Publicly Traded Nutrition Company Transforms Operations & Boosts Efficiency with Global Shared Services Implementation

Before DLC:

• Lack of process efficiency & standardization 
• Fragmented accounting processes stemming from disconnected
  shared service environment

After DLC:

• Continuous, timely processes for month-end closing
  and reporting 
• Successful transition to shared services environment

Overview 

The client – a publicly traded, global nutrition company with $5B in revenues – initiated a transformation program to optimize their global processes for future growth, which included realigning the infrastructure and the locations of certain functions to better support their distributors and customers. The client engaged DLC to support the North American Region’s Order-to-Cash (OTC) transition to the Mexico-based shared service center.

Business Challenge 

Due to the sensitive nature of job transformations and their ability to impact office morale, the client was running into issues stemming from attrition, employee resistance and uncertainty ahead of the transition. As a result, the client was unable to replace certain roles to support their staffing needs.  

In addition, as the program affected key accounting processes, including Order-To-Cash (OTC), Procure-To-Pay (PTP), and Record-to-Report (RTR), transactional activities needed to be transferred to the client’s global shared service centers to realize immediate savings in labor costs and establish longer-term efficiencies. 

Approach 

DLC consultants immersed themselves in the company’s existing processes, culture and transition methodology, working closely with the client to identify 140 subprocesses that needed to be documented and transitioned.  

While working within the methodology of the client, DLC consultants augmented the transition process with additional tools to ensure consistent quality and accountability to deliverables and timelines by creating:

• A Subprocess Matrix identifying all tasks to be documented and transitioned. 
• A Tracking List to ensure efforts progress on schedule. 
• An Issue Log to document and prioritize issues, ensuring prompt escalation and resolution of high priority issues.

To empower the shared services team and transfer full ownership of the new process, DLC acclimatized the shared services management counterpart on issue resolution, prompt communications, and established regular meetings to keep leadership informed on progress.

Results 

DLC’s resources provided mid-level management backfill to support existing accounting responsibilities and managed the entire scope of the transformation project to ensure a smooth transition.

After engaging with DLC’s interim roles, the client was able to establish continuous and timely month-end closings and reporting and transition their shared services environment efficiently and on time. 

After the transition was completed, the DLC team continued to support the client by establishing a governance process for KPI reviews, issue management and communication, the introduction of new KPIs, and the transition of new processes.