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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE

THE ART OF OMISSION 5 QUESTIONS FOR TERBERG BUSINESS INSIGHT AT PERFETTI VAN MELLE 3 TRENDS IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CAN YOU DO IT SMARTER? 33 FINANCE HACKS

HOW DO YOU PROVIDE STRATEGIC VALUE WITH INSTANT INSIGHT ACROSS FINANCE?

IT’S SIMPLE. THE ANSWER IS SAP SIMPLE FINANCE. Transform financial management with the ultimate sophistication: simplicity. As part of SAP S/4HANA, a new, next generation business suite, SAP Simple Finance solution powered by SAP HANA is designed to provide strategic value with instant insight across finance – all via a personalized and simple user experience. For more, go to www.sap.nl/simplefinance

Run Simple

03 / INTRODUCTION

FOCUS ON THE ESSENCE Simplicity has been the keyword in design for many years now. Whether you look at a web design - e.g. the most used website in the world: the Google search page - or at hardware - think about any Apple product - or at interior design - Scandinavian design is highly fashionable at the moment. Designers work with the motto ‘less is more’. What can designers teach us?

> MARTIJN MEULING IS A DESIGN-ENTHUSIAST, CAPTIVATED BY THE COMBINATION OF FUNCTIONALITY

At Finext, we believe that creating simplicity really works. We believe in reducing unnecessary complexity and not bothering each other with ‘hassle’. Simplicity also means transparency and structure. Displaying information in a way that shows the essential figures at a glance, instead of rows and rows of numbers. Designers use a few principles which we can use daily in Performance Management: deleting, hiding and relocating. Deleting elements that are unnecessary or even better: forcing yourself to continuously think about whether you really need this extra functionality to support the process. Hiding functionality that is not relevant for the target audience. Use options in the software to only select the information that is necessary. Relocate functionality. Sometimes it can be very clarifying to relocate an activity of a department. We often hear that outsourcing support aids controllers since it gives them confidence and room to breathe, which improves the quality of their work. Simplicity is not a magic trick. It helps us to look at the core of the organization and to focus on the essence. Enjoy the read! Martijn Meuling

AND ESTHETICS.

CONTENTS

Shell licensee in

16 countries

100.000 ton

in Africa

lubricants blending capacity

2.000

1500

full-time employees

Shell service stations in Africa

GHC

ACTUALS Gce

Ksh

SUPPLY/DEMAND PLANNING

Cfa

14 /

24 /

Streamlined migration process at Attero

BUDGET &

Integrated information landscape at FORECAST Vivo Energy

100

new petrol stations opened in 2013

Vitol is sold at

21 airports in Africa

900.000 m

3

storage capacity

50 /

62 /

Transparent collaboration at Telfort

From the construction budget to regular finance at RWG

In this magazine: 06 08 12 14 19 24 28 30 32

The art of omission Fluent financial statements process at Brabant Water Dare to choose Streamlined migration process at Attero Trends in Performance Management Integrated information landscape at Vivo Energy Business planning: a matter of focus Can you do it smarter? 33 finance hacks Business insight at Perfetti Van Melle

36 40 42 47 50 54 56 58 62

Tranquility during the reporting process at First Wind Measuring models Uniform monthly reporting at Royal Reesink New players in the field Transparent collaboration at Telfort The business at... Omron What is the value of a customer? 5 Questions for Ivo Jansen of Terberg From the construction budget to regular finance at RWG

06 / VISION

> EVERY DAY MONICA HARMSEN PREPARES A HEALTHY MEAL WITH PURE INGREDIENTS FROM THE SUPERMARKET CHAIN THAT SHE HAS IMPLEMENTED A PLANNING SOLUTION FOR.

THE ART

07 / VISION

OF

TEXT: MONICA

HARMSEN

OMISSION Every good chef chooses only a few ingredients for a dish. Adding more ingredients does not necessarily add anything to the taste. It may even divert the taste buds from the main flavor. How can you apply this art of omission as a business controller?

The perfect meal is a symphony of flavors that are balanced. They do not require sauces or other additions. Reporting sets within large organizations are usually so jam-packed with data that it is hard to get the gist of it. In order to be balanced, you need to find the pure ingredients of your reporting process. To accomplish this, you could ask yourself questions like:

A good company starts with a good product and its success will depend on the quality of the product. It has never been the intention to set-up a well-organized financial department. As your company develops, more and more departments are created, but most of them are not involved in the primary process. Over time, an increasing number of employees are not directly involved in the core business of the company: creating, marketing, and selling your product.

reports contain the essence of the information needed to make the best decisions? And which ones are better left out? >>Do you really need to separate costs into different categories like education, adverts and office supplies? Or does the category ‘other costs’ suffice? >>Should you perhaps focus more on information that gives you insight into which products you should release next year, which products generate the most revenue and which products should be taken out of the assortment next year?

Reason for existence

A balanced menu

The purpose of a financial department is to process, analyze and report information. Revenues, expenses and profits are calculated, analyzed, budgeted, planned, and estimated. The available models, spreadsheets, Performance Management-systems and datasets are becoming larger and more complex. The initial reason for having a finance department is valid, but only too often the focus is lost. The data handling seems to become more important than the very reason the company exists: the product.

How wonderful would it be if the budgeting and reporting process would be fast and smooth, so your organization could really focus on the core of your business: producing and selling products to satisfied customers? This is the art of a balanced menu of information. A menu that represents the core values of the organization, with reports that show a balanced amount of information. As in cooking, the art of omission works. How does this taste?

A symphony of flavors In order to cook a good meal, you start with pure, healthy, and fresh ingredients. The art of creating a great dish is more delicate. Each ingredient needs to contribute to the dish and enhance the harmony between the ingredients.

>>Which

Want to continue on this topic with Monica? You can reach her via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

08 / INTERVIEW

Fluent 09 / INTERVIEW

financial statements process

Brabant Water

at

RUIJS

LLE G

NIE : DA TEXT

The drinking water company Brabant Water wanted to improve the quality of their annual financial statements. The implementation of a Disclosure Management solution accelerates the process, ensures accurate version control and provides an automated audit trail. This increases the quality and reliability of their figures.

10 / INTERVIEW

We wanted to be able to focus on the content of the financial statements instead of version control Henk de Boer, Head of Financial Economic Affairs at Brabant Water, tells us: “Last year was the first time I got involved in the annual reporting process. Version management needed a lot of attention and was prone to error. The final straw was the moment I put our latest version next to the test copy from the printer’s office and noticed that a modification had accidentally not been included.” With 800 employees, Brabant Water provides drinking water to 2.4 million inhabitants and companies in Noord-Brabant, a province in The Netherlands. “We wanted to be able to focus on the content of the financial statements, instead of version control,” tells Adinda te Veldhuis, consultant Accounting and Internal Control systems at Brabant Water. “Our first priority was to increase the quality of the annual financial statements. We wanted to avoid situations in which the auditor and our department would be using different versions,” tells Henk.

Improving the process In the long run, Brabant Water is also striving to reduce the time it takes to prepare the annual financial statements. “The possibilities provided by the Disclosure Management solution enable you to apply changes to the process,” says Wesley Schulte of Finext. As Performance Management consultant he has been closely involved in the implementation of SAP Disclosure Management at Brabant Water. The new system encourages people to take responsibility. “If you plan the design of the solution carefully, you can place the responsibility for the comments in the financial statements at a much lower level in the organization. In the past, these comments were all written by the person who was ultimately responsible. Now, entry is possible at the source and, therefore, the responsibility can be placed at the source,” tells Henk.

11 / INTERVIEW

“Moreover, the new tool provides the audit trail which you normally have to create manually. It automates a part of my job. As a result I can focus more on the quality,” tells Adinda. “For the auditor it is much better if the audit trail has been recorded thoroughly,” Naida Sadžak of Finext, also closely involved in the project, says. She is able to look for improvements to the processes from an auditor’s perspective, having been an auditor herself. In addition to improving the quality, the new version management also has a large impact on the workload pressure. “Now we present version 96 with a ‘big smile’,” says Adinda. “In the near future we will significantly reduce the number of versions, at the moment we are still gradually adjusting. Every text modification creates a new version.” “Further standardization of the process can bring even more improvements, which will lead to a drop in the number of cross checks,” Naida says.

Brabant Water to

provides

drinking water

2.4 million

inhabitants and companies in

Noord-Brabant

Extraction

in

2014:

174,757,000

m3

Teamwork within the organization The Executive Management at Brabant Water is very pleased with the new reporting process. “The management is positively surprised. Now, they can see all changes in the report at a glance,” Henk says. Moreover, also the auditor indicates in his reports that big improvements were made with respect to version control. “We can now focus on the statements, as a result of which the internal control will be at a higher level.”

