Optimising financial operations: A strategic sourcing journey
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key fact
The asset and investment management sector in the UK is witnessing a growing trend towards outsourcing operational aspects of finance, driven by the need for rapid efficiency gains and enhanced effectiveness in financial functions.
Our client is an established asset and investment management organisation, headquartered in the UK.
Challenge
Needing to rapidly realise efficiency and effectiveness gains in its Finance function, our client had commenced an RFP (Request for Proposal) process for the outsourcing of all operational aspects of finance – including purchase to pay, banking, finance systems, order to cash, operational control, finance reporting, and reporting related elements of business partnering. However, given the urgency with which the RFP was issued, our client now wanted to ensure it had a robust end-to-end plan and team in place to drive forward the sourcing programme into joint solutioning, final contracting, and transition, with appropriate independent expertise to ensure an optimal supplier arrangement that started on the right footing.
Solution
Despite the process already being in-flight, we were able to draw upon our deep expertise, collateral bank, and experience, to hit the ground running, quickly developing a baseline programme plan, and securing buy-in from key stakeholders across the business.
Following creation of the plan, we then led our client through the end-to-end sourcing programme, providing sleeves rolled-up guidance, support, and leadership across all major aspects of the programme.
Our role included development of an evaluation framework, facilitating evaluation and supplier downselect, running joint solutioning (including overall leadership as well as provision of subject matter expertise in workshops), preparing for and driving final contracting, navigating regulatory, compliance, and governance, and developing and managing a detailed, pragmatic transition plan.
Outcome
Over the course of fourteen months, we were able to:
- make visible and create buy-in for the activities & resources needed to successfully move to a new model.
- Facilitate a smooth joint solutioning process that drove partnership between our suppliers from the start.
- successfully conclude potentially challenging final contracting.
- enable our client to transform their operating model by safely transitioning all operational aspects of its finance function to a new partner.
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