Achieving Enterprise-Wide Transformation

A Success Story in the Manufacturing Industry

When the world’s largest independent supplier of automotive interior systems needed greater visibility and efficiency of its operations, Perot Systems delivered—guiding an enterprise-wide transformation that reduced operational and transactional costs, increased productivity and efficiency, and strengthened compliance with regulatory standards.

The challenge

With 180 plants in 23 countries, Perot Systems’ customer develops and manufactures seating systems, instrument panels, cockpits, door systems, overhead systems, energy- management systems, and electronics for automotive manufacturers worldwide.

At the time of engagement, the customer had 126 finance and purchasing system databases in its plants, with no real-time visibility of global purchasing and financial information, and high finance and purchasing transactional and operational costs. A combination of centralized and decentralized organizations plus a lack of standardization in business processes resulted in an inconsistent organizational operating model. In addition, the company required better internal controls to meet Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.

The solution

Collaborating with the customer,  Perot Systems developed Project Genesis, a 25- month-long transformation of the organization, processes, and systems that support the customer’s finance and purchasing functions. The project involves outsourcing the company’s F&A transaction processing in Europe, supporting its expansion of North American shared services, and implementing global financial and purchasing processes. SAP solutions included in the transformation include Record-to-Report, Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, Acquire-to-Retire, Project Accounting, Strategic Sourcing, and Business Warehouse.

The results

Through the ongoing business transformation, Perot Systems is helping:

• Boost operational efficiency and productivity through business process standardization
• Slash transaction-processing costs through business process outsourcing
• Reduce material costs through access to consolidated purchasing information
• Improve business intelligence and management decision support