If you plan the design of the solution carefully, you can place the responsibility for the comments in the financial statements at a much lower level in the organization The annual financial statements bring different worlds together; Finance, Communication and IT. “We often see the separate departments working as islands while creating the annual financial statements,” Naida says. “By providing one product using one process, you involve the other parties to a larger extent.” “Bringing together the small islands is an added value of the new solution,” says Adinda. “It is important to first set a baseline, in order to determine who performs which role in the current process.”

More than just tooling Brabant Water wants to add even more steps in the annual financial statements process to the solution. For example by exploiting the workflows in the Disclosure Management tool. “Everybody is collaborating on one final document, in which each individual can work on their own chapter of the financial statements simultaneously,” tells Wesley. “By using the built-in workflow properly, all stakeholders can collaborate even better in the process.” “A Disclosure Management solution is more than just tooling,” Henk says. “We did buy it for that purpose, but in the end it is a way to improve the process.”

Interested in implementing a Disclosure Management solution for your annual financial statements? Contact Wesley Schulte via [email protected] or at + 31 70 - 300 3000.

12 / VISION

DARE

> ON HIS TRAVELS, STIJN GABRIËLS TRUSTS THE MAINTENANCE OF AIRPLANE PARTS DONE BY HIS CLIENT FOKKER TECHNOLOGIES.

13 / VISION

TO

CHOOSE

Does ‘less is more’ also apply to reporting? Personally, I prefer a good one-pager with the most important information at a glance over a long disorderly report. Which information is relevant, and for who? And what can we learn from the luggage-limits of airlines? Often, we see that the design of consolidation and reporting models starts lean & mean. But 2 to 3 years later, we see more and more additions that have been made to these models. Information needs keep changing, for example due to new insights or changes in management. These are legitimate reasons to add changes to the information model. However, old elements are often not removed.

Figures for the sake of figures? In order to go back to a controllable and suitable data model, the goal of the reports is essential. Are figures just requested for the sake of requesting figures? Or does reporting actually add value? Removing irrelevant details will save time and money. Put the interests of your stakeholders first; what information do they need? Three factors are important to consider. First of all, the type of company and the organizational structure. There is a clear difference in the reporting needs between corporations, private equity firms and family-owned businesses. Likewise, the line of business is crucial. Retailers need more detailed weekly margin analyses and are strongly P&L driven, while companies active in real estate are more balance-sheet driven and report per quarter. The third factor that needs to be considered concerns economic and social developments. There has been a change towards better monitoring cash flows since the financial crisis of 2007 in order to manage liquidity in a better way.

BRIËLS

TEXT: STIJN GA

Step by step The first step in consolidation and reporting is creating a well designed data model, with accompanying elements such as movements for the balance sheet and specifications for the P&L. Subsequently, pay attention to the connection of your consolidation and reporting solution with various source systems. This should make it easier to report for the whole organization and to define the KPIs clearly. The next question is: which information is relevant, what is important, and in what level of detail? Think about external reporting requirements on the one hand, and internal management reporting on the other hand. Consolidated monthly reports are easily 40 to 50 pages. But would a limited reporting pack also suffice? A small orderly booklet with a few one-pagers and graphs or tables provides more information than an encyclopedia-sized book with figures in font size 8.

Set a limit An airplane has a clear limit on weight and number of passengers. It is simply not possible or allowed to take more. Imagine limiting the length of your reports in the same way. What would you bring with you on your reporting trip if you are allowed to take only 10 pages of financial information?

Want to continue on this topic with Stijn? Contact Stijn via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

14 / INTERVIEW

> BERT SNIPPE AND PIETER BAS TER MAAT AT ONE OF ATTERO’S WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS.

15 / INTERVIEW

Attero processes commercial and domestic waste into useful raw materials and durable energy. During the migration to SAP BPC 10, the innovative organization exploited the ‘migration desk’, a method to achieve a streamlined upgrade. To be able to test with actual data and processes, the end-users were trained during the migration.

Streamlined at TEXT

: DA NIELL

migration process

Attero

E GR

UIJS

16 / INTERVIEW

If you are not up-to-date with your upgrades, you need more customized solutions When asked about the reason for migrating to SAP BPC 10, Bert Snippe, Head of Reporting and FA at Attero, tells us: “At Attero, we have the policy to be up to date with technology. Also, with out-of-date software you do not get service from the software supplier. It is evident that at some point you need to upgrade to a new version.” Spread across fifteen operational sites, 750 Attero employees process, among other things, the waste of millions of Dutch citizens. The aim is to recover raw materials as much as possible, to provide durable energy and to produce useful products.

Latest version -1 During the migration, the timing of this project in combination with other projects was an important consideration. “For half a year, we focused on bringing our software to the correct level. We did a large SAP upgrade earlier this year, including CRM,”

tells Pieter Bas ter Maat, Project manager IT at Attero. “We want to update with each new version, and make a step every year. This way the impact is smaller and the upgrade is easier to control. It is our policy to always use the latest version -1.” “By always using one of the latest versions we also gain access to new functionality,” Bert adds. This gives more possibilities. “If you are not up to date with your upgrades, you need more customized solutions. In the end you’ll have to find a solution for your requirements. If you use a recent version, you have the possibility to solve the requirements by using new functionality in the software.”

17 / INTERVIEW

‘Migration desk’ To guarantee a smooth migration process to SAP BPC 10, the organization used the `migration desk’. This is a specific method for migrating to newer versions, developed by Swap Support and its sister organization Finext.

domestic of

waste

millions of

“It is a big step to SAP BPC 10”, Naida Sadžak of Finext says. “This should be tackled as a project, but it is not a new implementation. A migration balances exactly on the intersection of support and implementation. This is the added value of the ‘migration desk’; it combines the support expertise of Swap Support with the implementation knowledge of Finext. “The hardest part of the migration process is rebuilding the input schedules and reports,” tells Julia Heinemann of Swap Support. “To take pressure off the organization, we prepare both the rebuilding and the technical steps at the Service Desk.” In this approach Swap Support is the primary contact point for Attero. “Swap Support, the business and ICT cooperate as three equivalent partners in a triangle,” tells Pieter Bas. ICT does not lead the project; first we agree on the allocation of tasks, and then together we make this possible.”

a total of

Dutch citizens

3,3 million tons

of

annually

waste

energy

the plants generate for approximately households

350,000

and provide to some

heating local companies

Training and testing

Short implementation time

Testing the application and training the end-users was done simultaneously. Julia: “Testing is frequently done in happy views, for example by someone with full access. In this case, we tested with actual monthly data, instead of an example data set. Specific users were trained by going through their own processes, testing the application at the same time.” “Everyone brought their own items which they would also have used to generate the coming monthly reporting,” tells Bert. “In this way, you run into the little things from the day-to-day work.”

The migration process was characterized by its short implementation time. “We were able to accomplish this over a particularly short period of time. Approximately between 6 to 8 weeks.” tells Bert. “The big advantage with this is that you can accurately plan daily, even hourly, as a result of which you can claim the right capacity within the organization.”

“This approach turns it into a training on-the-job, with real data in the new environment,” Pieter Bas says. He sees clear advantages of this approach. “The closer you come to reality during the training, the more effectively people can relate to their job.” During the combined training and testing Julia and Naida were present to answer end-users questions immediately. Meanwhile, people were available at the Service Desk to promptly make small adjustments to the application when necessary.

The results are positive. “Shortly after going live we had to prepare the half year financial close, and we didn’t run into any problems,” says Bert. “The users were able to smoothly continue their activities and that actually is the biggest compliment when doing a migration.”

Curious about using the ‘migration desk’ for the upgrades within your organization? Get in touch with Julia Heinemann via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3035.

Welcome to the new world of Management Intelligence 18 / TREND

Welcome to the new world of BOARD.

Better decisions. Better business.

Today there is a business decision environment that is very different from all others. An extremely advanced environment, yet simple and intuitive, where you can finally have all the benefits of Business Intelligence, Predictive Analytics and Corporate Performance Management within a single software solution. The secret is called the “toolkit”, a revolutionary approach that provides you with your custom tailored applications: from reporting to analysis, from dashboards to scorecards, from planning to simulation. You can not only create your own solutions, but also modify them in a simple, fast and secure way. Enter the World of BOARD. Discover how easy it is to embrace this ALL IN ONE environment, where everything works perfectly and where the most advanced technology will provide you with the solutions you need.

