Trend Shift 5: value capture depends on work flow rather than on organizational structure
Summary
McKinsey's fifth shift argues that structure is only one piece of the puzzle and that sustained value capture depends mainly on how work flows across functions and levels, so the productivity lever is process rather than the org chart.
Classification
Main topicIndustry & Supply Chains
Region menusGlobal
Impactscope:global
Time horizon0-3 years (2026-07-26)
Last updated2026-07-29 04:49:52
Evidence 1
- The State of Organizations 2026 McKinsey & Company page=38;section=Economic disruption: From structure to flow - Reaching the next productivity frontier 2026-02 accessed 2026-07-26
Observed signals 10
- Signal39% see redefining process flows as the best route past productivity barriers
- Signal43% rank productivity their top priority and two-thirds call their organization overly complex
- Signal47% name innovation investment and a continuous-improvement culture as the top productivity unlocks
- SignalAn FMCG firm eliminated 70% of duplicated reports and lifted engagement 25 points
- SignalCapital availability is the least-cited barrier to fixing productivity stagnation
- SignalCross-functional processes consume 40 to 65 percent of managerial time without clear ownership
- SignalIntegrating end-to-end processes raised speed to market 1.5-fold at one CPG company
- SignalLeaders at the largest organizations feel very high productivity pressure at twice the rate
- SignalOne firm duplicated 35% of decisions and spent over 1,000 hours a month on manual reporting
- SignalSimplifying governance can free 20 to 60 percent of management time
Part of issues 2
- IssueChange fatigue from repeated cosmetic reorganizations erodes trust in further redesign1 trends · 1 signals
- IssueStructural redesign without workflow redesign produces a cost rebound1 trends · 0 signals
Relation types: constitutes · supports
Public id: fm-91dd72e1b854