Case Study

Project Overview

A legacy process for ordering and payments was being used with global fixed line connectivity suppliers. It was derived from a process designed for one-off payments, not for a commercial relationship for assets billed regularly, and changed and upgraded over time. This process resulted in a high number of commercial disputes as the data held by the supplier and customer diverged over time and could not be reconciled at the point of payment.

The Solution

An automated, data driven solution was implemented where all fixed line assets were held in a master database, automatically updated by any orders, and invoices were verified against the asset data. This required a new way of working for both the internal ordering and the finance teams, as well as all the individual suppliers to ensure that the data integrity would be maintained, and accurate payments could be made in a timely manner.

We Delivered

• A framework for onboarding each supplier to the new ways of working and high-level plan. 
• End-to-end processes (order to payment). 
• A cross functional working group to resolve all historic data and commercial issues ahead of supplier onboarding. 
• Regular supplier engagements 
• A communications plan, key message framework and core collateral (e.g. internal user guides, external and internal videos explaining the changes and resulting benefits).  

The Difference We Made

• We joined the dots between different teams and business units to drive improved outcomes. 
• We developed engaging, targeted, clear, consistent content for communicating change. 
• We developed relationships with the top 50 suppliers to understand their individual challenges and develop joint plans with them to enable them to onboard to the new process successfully. 
• We developed user-focused training collateral that was clear, simple and targeted to particular needs. 
• We facilitated ongoing business support to both internal teams and to suppliers to resolve any teething issues. 
• Delivered €36m benefits through margin recovery and operational efficiencies exceeding the original business case. 
• More than 200 suppliers successfully onboarded to the new process. 
• 100% of internal colleagues impacted by the changes, agreed that it had improved their day-to day working experience. 
• 100% of suppliers surveyed agreed that the payment process was faster, and more accurate and reliable. 
• Financial operations awarded the programme their Award for Operational Simplification for 2023. 
• 4 external awards received for innovation.