Make the right decision with BOARD.

The new world of BI & CPM www.board.com

19 / TREND

Trends in Performance Management The world of Performance Management is continuously changing. What are the latest developments? Are they relevant for your organization? Jethro van der Veer, Olaf Looije and Tiemen van der Tuijn share their vision on three trends.

20 / TREND

01 Tax reporting: the 5 trends

RO VAN DER

TEXT: JETH

VEER

The world of tax reporting is always shifting. This is not only due to changing legislation, but also due to growing social interest in the tax choices of organizations. How will this affect tax reporting? And the collaboration of the tax and finance department? The five most important trends: 1. Country-by-country reporting For the year 2016, multinationals with revenues higher than 750 million euros have to submit a country-bycountry report to the tax authorities.

2. Higher demand for transparency

Their dependency is moving progressively towards collaboration in data collection and analysis.

5. The rise of corporate tax reporting applications

Social developments demand more transparency concerning tax payments and fiscal structures. This leads to more and more online publications of fiscal strategies. Furthermore, fiscal key figures are being incorporated in sustainability reports, for instance insights into tax remittances, the added value to the economy and tax payments per employee.

By using corporate tax reporting applications, the tax department can take big steps in collecting, analyzing and optimizing information. The corporate tax reporting tools can be used independently or completely integrated in an existing Performance Management solution.

3. The necessity for accurate data within the whole organization

Summarizing, these trends demand and offer a smooth and effective tax reporting process. The correct level of detail needs to be collected and reported without any effort. For today and years to come.

There is a strong need for accurate data within the organization. Besides information requests from other parts of the organization, it is crucial to be able to estimate future tax positions and remittances accurately.

4. Collaboration between tax and finance The tax and finance departments are mutually dependent in order to deliver correct financial reporting and tax statements.

The perfect level of detail

Would you like to know more about corporate tax reporting and the software possibilities? You can reach Jethro via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

21 / TREND

02

F LOOIJE

TEXT: OLA

The next step in the cloud The cloud is becoming more and more common. At the same time multiple variations of the cloud are developing at a breathtaking pace. In no time, computing power will be a commodity, just like cocoa beans. What are the consequences for your financial applications? How will this affect maintenance? Support in the cloud Until recently, the best cloud option for Performance Management applications was a private cloud at a specialized hosting company. However, we see two new options that may be worth exploring. First, the public cloud by companies like Microsoft Azure is improving, which makes it a serious option for hosting your financial applications. We also see software providers supplying their applications within their own cloud, sometimes in addition to their on-premise applications. Some suppliers, such as Anaplan, are already completely cloud-based.

Computing power This results in a change of computing power; CPUs (Central Processing Units) are being sold as a commodity. You can use the CPUs you need at will and at any time. It is like electricity; you can just flick a switch, and the light goes on. You can use electricity without buying a specific amount of kilowatts beforehand.

These changes do not mean there is no need for support though. Although the public cloud can supply CPUs, they do not provide application - functional - or technical support. Even within a vendor cloud the functional support design is still essential, since no software provider knows the content of the platforms and financial processes of all its clients. Computing power is becoming a commodity, just like cacao beans. However, producing quality chocolate still requires craftsmanship. Whether doing it yourself or outsourcing it. In the cloud, support will remain crucial to the proper functioning of your Performance Management applications.

Olaf Looije works at Swap Support. Would you like talk with Olaf about hosting and support in the cloud? You can reach Olaf via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3035.

22 / TREND

03

Business Intelligence: the basis of Performance Management TEXT: TIEM

EN VAN DER

TUIJN

Can Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management exist without each other? Performance Management is nothing without the reliable facts from BI. Therefore Performance Management is the most important reason for the existence of BI. Integration of variety To guarantee a complete understanding of the performance of your company, information is needed from all parts of the organization. This information is usually available in all kinds of shapes and formats, such as the ERP-system, local Excel-sheets or ancient IT-structures. BI is, after the successful building of the extraction, transformation and loading models (ETL), able to reconcile and integrate loads of data automatically.

Fast analyses from your pocket Integrated data increasingly offers you specific performance-relevant insights, besides the traditional (KPI) dashboards. BI provides the methods and means to do (ad hoc) analyses which can be used to find, describe and predict (undiscovered) relations. Because of increasing computing power, you can even do this in real-time from your pocket.

Management with financial effects The developments mentioned above are especially relevant to finance. The available data enables the CFO to bridge the gap between strategy and action.

Analyses of trends, changing circumstances or calculated strategy effects enable direct, integral manage- ment of marketing, price-setting, production and supply-chain. Being able to make the right decisions results in higher profits, quality, and satisfaction.

The right question leads to the right answer Finding and using the right information is only possible by asking the right questions in order to find the right answers. You will need close collaboration between Performance Management and BI in order to ask the right questions. With the right interaction, BI offers the key to the answers for continuously improving the performance of the organization.

Tiemen is BI-consultant at Plainwater, the newest company in our value chain of Performance Management solutions. You can reach Tiemen via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3080.

XF

23 / TREND

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KEEP CALM AND LET’S GET

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Shell licensee in

100.000 ton lubricants blending capacity

2.000

16 countries in Africa

1500

full-time employees

Shell service stations in Africa

GHC

ACTUALS Gce

Ksh

SUPPLY/DEMAND PLANNING

Cfa

BUDGET & FORECAST

100

new petrol stations opened in 2013

Vitol is sold at

21 airports in Africa

900.000 m3 storage capacity

25 / INTERVIEW

Integrated

information landscape at

Vivo Energy RUIJS

LLE G

NIE : DA TEXT

Vivo Energy is the Shell licensee in 16 countries in Africa. To support the Finance Transformation Program, this fast growing company implemented an integrated landscape with business planning, consolidation and integrated reporting. Implementing four different applications at the same time called for a structured approach.

26 / INTERVIEW

We need this ‘backbone’ of metadata and dimensionality to achieve the goals of the integrated landscape and to make support in the future as easy as possible “We are a young and ambitious company; currently we are in the middle of a Finance Transformation Program,” says Jan Timo Rebisch, Group Controller at Vivo Energy. The Shell licensee is a joint venture between Vitol (40%), Helios Investment Partners (40%) and Shell (20%). “One of the main elements of the finance road map is to absorb both the actuals and the planning in an integrated landscape that connects both worlds.”

The right foundation From the start of the program, the business was involved in the finance road map. “A finance organization has two roles; compliance & governance as well as business partnering. For the business partner role you will need the right fundament: the right processes and teams, as well as the right systems,” explains Jan Timo. “We needed to make sure that within our processes we can report accurately and on time. At the same time, we wanted to integrate the most important KPIs that drive our business in the internal management reporting.” Therefore the design of the model was based on requirements set by the business itself.

Integration is key “In order to achieve the goals set in the Finance Transformation Program it was essential to align the requirements across the full landscape at an early stage,” says Jan Timo.

Vivo Energy chose Oracle HFM for consolidation, Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) for business planning and Oracle Demantra for operational planning. “As JD Edwards was already in house, it was a logical choice to integrate more Oracle products like Demantra, HFM and PBCS,” says Roy Piek of Finext. To support the integration, the role of FDMEE is key. “FDMEE is the latest version of Financial Data quality Management, aimed at supporting the data integration between PBCS, HFM and Demantra,” explains Roy.

International environment As any international organization, Vivo Energy has to deal with different cultures in different countries. “This is achievable if you have the previously mentioned processes standardized, the right teams in place, and the right systems implemented,” says Jan Timo.

We always stuck to one core principle: JD Edwards is the foundation. If a change is made, it is made there first

27 / INTERVIEW

The international environment played a key role in defining the application setup. “We have to consider our virtual organizational structure and environment, and ensure that not only the system landscape but also the network is capable of supporting the chosen approach.” To support the international program, Sonum International, a sister company of Finext, specialized in international Performance Management implementations, played a role in the implementation as well. “In my opinion, this is working very well. Both teams are working closely together to find the best solutions for HFM, PBCS, and JD Edwards. They are very experienced and know exactly what is needed from the other tools. They make sure that it is the best solution for integration, rather than the best solution for separate silos,” says Jan Timo. “Integration is never easy, but combining both the HFM and PBCS project teams made my life easier.” Another Finext sister company, Swap Support, also participated in the program. “Swap Support helped with the technical installation and supported the parts of HFM that were already implemented,” says Jan Timo. “We wanted to split forces for support and for the project.” The comprehensive package of Finext as implementation partner, Sonum International for the international experience and Swap Support as support partner was one of the reasons to choose this combination for the implementation.

