnologyandrisk)forexecution.Butwithoutresettingdemand,servicelevels,andownershipattheseinterfaces,across-the-boardcutsare

ineffective.

.Duplicationandsilos.Centralteams,businesslines,andgeographieso允enperformsimilarworkinparallel.

.Excessivemanagementlayers.Fixingorganizationalhealthrequiresremovingwork—notjustshavinglayers—thenrealigningspansofcontrolanddecisionrights.

Whenappliedrigorouslyacrosstheenterprise,ZBTismorethanafinanceexercise.Itbecomesa

strategiclensforresettingthecostbaseanddeliveringotherbenefits,suchasencouraging

entrepreneurialandagilethinkingwhileensuringsafetyandsoundness.(SeeExhibit1.)The

approachmustbeingrainedintoleadershipbehavior,challengingactivitiesagainststrategy,owningtrade-offs,andpreventingcost.

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TraditionalCostResetsAreNotSufficient

Becausefinancialinstitutionsareundersustainedcostpressure,virtuallyeveryglobalsystemicallyimportantbankhasrecentlyundertaken—orisactivelyconsidering—acostreset.Formany,theseeffortshavebeenrecurringforyears,withdiminishingreturns.Theyhavealreadycapturedthe

obvioussavings.Hiringfreezes,discretionaryspendcuts,vendorrenegotiations,andincrementalproductivityprogramsarelargelyexhausted.

Inthiscontext,thetraditionalapproachoftaking“another10%”becomesbothharderandriskier,o允enweakeningcriticalcapabilitieswhileleavingtheunderlyingcoststructureintact.Instead,FIsneedtoapproachacostresetwiththeutmoststrategicclarity.Byrequiringleaderstoarticulate

howeveryactivity,role,anddollarinvestedservesthestrategy,ZBTidentifiestheactivitiesand

investmentsthatshouldcontinue,besimplified,redesigned,orstopped(suchaslegacyproducts

withROEbelowthehurdlerateandwithahighcost-to-serve).Ifworkdoesnotservethestrategy,itshouldnotexist.

AnotherdifferencebetweenZBTandthetraditionalcostresetapproachisthattheimplicationsgobeyondindividualbudgets.Strategyinformssecond-andthird-orderchoicesandtranslatesinto

howtheoperatingmodelsupportsexecutionfromtheoutset:howdemandisgeneratedand

served,whichactivitiesaretrulydifferentiating,whichcapabilitiesshouldbescaledorcentralized,

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andwhereownershipanddecisionrightsshouldsit.Leadershiproutines,decisionforums,cross-functionalwaysofworking,anddemandgovernancecannotbeboltedonattheendofthe

transformationprogram;theymustbeshapedupfrontaspartofthedesignandrefinedastheprogramprogressestocementthechange.

Forexample,abankpursuingdigital-ledgrowthmustsimplifyitsoperatingmodeltomakethat

growthscalable—shi允ingdemandandservicingtowarddigitalchannels,centralizingrepeatableoperations,eliminatingparallelprocessesacrossbusinesslines,andconcentratingscarceexpertcapabilitiesinsharedteams.Withoutaddressingthesequestions,costprogramsdefaulttosiloedcutsthatdonotlast.

PuttingZBTintoPractice

Besidestakingthisstrategy-firstapproach,financialinstitutionsembarkingonaZBTjourneyneedtofocusoncross-functionalvalueidentification.Inazero-basedtransformation,leadersfrom

acrosstheenterprisegatherin“challengerworkshops”todefendtheirspendlinebyline—fromthesizeofcallcenterteamstothenumberofregulatorycommittees—usingthreechallenge

lenses:

Strategy.

Testwhetheractivities,servicelevels,andcapacitydirectlysupportstrategicprioritiesandtheoperatingmodel(suchasgrowingwealthvs.de-emphasizingcapitalmarkets).

Bestpracticesandbenchmarkgaps.

