Affecto customer reference

Putting the
Best Foot Forward
Assisted by Affecto, shoe giant ECCO optimises planning and
consolidation efficiency with comprehensive SAP BPC solution

To a growing number of companies,

a SAP BusinessObjects Planning and
Consolidation (BPC) solution is the
ideal way to streamline financial processes, reduce cycle times and boost
efficiency. However, successful implementation is crucial when it comes
to making the most of a BPC solution.
Teaming up with the right implementation partner can help you maximise the
return on your investment.
One of Denmarks most successful
global brands, ECCO is a major shoe
manufacturer with sales in 90 markets across the globe. The company
was upgrading its SAP Apparel and
Footwear Solution (AFS) a business
solution developed specially by SAP
for the shoes and clothing industry. As
part of the upgrade, ECCO wanted to
implement a BPC solution in order to
standardise planning and consolidation processes and integrate them
fully with its SAP business suite. In the
absence of BPC, the company relied
heavily on manual processes carried
out by key members of staff. And with
no single point of access to planning
and consolidation, transparency and
traceability were reduced. Says Jrn K
Olesen, Head of Business Controlling,
ECCO: In brief, we needed clarity,
transparency and accuracy, which only
a unifying business planning and consolidation solution could give us.

When SAP launched SAP BPC, Jrn

K Olesen and his colleagues knew that
they had found the ideal solution. By
using the SAP BPC 7.0 version for the
SAP NetWeaver technology platform,
ECCO would ultimately be able to
integrate its BPC solution fully with its
SAP business suite, thus optimising
efficiency. However, implementation
proved to be a challenge. ECCO struggled to find technical consultants with
the in-depth understanding required
to implement the SAP BPC solution
successfully. As a result, implementation was slow, and timely completion
eventually thrown into doubt. It was

Affectos consultants helped

structure the implementation of our
SAP BusinessObjects Planning and
Consolidation solution in such a way
that we maximised our benefits, while
minimising the risk. As a result, we
were able to make the most of our
investment.
Morten U F Christensen
Business Controller, ECCO

Founded in 1963 by Karl Toosbuy, ECCO is the only major shoe manufacturer to own and manage the
entire value chain from cow to consumer. The Danish company is a global leader in city, casual and
sport shoes for men, women and children, selling over 17.5 million pairs in 2008. ECCO employs
nearly 15,000 people, and ECCO shoes are sold in 90 countries all over the world. Following the rules
of good craftsmanship to deliver genuine freedom of movement and comfort to consumers, ECCOs
aim has never been to be the biggest, but always to be the best.
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Affecto customer reference

at this point that we were introduced

to Affecto, who said that they would be
able help us. Naturally, we leapt at the
chance, says Jrn K Olesen.
Affecto consultants draw up
roadmap for success
Having carried out a thorough onsite
assessment, Affectos consultants
advised ECCO to change tactics and opt
for a staged implementation instead
of attempting to implement the whole
solution at once. In this way, ECCO
would reduce its risk by ensuring the
successful completion of each stage,
before moving on to the next. Affectos
consultants then successfully completed implementation of the first stage
covering ECCOs wholesale operations,
capacity costs and overall balance
and profit statements. Says Morten U
F Christensen, Business Controller,
ECCO: Our budgeting and planning
process is paramount to our business,
so we need absolutely certainty that
it works. Affectos consultants helped
structure the implementation of our
SAP BusinessObjects Planning and
Consolidation solution in such a way
that we maximised our benefits, while
minimising the risk of errors. As a
result, we were able to make the most
of our investment.
Unique Affecto methodology
ensures efficient
implementation
Affectos consultants used Affecto
Solution Framework (ASF) to help
ensure a successful completion. ASF is
a unique methodology which lets consultants draw on Affectos experience
from implementing more than 250 successful Business Intelligence projects
across the Nordic region. It provides
consultants with useful guidelines,
templates and best practice as well as
real-life sample documents from past
Affecto projects. For ECCO, this meant
that Affectos consultants were able to
complete the SAP BPC solution more
quickly. It also helped minimise the
risk of delays due to technical issues.