One of the main elements of the finance road map is to absorb both the actuals and the planning in an integrated landscape User friendly Even though phase 2 of the implementation program has not yet been completed, Jan Timo already sees results. “We can already see how it supports us; in the automatic flow, in analyzing numbers and also in data integration. The data quality is improving, and it will be even better when we have finalized phase 2.” The feedback from the business is also positive, especially on Smart View, the Excel add-in of HFM and PBCS. “Our colleagues really appreciate these tools. Smart View is clearly a strong tool,” says Jan Timo. “It is user friendly. Furthermore, both the ad hoc analyses and pre-defined reporting books are very useful.”

A structured approach

Aligning processes

The various applications were implemented at the same time. “We are a fast growing organization, which requires a very fast implementation. Different parts of the organization needed different applications to achieve the goals of the finance transformation,” continues Jan Timo. “It wasn’t a dilemma, but certainly a challenge and integration was even more important.”

An additional benefit is that the integrated approach also aligns the processes. Roy: “Every country in the organization now uses the same reporting book during the closing. At the same time they have the flexibility to analyze their numbers using Smart View. All based on the same source of data.” “Standardizing processes and systems makes life much easier for any organization,” agrees Jan Timo. “As you standardize, it is easier to analyze and integrate your information. This foundation is freeing up time and sets the basis to fulfill the business partnering role you need to play as a finance organization.”

“Because the alignment was of such importance, we structured the project in a way that requirements from one part of the application were shared with the other teams as well. Communication between the different stakeholders was essential within the project and within the business of Vivo Energy,” explains Roy. This called for a structured approach. “We always stuck to one core principle: JD Edwards is the foundation. If a change is made, it is made there first. The same goes for the actuals; they are leading. The dimensionality of both the HFM and the PBCS model are identical where possible. We need this ‘backbone’ of metadata and dimensionality to achieve the goals of the integrated landscape and to make support in the future as easy as possible,” explains Roy.

Interested in integrating the IT landscape in your organization? Get in touch with Roy Piek via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

28 / VISION

> MAUD VERMEULEN FOCUSES ON THE QUALITY OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE USER, EVEN WHEN POURING A BEER OF ONE OF HER CLIENTS.

Nick Vollebregt, Jazz Café, Laren

BUSINESS PLANNING: A MATTER

29 / VISION

How to keep the planning process on the right track? A planning process involves huge volumes of data, complex calculations and various data sources that need to be linked. Additionally, there are many people involved in the planning process. How to reach the RMEULEN TEXT: MAUD VE final goal: a clear insight in future developments?

OF

FOCUS

Implementing an efficient business planning model should start with a very simple question: Who plans what and when? This crucial question is often forgotten. The result: the new solution does not adequately support the process and the business. A valuable planning model reaches the most accurate estimation of future results and scenarios based on limited manual input. Limiting manual input can be achieved by following the next steps:

1. Focus on the most relevant elements Detailed information is necessary to provide insight into those items that have a big impact on the results. The elements that cannot be influenced or are less significant don’t need that detail and can be planned on an aggregated level. Ask budget holders for information which is in their field of expertise and under their control. At an insurance company, the controllers were asked to plan the whole P&L for each cost center, even though the budget holder could only influence 15% of the items directly.

2. Offer alternatives for exceptions Use relevant drivers that can be applied to groups of products or groups of customers. Provide the possibility to change the drivers or adjust the figures for products or customers that deviate from the benchmark.

The chosen level of detail provided all the relevant details necessary to calculate revenue, cost of goods sold and transportation costs at the required level. In addition to determining a meaningful level of detail, it is crucial to create a model that supports the user. >>Use

common terminology that is recognized by the business; >>Make clear instructions available within the planning model; >>Make sure there is a clear distinction between management accounting and legal accounting. Integrating all the details necessary for both processes generates complex models, that do not support the purpose of the models; >>Align the planning process as much as possible with the business processes.

Focus on the user experience Is a good business planning model easy? No! Unfortunately, supporting the often complex processes in a company is never simple. The trick is to move the complexity to the back-end in order to make the front-end recognizable for the end users.

3. Choose a relevant level of detail An international brewery now plans at the level of brand and packaging type (bottle, can, keg, bulk), instead of at the level of the final product. They used to plan 5,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) on customer level, per month and per brewery. This resulted in millions of data points. The simplification toward working on brand and packaging level created space to focus on the growth of the different brands.

Interested in exchanging ideas about effective planning with Maud? You can reach her via [email protected] or at + 31 65 068 3244.

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New

tax reporting apps make countryby-country reporting easy.

During tool selections, ask the

software vendor what

will be in the next release. Chances are that this element is not yet performing as well as it should.

Drop by your IT-department. Understanding each other creates better overall solutions.

flow statement says more than a P&L and Balance Sheet.

backfill for the daily activities

Choose simplicity, even in your project approach.

and take part in the project team.

. Don’t ask a software vendor during the selection if they can solve it, but how they will solve it.

Dare to restrain

yourself; avoid drowning in

The migration of historical data into a new solution takes twice as long as you might think.

Use Excel for what it is intended.

data, starving for information.

nue has ve re er gh Hi e. n li p o t e th on Focus more effect than lower costs.

The building blocks of a good

dashboard are only partially technical; it is mainly about the intelligence hidden within the data.

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choice between ‘best of breed’ and one single EPM solution.

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during the hect period.

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colleague Actively involve your line

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Where do you stand on the scale between 'one size fits all’and ‘my organization is unique’?

at another company; what are her experiences?

t in Excel; choose a smar planning solution.

Opt for a combination of

specialists. Each to his/her profession.

good picture

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Simplicity in finance is not easy.

32 / INTERVIEW

> BART HONTELÉ ENJOYS HANDING OUT MENTOS, ONE OF THE WELL-KNOWN BRANDS OF PERFETTI VAN MELLE.

33 / INTERVIEW

Perfetti Van Melle, known for Mentos, Fruittella, Chupa Chups and Smint, supplies candy and chewing gum to over 150 countries worldwide. To compare the actual results with the budgets, the multinational wanted to implement an integrated business OLAP-tool. SAP BPC supports this, bringing insights and speed.

Business insights RUIJS

at LLE G

NIE : DA TEXT

Perfetti Van Melle

34 / INTERVIEW

Moreover, we can immediately discuss the why-question; what did I want to happen, what has happened, and why has this happened? Siebe van Geel, Sales Controller Export & Travel at Perfetti Van Melle, tells us: “I realized that there should be a more practical way to set up the budget and the latest estimates than calculating these in Excel.” He is the self-declared ‘instigator’ of the project to improve the budget process. “I spontaneously jumped on board because the current BLX-planning system started to show considerable performance problems,” Christina Verdonck, Sales Controller Benelux at Perfetti Van Melle, says.

Combined action of IT and finance This resulted in a pilot for a new business planning tool, in which IT was involved from the start. “As IT we have assisted finance with decisions related to the technical choices in the project. To achieve this, we mainly focused on the back end,” tells Casper Nieuwenhuizen, Team Lead Business Intelligence & Application Development at Perfetti Van Melle. “One of the goals of the new solution is to anchor the knowledge of various people in the system.”

“During the pilot we carefully explored if SAP BPC fulfilled the requirements of Perfetti Van Melle,” tells Maud Vermeulen of Sonum International. As lead consultant she was closely involved in the design and international roll-out of the planning model. Siebe: “An important requirement was the compatibility; is it possible to upload from SAP and to integrate with BI?”

Calculations are 25 times faster; we have gone from forty-five minutes down to a couple of minutes

35 / INTERVIEW

Responsibility with the business “A second aim is to place responsibility with the business owners; the salespeople”, tells Bart Hontelé of Perfetti Van Melle. “Now, sales and marketing can see top-line where the deviations between actuals and targets occur. They can thereafter drill down to the lowest level. This provides a lot of insight. Moreover, we can immediately discuss the why-question; what did I want to happen, what has happened and why has this happened?” As the Senior Sales Controller Benelux, Bart initially implemented the project in the Benelux. After transferring to the United Kingdom he wanted to start using SAP BPC over there too. By now, he has also rolled out the new solution in the UK. The project was characterized by the large amount of input from its users. “Both the key-users and the end-users have had the opportunity to contribute ideas concerning the solution. As a result the user can obtain as much information as possible from the tool,” says Gert-Jan van den Berg, consultant at Finext.

