LafargeHolcim is a global construction sector leader in building materials and solutions. With about 75,000 employees in around 80 countries, they operate four businesses segments: Cement, Aggregates, Ready-Mix Concrete and Solutions & Products.
The Challenge
When LafargeHolcim, Malaysia approached us, their existing solution was based upon highly complex Excel spreadsheets with data that could not be relied upon. Each invoice line had approximately 14 different rebate types with ever-changing rates.
The spreadsheets were being used to maintain and track rebates due, meaning users had to maintain thousands of rates. Their existing system relied heavily on manual processing; rates changed regularly due to market conditions which meant price changes had to be maintained by hand throughout the entire system. This was hugely time consuming and prone to errors. Given that rebates could not be recalculated when things changed, the business could not understand the impact.
There was no best practice and rebates could not be tracked effectively. The system did not support the desired business process.
Additionally, there was no auditing of changes, no workflows or approvals and a lack of reporting capabilities. There was no integration with other systems, meaning hundreds of payments were being processed manually every month.
The Solution
The e-bate calculation engine, together with a bespoke front end, was introduced to replace the existing solution and implemented throughout Malaysia within 9 months.
The Results
e-bate provided control, auditability and transparency of the whole rebate process. It automated a manual process that allowed the customer to set up, approve, negotiate and store complex rebate agreements which were frequently changing. e-bate improved the internal and external audit controls, as well as reducing the number of man hours required to administer rebates and significantly reduced a high number of queries.
