The 1-3-6 Framework

One Foundation. Three Buckets. Six Domains.

Our proprietary methodology for diagnosing operational maturity. The question before the investment.

The Philosophy

Most assessments ask "how's your ERP?" We ask "why do you have an ERP?"

We've seen too many companies spend millions to digitize broken processes. A company knows it needs to transform. The board is asking questions. The PE firm is pushing for digital initiatives. So they buy a new ERP system, hire a Big 4 firm to implement it, and 18 months later discover they've spent $5 million to digitize broken processes. The expensive consultants are gone. The problems remain.

That's the lift-and-shift trap. And it's why we built the 1-3-6 Framework.

The 1-3-6 Framework doesn't start with your systems. It starts with your Foundation — strategic clarity and organizational alignment. Because if your leadership team doesn't agree on where the company is going, it doesn't matter how sophisticated your technology is. You'll just digitize dysfunction.

The Structure

1-3-6

One Foundation, Three Buckets, Six Domains. Memorable. Structural. Teachable.

1
Foundation
Strategic Clarity & Organizational Alignment
3
Buckets
Core Assessment Categories
6
Domains
Specific Assessment Areas

The 1

Foundation: Strategic Clarity & Organizational Alignment

The Foundation is the wrapper that informs everything else. Before we ask about your tech stack, we ask:

  • Does leadership agree on where the company is going?
  • Is that vision translated through every layer?
  • Are technology investments tied to strategy or just replacing end-of-life systems?

If the Foundation is weak, everything else is at risk. A low Foundation score flags all other domain investments as potentially wasted. You can have the best systems in the world, but without strategic alignment, you're just running the same broken business on fancier software.

The 3

Three Buckets

The six domains are organized into three buckets — logical groupings that help leaders understand where their organization sits.

A

Systems & Process Foundation

The operational backbone

Enterprise Systems & Integration, Process Reliability & Exception Handling. Do your systems actually work together, or are you running a digital Frankenstein held together with Excel?

B

Operational Execution

Where you make and move product

Operations & Production Technology, Supply Chain & Customer Integration. Shop floor reality. What's automated, what's manual, what's broken?

C

Intelligence & Governance

How you know what's happening and improve it

Decision Support & Information Quality, Change Management & Continuous Improvement. When the VP asks "why did revenue drop," do you have an answer in 10 minutes or 10 days?

The 6

Six Domains

Each domain represents a critical area of operational capability. Together, they paint a complete picture of organizational maturity.

Domain 1

Enterprise Systems & Integration

Do your systems actually work together, or are you running a digital Frankenstein held together with Excel spreadsheets and manual processes?

Domain 2

Operations & Production Technology

Shop floor reality. What's automated, what's manual, what's broken? How does technology actually support production?

Domain 3

Supply Chain & Customer Integration

Demand planning, supplier coordination, customer visibility. IBP maturity. How well are you connected upstream and downstream?

Domain 4

Decision Support & Information Quality

When leadership asks a question, how long does it take to get an answer? Is your data trustworthy? Can you make decisions based on facts?

Domain 5

Process Reliability & Exception Handling

Are you automating broken processes or fixing them? How do you find problems before customers do? What happens when things go wrong?

Domain 6

Change Management & Continuous Improvement

How do you evolve? Governance, adoption, the improvement cycle. Can your organization actually change when it needs to?

The Foundation Index

The headline score. The number that matters most.

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What's your Foundation Index?

Your Foundation Index reveals whether you're ready for major technology investment — or need to fix the foundation first. A weak Foundation with strong systems is a company waiting to waste money.

What Your Score Reveals

Tech-for-Tech's-Sake

Good systems, weak foundation. Spending money to digitize broken processes.

Underperformers with Potential

Strong foundation, weak execution. Ready for investment that will actually land.

True Digital Leaders

Strong across the board. Foundation and execution aligned.

Foundation First

Weak everywhere. Fix the foundation before any technology investment.

Ready to find out your Foundation Index?

The 1-3-6 Assessment is our structured diagnostic that applies this framework to your organization. The first step is a conversation.

Learn About the Assessment Schedule a Conversation