Choices During a planning implementation, the aim is to keep the model as simple as possible. “There is always the temptation to use and exploit all of the technical possibilities of the new solution,” Maud says. “However, this is not always sensible.” “We want to keep the complexity low and the performance high,” Casper agrees. The industry in which Perfetti Van Melle operates also influences the model. “It is important for us to analyze the impact of promotional and regular volumes,” tells Christina. “Promotional campaigns must be evaluated carefully: what do we give away and what are the returns?” “These promotional campaigns influence the volumes and margins,” Bart says. Maud: “It is fantastic to see that Perfetti Van Melle does not merely look at the costs, but also at the returns. The pricing model assists in looking at both.”

Curious about the possibilities to fasten your planning process? Please contact Maud Vermeulen via [email protected] or at + 31 65 068 3244.

Sells candy and chewing gum in countries more than

150

Mentos (Gum), Fruittella,

Klene,

Look-O-Look,

Chupa Chups, Smint and

Frisk

Factories Breda, Weert, Sittard Leuven produce Mentos, Frisk in

and

Fruittella and

25 times faster The stakeholders are positive about the results of the new planning solution. “It is a multidimensional model which has the potential to create millions of records,” tells Bart. “SAP HANA has really helped to improve the performance when we ran into serious performance problems.” “We envision the use of SAP HANA throughout the organization, being one of the reasons to centrally implement SAP BPC. It required a lot of patience and understanding the bigger picture. Fortunately we are now seeing the results,” says Casper. “We are pleased to have made this choice. Calculations are 25 times faster; we went down from forty-five minutes to just a few minutes”.

36 / INTERVIEW

Tranquility during the

reporting process

37 / INTERVIEW

at

First Wind TEXT:

IJS

LE GRU

DANIEL

First Wind is a supplier of wind energy. Every quarter, the energy utility company produces 30 US GAAP standalone financial statements and reports for each of the 16 wind energy projects. The energy provider chose Vena Solutions to gain more control over the many spreadsheets.

38 / INTERVIEW

Wim Heuvelman, consultant at Finext Performance Management, in conversation with Caroline Rubin, controller at First Wind. What are her experiences with this new solution?

What were the main reasons for First Wind to implement a Performance Management solution? We wanted to gain more control and confidence in First Wind’s financial statements. Also, we wanted to reduce the stress our accountants experienced from manually reviewing spreadsheets for human errors. The accounting team was always trying to catch up and had little time to sit and actually review the information. Instead of doing 20% work and 80% review and analysis, it was always 80% work, 20% review; there just wasn’t enough time available.

Vena Solutions combines a Microsoft Excel platform with a centralized database, workflow-engine, audit, security and process management functionality, in which existing Excel sheets can be (re)used

Vena Solutions is a new player in the market. The new solution combines a Microsoft Excel platform with enterprise-grade features like a centralized database, workflow-engine, audit, security and process management. Existing Excel sheets can be (re)used. Why did you choose this solution? We wanted to lighten the workload. I knew these issues existed in the accounting department and I was wondering how to organize all the spreadsheets and how to get it to work. We wanted to adopt a solution that was easy to learn, would improve the working conditions of a strained team and, most importantly, leverage the financial and training investments already made in Excel. We also wanted a solution that was easy to use, so the accounting team could independently manage it instead of constantly turning to our small IT department for support. After a conversation with Vena Solutions it was obvious that they could provide the structure we needed. First Wind uses more than 100 spreadsheets for her financial statements. With this solution you stay very close to your familiar Excel environment. What is your opinion on this? Obviously, we thought we were going to have to make a few process changes but one of the key reasons we bought Vena was because it tightly integrates with Excel; it is intuitive, and at the same time not a complicated system. Before we missed sufficient version control, edit tracking and auditing features. And because the spreadsheets were all dependent on one another, an error in one spreadsheet could affect the outcomes elsewhere in the operation. Naturally, this meant that employees had to manually review spreadsheets one by one and fix any data discrepancies they discovered.

39 / INTERVIEW

Vena Solutions provides a centralized, secure repository of financial data, which auto-populates controlled spreadsheets with real-time figures and commentary. What are the results for First Wind? We see significant cost and time savings - the accounting team no longer has to check and recheck data accuracy and integrity. Next, we have observed reduced risks; accountants and external auditors can thoroughly test the spreadsheets and compare them on a cell-by-cell basis. Finally, we have noticed a huge boost in confidence – both within finance as well as across the company thanks to the trust in numbers and instantly available reports.

What is the impact on your finance department? After implementing Vena, financial reporting became an efficient, centralized and locked-down procedure at First Wind. Now, the accounting team can effortlessly create reports that everyone can confide in. Having Vena Solutions allowed us to free our time to improve our processes while taking away a lot of the fire drills that we constantly lived with. Things are so much better now!

We see significant cost and time savings, the accounting team no longer has to check and recheck data accuracy and integrity

Would you like to discuss the possibilities of new Performance Management solutions with Wim? Please contact Wim via [email protected] or at + 31 70 - 300 3000.

40 / VISION

MEASURING

> ALSO WHILE RENOVATING HIS FLOOR AT HOME, WIETSE MOL BENEFITS FROM THE STANDARDIZATION THAT MAKES THE WORK OF HIS CLIENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS MORE EFFICIENT.

41 / VISION

MODELS L

TEXT: WIETSE MO

Technological developments like HANA and the continuous price decreases in RAM-memory allows us to process larger amounts of data faster. This enables us to create more complex models. Information systems integrate more and more, causing an increase in complexity and mutual dependency. This progress has many advantages, but it also brings challenges. In the world of modeling, we used to be limited to the maximum size of the model. With the progress of technology, that limit has disappeared. Additions can be done on the fly, and there are unprecedented possibilities in analysis; technology is no longer pulling the brakes on the complexity of the data model.

A new limiting factor Therefore, a new limiting factor is needed, otherwise you will lose focus and users will not understand the results of the calculations. The new limiting factor is not technological, but rather human. It will be in your own mind. This takes us to a hybrid model, in which you take advantage of technology, if you choose a clear information strategy. Reporting booklets are based on data layers, in which all systems come together. Even when an element in one of the systems changes, the results in the reporting booklets still have to be correct and reliable. An apparently easy request to change the week numbers might disrupt all the connected systems.

Standardize where possible

While measuring out my floor I learned that every extra meter of floor would match exactly with the next size beam. This only works though, if you use the standard sizes at the DIY shop. This standardization also makes life easier in the world of information. However, this demands sufficient attention from the people in finance, support and IT. To make the right distinction between ‘this will fit in the standard model with a small process change’ and ‘this standardization will go at the expense of the process’, financials need sufficient knowledge of IT and the information architecture.

Consequences for support Far-reaching integration has consequences for the support of your financial applications. Every organization goes through change: changes in organization, changes in information needs and changes in technology. These have to be processed in the financial systems. We witness more and more that an adjustment in one system does not only affect the system concerned, but also impacts other applications.

Benefit from integration In order to really benefit from the integration possibilities that systems offer, you need a clear information model and be careful not to customize too much. Ensure finance is involved in the design of the information model. This allows you to use the newest technological developments to their full potential, and to obtain better management information with less effort.

Would you like to talk with Wietse about improving the performance of your systems? Contact Wietse via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3035.

42 / INTERVIEW

> RONALD RUESINK AND RONALD LAMBERTS AT ONE OF ROYAL REESINK’S AGRICULTURAL MACHINES.

43 / INTERVIEW

Uniform TEKST

: DAN IE

LLE G

RUIJS

monthly reporting

at Royal

Reesink After a big takeover, Royal Reesink grew so fast that an improved planning-, consolidation- and reporting process was needed. The implementation of a new Performance Management system offers flexibility and an integrated platform. Every month, the system automatically creates reporting booklets, giving the local end-user much in return for the effort they put into the new system.

44 / INTERVIEW

It is one platform, so planning, consolidation and creating monthly reports are not separate parts, but are completely integrated “In 2013, Royal Reesink did a big takeover that added activities in the material handling and hydraulics sectors to our group. The organization reached such a size that it was no longer possible to consolidate in Excel,” says Ronald Ruesink, Group Controller at Royal Reesink.

The dynamics within the organization also added to the wish for a flexible application. “We are not operating in a stable environment; we are still growing. Therefore, we want to be able to easily adjust functional changes ourselves, for example as a consequence of acquisitions,” explains Ronald Ruesink.

Royal Reesink consists of two segments, Reesink Equipment and Reesink Industries. Companies within Reesink Equipment distribute various premium brands and concepts for the agriculture, horticulture, landscape development, material handling, and civil engineering markets. Companies within Reesink Industries distribute steel, personal protection, and hydraulic components and systems. Both branches of Royal Reesink have multiple subsidiaries, 23 in total.

