Why 70% Of Digital Transformations Fail
Around 70% of digital transformations fail to deliver their promised value. After 15+ years leading transformations in operations across industries such as manufacturing, consumer goods and healthcare, the same pattern is visible: it’s rarely the technology that fails, but the belief that technology alone equals transformation.
Companies invest millions in trying to implement ERP, planning, or PLM systems. If the implementation goes beyond MVP and the full solution is delivered, the project is declared a success. Yet six months later people still work in Excel, adoption stalls around 30%, and the board starts questioning the ROI. Officially the project is “technically successful,” but in reality, the organization is working around it.
The Technology Trap
Most programs follow the same script: pick a platform, design the solution, implement, train users, and hope adoption follows. About 80% of the energy goes into configuration, data, and integrations, and maybe 20% into people, leadership, and behavior.
As a result, change feels like something that happens to people. Leaders decide, consultants design, IT implements, and users get “rolled out” at the end. They’re informed instead of involved, trained instead of empowered – and resistance is a logical outcome.
Where It Really Breaks
- The “what” drowns out the “why”: people hear which system is coming, but not what customer value, work impact, or sustainability benefits it will create.
- Sustainability runs on a separate track: digital transformation over here, ESG and circularity over there – even though modern operations need integrated systems for transparency, ESG reporting, and waste reduction.
- There is no human-centred approach to the transformation project, instead of co-creating teams are pushed from one initiative into the next.
Without a meaningful reason, transformation becomes something to survive rather than something to gain energy from.
What Twin Transformation Does Differently
Twin Transformation tackles two dimensions at the same time: operations and organization.
- Operationally: integrate fragmented systems, put data governance in place, design processes for flow and transparency, and use automation where it truly adds value.
- Organizationally: start with purpose, involve teams as co-creators, build psychological safety, and embed capability in the business.
The outcome: systems that work and teams that actually want to use them – plus operations that boost both performance and sustainability.
What This Looks Like In Real Life
A global fashion retailer was stuck at 25% adoption of a new planning platform. Instead of another technical fix, we first reconnected to purpose: why this matters, what changes for planners, and what impact it has on customers, waste, and sustainability. Only then did we adjust processes and technology – and adoption climbed above 60%.
At a chemical company, the data quality was a mess, and nobody followed the data governance framework. By asking teams what held them back, co-creating simpler processes, and delivering visible wins fast, the story shifted from “bureaucracy” to “this helps us work better.”
And at a healthcare provider, combining AI optimisation, platform integrations, and digital patient portals showed that digital and human-centred designs can truly reinforce each other.
Where to Start
- Start with purpose, not a platform strategy be clear on which problems you solve for customers, teams, and the planet, and how this links to your organizational goals.
- Assess all dimensions: not just systems and processes, but also leadership alignment, team engagement, psychological safety, and sustainability integration.
- Treat people as co-creators: run co-design sessions, test with real teams, listen to resistance, and adjust your design accordingly.
- Explicitly connect operations and sustainability: design processes and systems that drive transparency, ESG reporting, and waste reduction by design.
- Build capability along the way: develop super-users, document playbooks, and gradually hand over decision-making to the line organization.
Digital transformation fails when it’s treated as a technology project. When you approach operations, organization, and sustainability together as one Twin Transformation, you dramatically increase the odds that your transformation lands in the 30% that actually succeeds.