About the Client:

Our client is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of home appliances.

Business Objectives:

• Build a standard and repeatable forecasting process that is centric to quarterly reporting replacing their current, people centric, heavily reliant Microsoft Access data base and various versions of Microsoft Excel workbooks
• Create a more efficient plan and forecast consolidation process that meets regional and corporate needs
• Create the planning process to a GIS supported platform
• Provide standardized and sophisticated self-service reporting
• Standardize and simplify corporate forecasting process by providing:
  • a reduction of forecast cycles
  • a reduction of manual process steps
  • better security
  • process controls
  • tighter data integration

Solution Offered by TekLink:

TekLink team, using SAP BW 7.4 on HANA and SAP BPC 10.1 Standard, delivered the following solution to the client:

• Added capability to automate currency conversions, tax calculation, reclassification and eliminations
• Built a forecasting tool on their existing SAP BW on HANA system eliminating their unsupported Microsoft Access data base
• Created a self-service reporting capability with predefined KPIs for building management decks
• Designed a process with scenario and version management for scenario planning
• Designed a solution for variance analysis with comments collection and reporting to facilitate the corporate team to build a story line on their financials
• Improved the forecasting process by bringing all stake holders involved to input forecast data in SAP BPC to drive data consistency and process efficiency
• Leveraged ASAP methodology using TekLink’s TOM model (TekLink’s SAP BPC implementation methodology uses an iterative approach)
• Provided an administration cockpit for the corporate FP&A team to manage the forecasting process
• Reduced forecast process time and accuracy by automating actual consolidated data load and integrate with plan and forecasting data

Outcomes and Benefits:

Our client achieved following process improvements:

• Auto generation of management reporting decks and KPIs
• Created process controls with visibility to data changes
• Created self-service reporting capabilities
• Eliminated off-line reports
• Gave visibility to data changes with audit logs
• Improved forecasting accuracy
  • All stake holders submitted forecast data in SAP BPC eliminating off line version and human errors
  • Automated reclassification, currency conversion, tax calculation and other driver-based calculations eliminating the possibility of human errors
  • Automated actual data loads eliminated manual data collection and updates which were prone to errors
  • Processed controls with submit and lock
• Provided simulation capabilities
• Provided standardization of reporting structures aligning with corporate guidelines
• Provided standardized and repeatable forecasting process in SAP BPC elimination many manual forecasting process steps
• Reduced forecasting cycles

Other benefits:

• Developed a forecast consolidation and reclassification in line with actual consolidations
• Enhanced application security meeting the regional and corporate needs
• Provided a faster forecasting process and reduced number of cycles compared to the current process
• Provided standardized and sophisticated self-service reporting

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