Striving for a uniformed monthly reporting process also played a role while choosing a solution. “During the selection process CDM (Collaborative Disclosure Management) of Tagetik came into the spotlight,” says Alwin Berkhout, consultant at Finext Performance Management. Alwin was closely involved in the implementation of the new Performance Management system. “Due to the many acquisitions the reporting was very unstable, which meant that the CEO and the CFO received a different format every time. We wanted to achieve uniformity in the reporting process,” explains Ronald Lamberts.

Flexibility The organization selected Tagetik as their new Performance Management system. An important consideration during the selection process, which was guided by Finext, was the flexibility of the new system. “We are used to an Excel-based environment, which gave us much flexibility,” explains Ronald Lamberts, Controller at Royal Reesink. “We were looking for a tool for our reporting and we also wanted to be able to adjust the configuration ourselves.”

Another consideration was the integration in Tagetik. “It is one platform, so planning, consolidation and creating monthly reports are not separate parts, but are completely integrated in the Tagetik solution,” continues Ronald Ruesink. “This level of integration results in one truth for the whole system.”

45 / INTERVIEW

On-time, accurate, and easy to read

Giving back to the end-user

The collaboration between Royal Reesink and Finext went well. “We made all the decisions together with Alwin; he explained the consequences of the various options. It is hard to see the pitfalls when you are not familiar with a new system,” explains Ronald Ruesink. “Designing the account structure for example. We have many different companies within the group, how do we find the common denominator?” Alwin: “During an implementation you need to make many choices in the model, like the set-up of the chart of accounts.” To facilitate this process, the FIT-template was used, a standard application developed by Finext based on best practices. By using the FIT-template, choices regarding the consolidation process could easily be made.

The interest of the end-users was an important factor during the selection process. “Think ‘what’s in it for me’ from the view of the local users,” advises Ronald Ruesink. That is why the system creates a reporting booklet every month. “To create internal support Tagetik CDM really is an asset. It is a relatively easy tool to give something back to the end-users for all the effort we ask from them to deliver the data to us.

Ronald Ruesink and Ronald Lamberts are both positive about the results of the new solution. “We wanted to report monthly on the fifth working day, and we have managed to do that,” explains Ronald Ruesink. “The full reporting cycle of budget, actual and forecast was realized according to plan,” says Ronald Lamberts. “The reporting is timely, accurately and easy to read. Also, the uniformity of the figures is assured every month. Our end goal is to tell the story behind the figures. By also using Tagetik CDM we can fully focus on the explanation and analysis of the figures,” says Ronald Ruesink.

Monthly reporting The implementation of Tagetik really smoothed the monthly process. “The end-users enter the figures, including the intercompany figures. After submitting the figures they can add textual explanations in Word,” explains Alwin. “This not only happens at the quarterly or yearly balance, but every month.” “You reflect and you look forward by using the monthly reporting,” says Ronald Ruesink. “Added to that, the document also shows your responsibilities, acting as a starting point to talk to each other.” Alwin: “All the end-users do this on their own.” The whole organization now uses the same model, enabling ad hoc analyses to perform better and faster. During this process, you can always go back to the source. “The cell drill down is often used, but there is another drill option that is less known: the column and row drill down,” says Alwin. “The column and row drill down is a valuable function that enables you to quickly and easily plot a column or row in an existing report against another dimension.”

The monthly returning reporting booklet has a consistent build-up for every part of Reesink Group. Local users could potentially add extra details themselves, for example market share or extra information about product ranges. “End users can add these explanations, plain text as well as figures, in Word in Tagetik,” explains Alwin. “This way every part of the company can give extra clarification about relevant areas. This turns the standard reporting book into a real management report.” The risk of giving people the freedom to add their own details is that too many details might be added. A pragmatic solution was found. “We consciously created a division between the management summary and the attachments,” explains Ronald Ruesink. It is not necessary to look at the attachments every month, but it is useful to find extra details about a trend in the management summary whenever needed. “Adding to that, the history is stored safely, which means details are easily traced back,” says Alwin. “Users do not have to search in old email conversations, but can easily find details in Tagetik.”

Instant insight into the figures Royal Reesink is excited about the new process. “In the beginning the end-users had to get accustomed to it, as everyone was used to their own set-up,” says Ronald Lamberts. “Now, however, the speed and convenience are visible for all of the people involved. Everyone talks about the same thing. In addition, we have instant insight into the figures, including the management explanations.”

Curious about the possibilities of Tagetik? Contact Alwin Berkhout via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000. 

don’t want to miss a thing in the cloud? Would you like to take advantage of the cloud without losing your trusted Performance Management applications? You can. Using our Cloud Enabler enables you to easily transfer SAP BPC and Oracle Hyperion to your own private cloud.

Wietse Mol “Our private-cloud provider Referit is proactive and quick to at Swap Support respond. This assists us in creating stable and fast Performance Management applications for organizations like Endemol and Boskalis.”

Would you like to know more? Please contact Jan Paul Verstraate: 078-619 0434 or [email protected]. www.referit.nl

Higher quality at lower costsService Desk in The Netherlands Integration of private and public cloud

Fast results without complicated procedures

More time to focus on your core business

new players in the field

l

don ma

vena solutions

New software vendors are challenging the field of Performance Management. What do they add? What is their vision? And what major future developments do they see? Let’s ask the CEO’s of Tidemark, OneStream and Vena Solutions.

Tidemark Christian

Gheorghe

ea

tom sh

onestream

of What does your solution add to the field Performance Management?

Christian

Gheorghe

Tidemark is a modern cloud, mobile-first analytical platform for financial and operational performance management. Our vision is to empower everyone in the organization to make better decisions, to democratize insights and to free the information in the context of what matters, when it matters and to whom it matters.

CEO Tidemark

As the inventors of both HFM and FDM in the late 1990’s, we have always been the innovators and thought leaders in the EPM space. The unique single platform OneStream XF is a result of a new level of innovation. Because all solutions leverage a single platform, new solutions can be delivered at an incredibly rapid pace.

tom sh

ea

CEO OneStream

Unlike many Performance Management solutions we don’t want to replace Excel, but embrace it. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we give organizations the tool their users already love, with the control and reliability their management needs.

don mal CEO Vena Solutions

What is the way forward for financials wh o are drowning in data and starving for in formation? No matter the department or function (finance, marketing, development), effective collaboration is a must-have for modern business solutions, and this comes down to having the right workflow capabilities. A workflow needs to be intuitive and easy to design, but at the same time backed up by strict version control, business rules, user-level permissions and a detailed audit trail. With these ingredients in place, finance professionals can free up to 50% of their time.

tom

don

We believe the way forward for any corporation that is looking for better decision making, is to take a realistic look at the time and energy that goes into maintaining their current financial planning and reporting infrastructure in relation to the value it delivers. The focus should be on delivering business value to the entire office of finance rather than managing multiple technologies.

What is the biggest, perhaps game ch anging, technical innovation ahead?

Christian

The biggest technical innovation ahead is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will have a profound impact for the EPM area and finance in particular. Finance has developed into forecasting the impossible and improbable to outpace the competition. Machine learning will greatly aid with this new era of finance, precisely because it can assist business by monitoring, learning and then surfacing, in the moment. It shows what really matters and what to do about it, forecast wise, without waiting until the month-end or year-end when it’s too late.

will EPM be like in t a h w , re tu fu e th t a If you look ? 5 to 10 years from now

tom

We believe that EPM will be dominated in 5 to10 years by solutions that live on a single platform. A similar transformation happened with the advent of smart phones. Multiple gadgets and products were replaced by a platform approach where customers could download apps for immediate use.

EPM in the next decade will undoubtedly be centered on the centralization of performance information in a single, secure cloud database. Enterprise Performance Management is quickly becoming a function of more than just financial data. Departmental KPIs, HR management, operational drivers and other non-financial metrics will play an increasingly important role in determining the true performance of an organization.

don

How does your company mai ntain speed on growth and innovation while staying reliable?

Christian

I believe it’s important to have a solid product architecture that runs in the public cloud. Companies like Netflix – a customer of ours – have shown the way in terms of reliability and extensibility when one designs from a blank sheet of paper what a native cloud infrastructure should look like. Tidemark is no different. From the beginning, we decided to build this company leveraging the cloud as a computational platform and learn from companies like Netflix and Google on how to properly scale it.