Combining SAP competence

with in-depth business
understanding
Finding consultants with the right
mix of technical skills and in-depth
understanding of business processes
proved vital to ECCO. Jrn K Olesen is
in no doubt that Affecto was crucial to
securing the success of the project.
Says Olesen: Only Affecto offered the
understanding of both general financial
processes and SAP BusinessObjects
Planning and Consolidation that we
needed in order to implement our new
budgeting solution successfully. Simply
put, without Affecto it would not have
happened.
ECCO is currently testing its SAP
BPC solution, running it in tandem with
its existing solution. Complete migration to BPC is scheduled for the near
future, to tie in with the companys
budget cycle. Following this process,
Affectos consultants will be extending SAP BPC to cover all areas of the
ECCO business, including tanneries,
footwear production and all-important
retail.
Transparency and traceability
are maximised
ECCO expects to reap considerable benefits from the new solution.
Now, ECCO will have a user-friendly,
standard planning and consolidation
tool with maximised traceability and
transparency. This will reduce ECCOs
risk, as the company will no longer be
dependent on key members of financial

Only Affecto offered the understanding of both general financial processes and SAP BusinessObjects Planning
and Consolidation that we needed in
order to implement our new budgeting solution successfully. Simply put,
without Affecto it would not have
happened.
Jrn K Olesen
Head of Business Controlling, ECCO

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Affecto customer reference

staff to complete processes. Morten U

F Christensen explains: In the past,
our systems were so complicated that
very few members of staff were able to
work with them. This made us vulnerable in case of staff illness or other
unscheduled absence. Also, it made
it difficult for our staff to collaborate
efficiently. Now, collaboration is easy,
and we can be certain that all of our
processes are completed on time.
Financial decision making is
faster and more efficient
SAP BPC gives ECCO a single repository for all planning and consolidation
data, as opposed to previously when
the company had to work from multiple
data sources. With a single, reliable
version of the truth, fully SAP integrated, the company can improve and
speed up financial decision making.
Also, because automation is increased
and fewer manual processes are required, ECCO can expect faster cycletimes for planning and consolidation.
For example, staff will no longer have
to perform the time-consuming task of
collecting, correcting and distributing
budget data via email and Excel sheets.
And staff can update budget models
easily, whenever ECCOs business
needs change.

SOLUTION
SAP BusinessObjects Planning
and Consolidation (BPC)
NetWeaver 7.0

Consolidation cycle-time
reduced from two weeks
to two days
Consolidation in particular is expected
to be faster than in the past when
ECCOs financial staff relied on Excel
to complete processes. In due course,
when the SAP BPC solution is fully
implemented, the company expects its
consolidation cycle-time to be reduced
from two weeks to approximately two
days. This means that ECCOs financial
staff will be able to spend more time on
strategic tasks such as data analysis.
Jrn K Olesen sums up the many benefits: Overall, thanks to our SAP BPC
solution, implemented by Affecto, we
expect our planning and consolidation
processes to be a lot more efficient
than in the past. This will benefit ECCO
and support the business as it faces
the market challenges of the future.

BENEFITS
Consolidation cycle-time cut from two
weeks to approximately two days
Transparency and traceability
maximised
Financial decision making faster and
more efficient
Successful implementation ensured
with Affecto methodology

With more than 1,000 highly skilled employees, Affecto is Scandinavias leading competence centre
for consulting, planning and implementation of IT systems to support management, decision making,
integration and processes. Working closely with our strategic partners, we provide leading, innovative
solutions in the fields of Business Intelligence (BI), Financial Intelligence, Business Analytics, Perfor
mance Management, Risk Management, Balanced Scorecoard, Data Warehousing, Data Integration,
Data Migration and Data Quality. Within each of these solutions, we aim to provide a market-leading
competence when it comes to consulting, support, training and service management. All of our
solutions are based on best-of-breed technologies, such as Informatica, SAP BusinessObjects,
Oracle, Microsoft and Corporater.

Affecto Denmark
Lyngbyvej 28, 2100 Kbenhavn
Voldbjergvej 16B, 8240 Risskov
Tel.: +45 39 25 00 00
Fax: +45 39 25 00 01
info.dk@affecto.com
www.affecto.dk
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