Automatic Consolidation of Budget Templates Reduces Budgeting Cycle by Days
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Microsoft Excel
- Dynamics AX
- Vena
Tech Stack
- Central Data Repository
- Workflow Engine
- Audit Trail
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Customer Satisfaction
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
One of the leading wholesale distributors of beverages in North America was manually creating, distributing, and collecting Excel templates for budgeting purposes. The Finance team was creating dozens of templates, emailing them to hundreds of users, and then manually inputting received data into reports. This process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors, leading to inefficiencies and potential inaccuracies in the budgeting process. The company needed a more streamlined and secure method to handle its budgeting tasks, ensuring data accuracy and reducing the time spent on manual processes.
The Challenge
The Finance team was creating and emailing Excel templates to hundreds of users and manually inserting received data and actuals into reports. This daily exchange of dozens of emails led to issues with version control and introduced the possibility that important data would be lost. The Finance team had to manually consolidate hundreds of spreadsheets over a span of several weeks, prolonging the budgeting process and leaving little time for more value-added work, such as discussion and analysis. The use of uncontrolled spreadsheets meant that contributors, approvers, and reviewers could make unauthorized changes to data or formulas.
The Solution
Vena’s central data repository seamlessly syncs with Dynamics AX and stores all up-to-date budget data. Dynamic Excel templates are automatically updated when changes are made to the data contained in the company’s source system. Actuals are automatically rolled into each template, reducing the need for manual updates. A powerful workflow engine enables managers to assign tasks and deadlines to particular users and filter through each budget template to gain insight into each user’s progress and the status of the project as a whole. Additionally, a detailed audit trail automatically records and stores information about user activity in an easy-to-read log, ensuring transparency and accountability. Business rules prevent users from entering data into a template that exceeds or falls below an established threshold, maintaining data integrity.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Case Study missing?
Start adding your own!
Register with your work email and create a new case study profile for your business.