Curious about the possibilities of these new Performance Management solutions? Get in touch with Benno van Ingen via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

50 / INTERVIEW

> JOOST WIJERMARS BELIEVES IN THE STRENGTH OF AN EQUAL COOPERATION WITH THE BUSINESS PARTNERS OF TELFORT.

51 / INTERVIEW

RUIJS

LLE G

NIE : DA TEXT

Transparent collaboration at

Telfort

How to add more value to your business partners? At Telfort Zakelijk the business partners, who sell the Telfort services to business clients, are of strategic importance. A durable and equal relationship between the telecommunications organization and its business partners is formed by creating transparency. A dashboard supports this cooperation.

52 / INTERVIEW

The dashboard gives business partners insight in the current figures, and the possibility to increase the turnover during the rest of the trimester Joost Wijermars, Sales & Distribution manager at Telfort Zakelijk, tells us: “For a while I have been intrigued by the equal way Finext has arranged its own organization. If you are transparent, you get a lot in return. At Telfort I noticed that we found it cumbersome to share our reports with our business partners. At the same time, it was clear that the business partners needed this information during the trimester in order to achieve good results.” The introduction of transparency became tangible with the implementation of a dashboard containing all the relevant information. The dashboard gives business partners insight in the current figures, and the possibility to increase the turnover during the rest of the trimester. “To bring partners on an equal level, you must also give them access to equivalent information,” Wim Heuvelman of Finext says.

Change of behavior In spite of the strong reporting component, the project was not approached from the report angle, but from the perspective of behavioral change. “We started with a brainstorming session with partner managers focusing on the question: ‘what are the benefits of transparency?’ We had to let go of our old ideas concerning cooperation,” tells Joost.

“With the help of Finext, the next thing we did was develop a growth model, with which we introduced phasing to the project.” “When climbing the Mount Everest, you do not walk straight to the top,” Paul Damen of Finext explains. “At this moment we have reached base camp and so, at this point, the partners receive a weekly PDF with the dashboard. In phase 2, we can determine whether we give the partners access to the tool.”

To bring partners on an equal level, you must also give them access to equivalent information

53 / INTERVIEW

Costs and competition advantage By creating transparency, Telfort Zakelijk intended to accomplish a number of objectives. “The new, equivalent way of sharing information saves us time,” tells Joost. “In the past, each partner manager spent 4 hours a week on gathering all the information.” The implementation of the dashboard does not merely bring cost advantages; the quality of the information improves as well. “Each partner manager has his own focus; one puts more emphasis on acquisition information, the other pays more attention to the churn rate. Now, all business partners get insight in all the information, regardless of the preferences of the partner manager. In addition, sharing information transparently offers a competitive advantage compared to other providers, of which the business partners sell the business subscriptions as well. Joost: “We can now show, on a weekly basis, how the partners are doing, and what the impact is on the fees. We openly discuss what the business partner can do to earn more fees.”

The implementation of the dashboard does not merely bring cost advantages; the quality of the information improves as well

Equal relationship

Don’t let go too soon

Apart from these ‘strong’ business goals there are also more gentle targets. “It creates an equal relationship, in which you can be successful together,” tells Paul. “You work on the values within the telecom branch,” continues Wim. “Through more transparency and sharing all the information, the loyalty increases. At a certain moment, you can opt to increase the insight even further for the best partners, and give them additional tools to optimize their own business.”

When asked for advice for other organizations wanting to create more transparency, Joost mentions involvement as essential. “It took us a little longer to get the project up and running in order to make sure that people would be involved. Being transparent remains scary. There is always the fear that others immediately notice every mistake. But the fact is that this also leads to a better control of the internal processes. To allow this involvement to take shape you must show that you find this important. Make sure your best people are involved, get the new approach up to a level where people become dependent on it for their work, and only then let it go.”

Even in the new way of cooperation there will always be discussions between the business partners and the partner managers. “However, we do have these discussions earlier nowadays, not only at the end of the trimester”, tells Joost. “This leads not only to a more pleasant cooperation; it also saves the partner managers many indirect hours of discussions. This gives another cost advantage.” “We notice that by starting the conversation early, the discussion tends to be much smaller and therefore faster and easier to solve,” Wim says.

Curious about the impact of transparency on your business processes? Contact Paul Damen via [email protected] or at + 31 70 - 300 3000.

THE BUSINESS AT….

OMRON

This robot is used by Omron to train its clients in the programming of industrial software. The detection and automation technology is frequently used in environments with assembly lines such as biscuit factories. Curious about the influence of finance on product innovation at Omron? Read the interview with Miriam Kampers, Group Reporting Analyst at Omron: www.finext.nl/cases/omroncase

56 / VISION

WHAT IS THE

> STEPHAN DE WIT DOES NOT MIND GAMBLING AT THE POKER TABLE OF HIS CLIENT HOLLAND CASINO. YET, WHEN DEALING WITH CUSTOMER PROFIT MARGINS, HE RATHER PLAYS IT SAFE.

57 / VISION

VALUE OF A

TEXT: STEPHAN

DE WIT

CUSTOMER? What is the real value of a customer? And what is the value of service; does it contribute to your profits? Really knowing what your margin is, becomes more and more important with the increasing pressure of competitors. Even casinos do not gamble when it comes to calculating the profitability of their customers. Research at a well-known American casino concluded that 85% of the profits were made off just 25% of the customers. However, the most surprising result of this research was the profile of the most profitable customers. These are not the super-rich with expensive jewels and limousines. On the contrary, the most profitable customers are retired, average earning people. With much time to spare and enough savings, this group gladly plays often.

3. Analyze data of both individual clients and customer segments Analyze individual customers as well. Admittedly, this requires a lot of time and money, but this will avoid incorrect segmentation by building on unfounded assumptions. This client data could be the basis for accurate client segmentation.

4. Determine the customer value and growth potential per segment On the basis of trends in client patterns in the profit margin, clients can be ranked from highest to lowest profitable. This knowledge enables you to prioritize in determining your client segment goals. Which kind of customers do you want to pull closer to you, and which ones rather not?

5. Implement growth strategies

Are there possibilities within your organization to raise revenue or to lower costs? 5 Tips for a higher client profitability.

There are many possible directions. First of all, dare to say goodbye to your non-profitable clients. In the meantime, strengthen your relationship with your most profitable customers, by rewarding them for example. Another direction is the cost side. Can you decrease the service costs without affecting the customer’s behavior?

1. Implement a clear consistent way of measuring

What does the customer want?

Make sure all the necessary client related information is in one place and in one format. Think about items like client revenue, client details and client relations within the organization. Not only sales related, but especially service related information is important when setting this up.

After further customer analysis, the casino reached a second surprising conclusion. Loyal customers preferred to receive a free bet of $60 over a night in the hotel including two dinners and a free bet of $30. By really understanding your clients, you can offer them better service at a lower cost.

2. Use client details for the profit margin per customer Start off with the selling price (list price) of every transaction. Subtract the discounts and benefits to calculate the after sales price. Subsequently, subtract all the sales costs, transportation costs and service costs to determine the profit margin. Include all the costs you make in relation to that client, for example special transportation, particular specifications and services.

Would you like to talk to Stephan about profitability management? You can reach him via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

> IVO JANSEN OF TERBERG TOGETHER WITH ROB VISSER OF FINEXT IN THE BUSINESS OF TERBERG.

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QUESTIONS FOR IVO JANSEN OF TERBERG

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5 QUESTIONS FOR IVO JANSEN OF TERBERG

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DANIE EXT:

T

When Terberg Group, known for, amongst other companies, Terberg Leasing, was looking for a new reporting and consolidation solution, they chose a new player in the market: OneStream. That made the worldwide supplier of special vehicles and lease cars the second organization in the Benelux to implement OneStream. Rob Visser of Finext meets with Ivo Jansen of Terberg Group.

1 2

After an extensive selection process Terberg did not choose an established Performance Management solution, but rather a new player. Why did you select OneStream? At first, we did not even put OneStream on the shortlist, since it is not well known yet. However, now I can definitely recommend doing this. OneStream is an innovative solution for various reasons. First of all, the look & feel. The software is visually attractive and user-friendly. This makes it easily accessible for controllers. In addition, it is one unified system; it contains consolidation as well as planning and budgeting functionality, which means we do not have to buy other licenses in the future. Lastly, updates take our customizations into account, which will save us much time.

Terberg Group is a family business which has been in business for 145 years. How do you, as a financial, make a difference? This is done by providing management, in which the fourth generation of Terberg is represented, with the right information. The most important factor in this process is the information demand of the business. The business is leading. As a holding we act as facilitators towards our companies.

