Acquiring the tools for growth

Over the course of a few years, our client, a $3 billion provider of medical technologies, experienced strong growth, making large acquisitions on a global scale. But with expansion came the need to integrate and consolidate processes and systems across markets.

Reporting through four international regions and thirty individual markets was a challenge. Manual planning, forecasting, and reconciliation processes were error-prone and had little to no technology support or activity tracking. Visibility was limited across planning and data governance functions. 

The company wasn’t able to access the information necessary to plan and manage the business. They needed a new cloud enterprise data model to make effective decisions, continue to grow, and bring the collection of smaller entities into a unified organization. 

With a multiyear road map to identify the transformation focus, the stage was set to begin the project. Short- and long-term goals were identified and met while leveraging new Oracle Cloud technology in Financial Data Quality Management, Enterprise Edition (FDMEE), Data Relationship Management (DRM), and other data integration tools.

After successfully completing the project with KPMG, the company was able to:

• reduce time to close and consolidate

• improve cycle time to complete annual planning process from 140 days to under 90 days

• deliver standardized actuals, plan, and forecasting reporting to guide leadership insight in specific markets and across each of 3 business segments

• achieve efficiencies within the finance organization by reducing manual work

• improve business decisions through easy-to-access, accurate data.

This company, with more than 10,000 employees and an over 85-year history, was expanding through acquisitions and needed to bring their reporting and processes under one roof for the benefit of the business. Highly customized, legacy data systems were different across the enterprise and hindered decision making.

We identified areas of opportunity around consistency in close and consolidation, planning and budgeting, and management reporting and outlined a balance of short- and long-term solutions to support the company’s P&L business strategy. An interim reporting system went live swiftly, and a plan was developed to turn it from a quickfix into an efficient system.

Planning functions were moved to Oracle Cloud, and KPMG Powered Enterprise tools were used to leverage best practices. Working together, we utilized the “out of the box” program capabilities of new cloud technology. Minimal customization standardized the planning process on a single tool to maximize efficiency.

Then change management began. In-person and online training, user guides, and even a dedicated hotline helped to get users up to speed and self-sufficient when using the technology.

With higher quality reporting and efficient processes, this client is ready and able to make better decisions and a difference in their global business.

KPMG is on your side, all the way.

A strategy is only as good as its stakeholders

While developing a strategy and road map is important, the best ones can only be implemented with commitment from the entire organization. With full backing from the leadership team, strategies lead to transformations that touch every part of the business. 

Successful change is user friendly

Beyond strategy and implementation, change management is key. Comprehensive training empowers users to embrace new systems as part of company culture. When users become self-sufficient, they don’t just have the tools to transform—they can shape the transformation.