Assessperformanceagainstinternalandexternalreferencepoints,suchascost-to-serveandtime-to-market.Isthecostperaccountabovethepeermedian?Doproductchangestakelongerthan

competitors?

Operatingeffectivenessandsimplification.

Identifyopportunitiestosimplifyworkend-to-end,removeduplication,clarifydecisionrights,andimproveflow(suchasconsolidatingtwomonthlycommitteeswithoverlappingagendas,saving

leaderstimesotheycanfocusmoreonotherpriorities).

Thischallengeprocessfosterscross-functionalcommunicationandbreaksdownFIsilosso

differentpartsoftheorganizationcanworktogethertospotstrategicmisalignments,eliminate

inefficiencies,andidentifyend-to-endsolutions.Theworkshopsyieldcleardecisionsonwhat

survives,whatchanges,andwhatstops,allowingleaderstofocusonwhatmattersmostanddoingitbetter.(SeeExhibit2.)

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BringingZBTTogether:ThePlaybook

Drawingonourdeepglobalexpertisewithzero-basedtransformationsandourworkwithlarge

systemicallyrelevantbanks,BCGhasdevelopedaclearplaybooktoguidefinancialinstitutionsontheirZBTjourney.Theplaybookbringstogethereightcoreelementsthattranslatestrategicintentintopracticalexecution.(SeeExhibit3.)

.Crystallizethestrategy.Withoutclearstrategicdirectionattheenterpriselevel,zero-basingrisksbecomesnothingmorethantacticalcost-cutting.

.Validatethedesiredoperatingmodel.Oncealignedonstrategicpriorities,settleontheoperatingmodelthatwilldeliverthatstrategy,includingwhatchangesnow,whatchangesnext,andquickwinstounlocksavings.

.Buildtransparencyandambition.Createasinglereconciledbaselinethatallowsleaderstoseeclearlywhereresourcesaregoing.

.Valueidentificationthroughchallengerworkshops.Defendeveryactivity,role,andservice.Ifitcannotbejustifiedagainsttheclarifiedstrategy,itdoesnotsurvive.

.Redesigntheorganization.Simplifylayersandclarifyaccountabilitiesforwhatremains.

.Reinforcenewwaysofworking.Resetleadershipcadences,KPIs,andincentiveswiththe

strategy.Ensurethatnewaccountabilitiesstickwithregularreviewsandasingledashboardtotrackdeliveryandbudgetvariance.

.Enableexecution.Validateinitiatives,ownership,accountability,timelines,anddashboards.

Hardwiredisciplineandpreventcostcreepby,forexample,ensuringthatnonewrolesarecreatedwithoutexplicitbusinesscaseapproval.

.Budgetfromzero.Institutionalizeannualzero-basingsothatcostsarecontinuouslyre-justified.

AMindsetShi允withZBT

Azero-basedapproachchangeshowafinancialinstitutionisrun.Itprovidesadisciplinedwaytoresetthecostbasewhilecreatingaclearframeworktofocustheorganizationonwhattruly

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matters,aligningactivitiestostrategyandmakingprioritiesandaccountabilitiesexplicit.

ZBTencouragesleaderstocommunicateandcollaborateratherthanreinforcesiloes.Itchallengesthestatusquobydesign,forcesexplicittrade-offs,anddrivesclosercross-functionalcollaboration.Theresultisamoreeffectiveoperatingmodel,acultureofconstructivechallengeandteaming,

andsustainedcapacitytoreinvest.Forfinancialinstitutions,theprizeislarge,andthetimetoactisnow.

VivekSarma

ManagingDirector&Partner

Toronto

Lisa-Katharina

(Liska)Schmitz

ManagingDirector&Partner

NewYork

KristinWheatley

ManagingDirector&Partner

Toronto

Authors

ChristianSchmid

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner

Zurich

KarinvonFunck

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner

Munich

DonatWunderlich

Partner&AssociateDirector

Hamburg

©2026BostonConsultingGroup