At 31ten, we have helped our clients to understand the true costs of end-to-end digital transactions, customer demand and service fulfilment, enabling more efficient and effective service delivery, insight to prioritise investment where it is most needed, and a better experience for customers.

The problem
How much does a telephone call cost compared to an end-to-end digital transaction, or a face-to-face enquiry? Understanding these costs allows public sector organisations to demonstrate the benefits of technology investment, channel shift, and modernisation.

Although this question has long been a subject of interest, the answer can be challenging to uncover. Figures often used to model and project the benefits of channel shift are typically based on generic surveys, which may not accurately reflect the true costs for specific organisations. This lack of clarity makes it difficult to justify investment in digital transformation and customer service modernisation.

Why has modelling cost-to-serve been hard for councils?
We have observed several barriers that public sector organisations face when attempting to model cost-to-serve:

• Data limitations: Transactional volumes across digital, telephony, and face-to-face channels are often difficult to compare due to challenges in obtaining accurate and consistent da/ta.
• System disparities: Different channels are frequently managed using separate systems with varying data structures, making reconciliation complex.
• Cost complexity: Calculating costs involves numerous factors, including desk space, IT support, application licensing, and staff costs, all of which must be accounted for accurately.

As a result, efforts to produce cost-to-serve models often stall or evolve into “boiling the ocean” exercises that consume significant time and resources without delivering actionable insights.

How we help
At 31ten, we collaborate with our clients to create digital and customer cost-to-serve models using real data from their systems. This provides valuable insights into:

• The current costs of digital services and customer demand
• The benefits of channel shift
• Accurate modelling of future channel scenarios – for example, what if a future model was based upon handling 15% of transactions over the phone and 85% digitally?

Understanding current cost of demand
We assist our clients in interpreting and filtering available data to produce meaningful as-is cost-to-serve models across customer-facing channels. By analysing transactional and cost data, we:

• Interpret and validate the data
• Make informed decisions on its usage
• Deliver comprehensive cost-to-serve models

Our approach goes beyond simple headcount calculations or application costs to calculate the true cost of end-to-end transactions.

Modelling future costs
Once current costs are established, we project future costs to help clients understand the benefits of:

• Channel shift
• Digital and technology implementations
• Customer operations redesign

Our work enables clients to develop:

• An accurate view of future digital and customer service costs and outcomes
• A granular understanding of the impact of specific technology products or service designs
• Clear insights into the benefits of different channel shift scenarios

Accurate cost-to-serve modelling as wide-ranging applications across the public sector. Whether you are in local government, healthcare, housing, or any other area, understanding the costs of service delivery and the benefits of digital transformation can drive more effective decision-making and better outcomes for citizens. Understanding current and future cost-to-serve can help you demonstrate the benefits of investment and modernisation across your digital and customer services.

31ten combines the expertise of sector-leading digital professionals, wide-ranging public sector experience, and advanced modelling of complex financial scenarios. This enables us to provide actionable insights into the costs of existing demand and transaction processing, as well as the savings achievable through channel shift.

If you’re interested in discussing the topic further, please get in touch with either James or Rahul, who would be more than happy to help.