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3 4 5 >

What will be the added value of the renewed process? Speed, flexibility and a higher accuracy. We expect that the intercompany numbers can be settled faster and more efficiently. In addition, it is a simplification of the consolidation process. The current software package still has many manual consolidation steps, but with the new software we will be able to consolidate automatically. This will surely save us time. This enables us to report the key figures to the board of directors faster and to give more attention to the analysis of the information.

Currently, we are working on the implementation of the software. What is your experience so far with the software of OneStream? Actually, our first experiences have been great. The setup of the software is easy. We have already noticed that we can apply modifications quickly, for example moving entities or changing the presentation of the information. We also greatly benefit from the direct link with the ERP-system. We can obtain the figures rapidly. It is already useful during the current implementation process to see whether the correct figures are uploaded. We have already experienced the first update from 3.4 to 3.5, which happened swiftly. The update was completed within an hour.

Where do you see the financial department of Terberg Group in two years’ time? We expect to have an even more professional financial department, in which we keep improving the reporting process. While the business grows, we will move along with the information needs of the business and the board of directors. In the future, we want to maintain this high level of quality, speed and reliability of the reporting.

Terberg has been in business for 145 years. With 21 subsidiaries in 9 countries, Terberg is the leading worldwide supplier of special vehicles. From shunting tractors to cars and from modifications to new vehicles.

Curious about the possibilities of OneStream? Contact Edwin van Dalen via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

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> ENRICO DOUWENS AT RWG’S DEEP-SEA QUAYS.

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Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) handles the storage and transshipment of containers. The new, entirely automated, container terminal on Maasvlakte 2 was recently inaugurated. This changed the information need of the organization. The new planning solution rapidly provided reliable figures to both the business and the shareholders.

From the

construction budget to regular finance at

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The budget holders are pleased they can view the actuals and their budget at a detailed level. It increases insight and facilitates their tasks Enrico Douwens, Finance Director at Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) tells us: “With the inauguration of the container terminal we transitioned from a start-up into an operational organization. Previously, planning and budgeting was not very complicated; during the building phase a budget is agreed upon beforehand. We only had to monitor and control the budget, something we were able to do in Excel. This was fine for the construction budget, but not for the regular reporting needs.” RWG’s wish was a single, unified and user-friendly solution. “I wanted one data source in which you set up your budget and forecasts as well as report the actual financial results. At the same time, the budget holders can also analyze their actuals,” Enrico says.

Ownership of the figures Allowing the budget holders access to the figures had two objectives. “We want to provide the budget holders with the information they need, and stimulate them to check the figures on a regular basis instead of the traditional once a month approach.” “It is important that the budget holders take ownership of the figures,” tells Enno van Kampen, consultant at Finext Performance Management and closely involved in the implementation of the new solution.

Another objective focused on security. Enrico: “Security is vital in our organization. It is in our DNA that we want to ensure nobody behaves unsafely. This includes that nobody acts in a financially unsafe manner. After all, we are responsible for the return on investment.” Besides that, Enrico wanted to be able to model based on changing operational information. “The expected volumes are a key element in budgeting. However, the number of containers changes during the budget cycle. I want to automatically recalculate the cost when changes in the number of containers occur. This ensures that everyone has the same up-to-date insight, eliminating the need to send versions back and forth.”

We want to move towards a new way of reporting where we, at the end of each month, are able to add the actual number of containers to the model

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Sales data and revenue mix

A new way to report

Both finance and the budget holders are positive about the new process in Anaplan. “We have automated as much information as possible, and we have simplified data entry,” Enno says. Enrico: “Even though the budget holders had to get used to the fact that they themselves had to work with the figures, they are pleased they can view the actuals and their budget at a detailed level. It increases insight and facilitates their tasks.”

Enrico already envisions the future steps. “The traditional way is to compare actuals with budget, after which the differences are explained. However, if the number of containers changes significantly, the budget is no longer correct. We want to move towards a new way of reporting where we, at the end of each month, are able to add the actual number of containers to the model. The result will be a new standard, which will be used to analyze the actual data. This new way of reporting accurately indicates whether we have done a good job.”

Besides loading and unloading containers RWG also offers the storage of containers and related services. Examples are pre-scanning the containers for customs and providing electricity for cold storage containers. “We want to know the margins of all these additional services as well. This allows us to make the sales data and the revenue mix truly transparent.”

Introducing harmony An important principle during the implementation was to make the models as user-friendly as possible. This led to a deliberate decision to make the look and feel of all budget models as similar as possible. “If you have seen one, you have seen them all.” This approach helps the budget holders to efficiently determine all revenues and expenses. Another example of introducing harmony is related to staff planning. “Our staff planning is extremely simple; we ensure that all current employees are in the system, and that the number of job openings corresponds with the organogram. The only thing that remains to be done by the budget holders is to indicate when they expect the job openings will be filled, and when there are salary increases expected. Everything else is calculated in detail by the model,” Enrico explains. “For the end-user it is very simple indeed. However, there is a complex model at work in the background,” Enno explains.

Deep-sea quay of

1,150 meters and 20 meters long

deep

1 deep-sea quay crane 127 meters of

high

Barge quay of meters

550

long

and

11 meters water depth

On-dock

rail terminal 2 rail cranes with

Interested in optimizing your planning process? Get in touch with Enno van Kampen via [email protected] or at +31 70 - 300 3000.

50 automatic stacking cranes

105

automatic

truck handling positions

COLOPHON Finext, Swap Support, Sonum International, and Plainwater join forces in the field of Performance Management. Performance Management consists of a chain; each ‘linq’ contributing to the strength of this chain. Finext, Swap Support, Sonum International and Plainwater are all specialized in their own ‘linq’. At the same time, we are united by our unique way of working. This LINQ is an example of how we combine our strengths and share our passion for Performance Management. Here, you can read real stories from our clients, discover the vision of our experts, and catch a glimpse of the latest developments. Park de Werve 1 2274 ES Voorburg P.O. Box 81 2270 AB Voorburg [email protected] For additional copies and changes of address, please contact us at + 31 70 - 300 3000.

Editorial: Martijn Meuling Monica Harmsen

Concept and text: Danielle Gruijs, Springfish

Picture editor: Jacqueline Wissing, Springfish

Photography: Patrick Nagtegaal Mariske Krijgsman Kees-Jan Bakker

Illustrations: Enchilada Jacqueline Wissing, Springfish

Design: Enchilada

Print: Veenman+

This magazine is a joint publication of: www.finext.nl www.swapsupport.nl www.sonum-int.com www.plainwater.nl www.qwinc.nl

This edition’s contributors: Maud Vermeulen, Arjette Eenhuizen, Kasper van Dongen, Jethro van der Veer, Patrick van Gerven, Tiemen van der Tuijn, Olaf Looije, Wietse Mol, Stephan de Wit, Wim Heuvelman, Stijn Gabriëls, Enno van kampen, Wesley Schulte, Naida Sadžak, Julia Heinemann, Roy Piek, Rob Visser, Gert-Jan van den Berg, Paul Damen, Ravi Santokhi, Alwin Berkhout, Bart Schermers, Armijn van Dijk, Benno van Ingen, Jaap-Willem de Visser, Maaike Brouwer, Roland van den Berg, Daria di Pede, Sebastiaan Bijl, Manuela Apostol, Jeroen Zeeuw, Martin de Haan, Luc Cusiel, Farangis Darwesh and Rens Meerman. We acknowledge that not everyone is alike and we respect different opinions. This magazine offers space for these individual opinions, which do not necessarily exactly meet our joint vision.

Our partners:

ORACLE CONGRATULATES FINEXT With the first implementation in the Benelux of Oracle Hyperion Planning Budgeting and Cloud service (PBCS).

EFFECTIVE CONTROL SUPPORT, HOSTING & INSTALLATION

ADVICE & IMPLEMENTATION RELIABLE FIGURES

CLEAR INSIGHTS

STABLE SYSTEMS FAST REPORTS

INFORMATION SYNERGY & ARCHITECTURE

GLOBAL PROJECTS & ROLL-OUT FAST REPORTS

INTEGRATED VALUE CHAIN FOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT In-depth knowledge in all areas of Performance Management is crucial to enable streamlined reporting and control. We combine our knowledge and experience of information synergy and architecture, advice and implementation, hosting and installation as well as support in one integrated value chain for Performance Management for both national as well as international customers. Each of us is specialized in our own disciplines and united by our way of working. Realizing effective control, based on reliable figures, fast reports, and secure applications for any type of organization. More information on our services: www.finext.nl www.swapsupport.nl www.sonum-int.com www.plainwater.nl www.qwinc.nl