Client Detail:
The client is a moving equipment storage rental company operating in both the B2B and B2C spaces. It serves its customers with their flexible, rental transportation and storage needs.
The Challenge:
The client had spent several years implementing SAP throughout its organization, with mixed levels of success. Due to the client’s unique structure, “standard”/leading practice SAP structures could not be implemented or leveraged, leading to a significant loss of functionality, as well as a sizeable amount of workaround processes, custom programs, and ongoing maintenance.
A particular pain-point for the organization was the impacted effectiveness and lack of visibility into the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable organizations. The teams encountered significantly delayed processing times in the new system, and consistent breaks in the custom programs related to their efforts. This had resulted in considerable tension between the AP/AR and IT teams, with the working relationship at a virtual stand-still.
Our Solution:
MSS Business Transformation Advisory (MSSBTA) (partnering with an external SAP contractor) was tasked with helping the organization perform a root cause analysis on their issues, as well as identify a tangible path forward for the organization. MSSBTA conducted discovery sessions with each of the teams (AP, AR, and IT) to define, categorize, and prioritize the current issues faced by the organizations. Coming out of these discussions, MSSBTA identified the root cause of many of the high priority issues and worked with the business and IT organizations to define potential solutions to address the root cause.
From these potential options, the consulting team facilitated design sessions and oversaw the development and testing efforts to iteratively create, validate, and revise the solution to meet the needs of the organization. Through these efforts, the MSSBTA team aligned the organization (including company leadership) to the efforts, held all parties accountable to timelines and objectives, and ensured the development efforts were in alignment with overarching objectives.
Their Results:
Through this project we were able to construct a clear, tangible path forward for the organization to resolve most of the system processing issues, relieving a considerable amount of pressure on the organization’s processing abilities. Perhaps more importantly, the internal dynamics of the teams were able to shift from an unproductive working relationship between IT and business teams to a more sustainable, collaborative dynamic with a shared vision for the future state.
Coming out of these efforts, the client was able to significantly improve its supplier and customer management processes, as well as create improved, holistic visibility and control over the company's payments and collections.
Deliverables:
Leadership, Governance, and Accountability throughout project efforts
Facilitation of Discovery, Design, and Testing Sessions
Root Cause Analysis
Organizational Alignment
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