Redesigning data and analytics on AWS

This company made billions of dollars each year selling its products through business-to-business (B2B) and DTC channels. Around 85% of its business came from B2B sales – until the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Retail stores were forced to close, and sporting events were canceled, causing supply chain disruption. Without distributors buying its products, the company experienced a 38% decline in B2B sales, and unsold inventory piled up.

To adapt, the company turned its attention to a new DTC model focused on online sales. However, with high DTC operating costs, the entire financial ecosystem needed to be closely monitored.

Sadly, the company’s fragmented legacy systems – holding over 20 years of historical data – were a burden. And outdated applications were not designed to meet the business’s modern and evolving data and analytics needs. There were also over 800 definitions for finance terms held in its systems but no clarity or support from the wider business.

While the company had started a multiyear global ERP migration to SAP S/4HANA, it needed a more immediate solution for financial insights.

A cloud environment designed to deliver comprehensive financial data and analytics was the answer. As a premier Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner with deep expertise in financial process modernization, Genpact was ready to help.

First, we needed to unite the company’s financial data. We created a finance data lake in AWS S3, using AWS tools to process and analyze vast amounts of data. This meant we could extract raw data from multiple legacy ERP systems and apply data quality and governance rules to cleanse it. We also introduced the Snowflake data cloud platform to weave data together, making it ready for use.

Our team used this data foundation to set up report templates, dashboards, and other data visualization tools. This meant finance employees could easily access prebuilt, standardized reports for specific use cases. We then set up self-service capabilities and predictive analytics so employees could make informed strategic decisions.

We also identified a need to transform enterprise performance management during the project. So, we created a revenue forecast analysis tool that analyzes actuals, receivables data, and sales trends. It gave finance employees additional financial reporting data to support smarter planning decisions.

Finally, we worked closely with the business and data governance teams to define and publish a business glossary for finance and data lineage. This was designed to increase transparency into the data life cycle and build end-user trust in company data.

Today, the company has complete visibility of its financial data and on-demand analytics to support its new DTC business model.

Over 200 accounts receivable employees closely monitor $3.5 billion in trade receivables, instantly generating actionable insights. Plus, the finance team can more accurately measure profit and loss, cash flow, and revenue performance.

Regarding operational expenses, employees now have the visibility to control costs and manage spending targets. Our predictive analytics and scenario modeling provide the insight they need to make informed decisions as business needs evolve.

Here are some other highlights of our solution:

• On-demand visibility of spending across its $45 billion business
• About $450 million in cash flow benefits
• A five-day reduction in days sales outstanding

With this solid data and analytics foundation – built on AWS – the company continues to grow its DTC channel.