Cost-to-Serve Baseline
An agreed baseline: the defensible end-to-end cost of a unit of work, as the reference point all later benefit claims are measured against.
Inputs, deliverables and boundaries
Inputs required
- The Workflow Evidence Sprint pack, or equivalent usable operating data for the workflow in scope.
- Cost and staffing data sufficient to build the unit economics of the workflow on a stated basis, with a named finance contact able to agree it.
- Volume history across the agreed measurement window, including seasonal cycles where they exist.
- Access to the exception and rework queues, so their cost can be separated from first-time-right work.
Deliverables
- A unit cost-to-serve model for the workflow with every input, allocation and assumption stated and traceable.
- An agreed baseline document: the defensible end-to-end cost of a unit of work, agreed with the client as the reference point later benefit claims are measured against.
- A decomposition of cost between first-time-right work, rework, exception handling and review.
- The measurement rules that later verification will apply, fixed before any change is made.
Client responsibilities
- Provide finance data and a named contact with authority to agree the baseline.
- Agree the allocation and assumption choices where more than one defensible treatment exists.
- Record changes to volume mix or staffing during measurement rather than smoothing them into the baseline.
Scope exclusions
- No actuarial, underwriting, tax-technical, legal or audit advice.
- No audit opinion; no certification of accounts.
- Technical build is delivered by specified specialists under Leania's requirements, acceptance criteria and quality controls.
- No guarantee of a unit-cost outcome that depends on client adoption, volume mix, staffing decisions, data quality or third-party delivery outside our control.
- The baseline states cost on the agreed basis; it is not an audit, an opinion on the accounts, or a valuation.
- No redesign or build is performed at this rung; the baseline exists so those decisions can be measured.
How the baseline is built
Annual volume × touches × minutes × loaded rate + rework + exception handling + relevant supplier and system cost = agreed current cost-to-serve.
Agreed is a recorded state, not a feeling
"Agreed" means the scope, source data, allocation rules, assumptions and known gaps are recorded and accepted as the reference point. It is not an audit opinion.
The decision this rung produces
Whether to commission redesign against the agreed baseline, and which parts of the workflow justify it first.
Delivery model
Senior-led, specialist-delivered: Leania specifies the work, sets acceptance criteria and signs off quality, independent of any build supplier.
RapidMap may be used to structure workshop evidence into a reviewable current-state process. Leanify may be used to calculate the baseline and structure the DMAIC assessment.
RapidMap by Leania converts interviews, workshops, notes and procedures into reviewable process maps, bottleneck signals, evidence gaps and SME validation questions. Practitioners validate the output.
Leanify by Leania supports analysis. It does not autonomously validate root causes, approve recommendations or replace practitioner judgement.
Senior practitioners remain accountable for scope, interpretation, validation and decisions.