Case Study on Deploying Xpenditure s Expense Management Solution at Miele

Transcription

1 Case Study on Deploying Xpenditure s Expense Management Solution at Miele

2 Introduction Here at Xpenditure we have customers in more than 160 countries from all around the world. The makeup of our customer base is diverse, representing people from every walk of life, and a mix of backgrounds; from freelancers, to CFO s at major multi-nationals to finance managers at small and medium businesses. Despite the broad customer base, they all share a number of traits, chief amongst them being, a burning desire to reduce the headache of expense management. Here at Xpenditure our goal is simple. We look to help our users claim back their time. Afterall, from our perspective, the expense management process no longer needs to be the time suck it always has been. In this short case study, we discuss expense management with Jean-Marie Vanderstichele, the Director of Finance & Operations - Miele Belgium & Luxembourg as we seek to share the experiences of some of our customers. Boris Bogaert CEO & Founder Xpenditure - Claim back your time

3 Expense Management at Miele Jean-Marie commenced the discussion by describing the expense management process at Miele before they engaged with Xpenditure. What he described was typical of many of the customers we encounter - a process that was no longer fit for purpose. Yet again, Microsoft Excel was being used to manage expenses despite the obvious limitations ranging from the time taken to compile them to the higher likelihood of errors occurring. As Jean-Marie described the physical process it was clear it demanded a lot of time and effort. _ Previously the expense management process was very time consuming which resulted in delayed reimbursements and a lack of insight into company expenses.the processing and reporting of the expenses could take weeks so employees had to wait a long time for their reimbursements.

4 Solving their Expense Management Problem While the expense management problem was one they were acutely aware of it was not a priority so Miele were not actively looking for a solution. However, once they spoke to Xpenditure it was clear that the proposed solution met their immediate needs: This was exactly the solution we were looking for: simple, clear and most important paperless. We then decided to give it a try. Again this view is one we encounter here at Xpenditure. Companies realise that their expense management process is consuming a lot of time and effort but a number of factors can prevent them from looking for solutions. As the market matures, however, and decision makers become more aware of the benefits of expense management solutions the decision becomes a pretty straightforward one. Xpenditure really improved our expense management process. It is a user friendly, easy and fun tool to get insight in your expenses using real-time data. Managing the Transition Jean-Marie described how at first they were slightly uncertain about the transition towards an online expense management solution. Miele have a very diverse employee base and they were naturally afraid that not everyone would immediately accept the solution. As it transpired however, this fear was completely unfounded. The integration process was flawless and employees had few if any questions about the functionality of the software. In terms of the roll out, they took a very personal approach initially informing the heads of the various departments who took it in turn to inform their reports. They gradually introduced Xpenditure and gave practical demo s so their employees were clear how to use the software.

5 Experience to Date We concluded by asking Jean-Marie what he felt were the three key benefits that had resulted since they had implemented Xpenditure s expense management solution at Miele. He cited the following as the three main ones: 1. Time saving: The time taken to manage the handling process for expense notes has been shortened. 2. Employee Empowerment: Employees are empowered and engaged to handle their expenses better and to keep up with uploading their expenses. 3. Data Insights: The ability to review expense data delivers insights to senior management. You get real-time insight into expenses and where expenses are in the flow/process. When a person goes on vacation he can give the role of approver to someone else so the flow of expense management doesn t get interrupted or stalled. Before expenses were handled with his/her return and reimbursements were often delayed as a result. Conclusion Jean-Marie concluded the interview by talking about the Return on Investment from using Xpenditure. A back of the envelope calculation revealed that between handling costs, processing costs and correcting errors that the annual costs associated with their old process were significantly greater than with Xpenditure. For the moment there is still some manual labour using Xpenditure but once we ve integrated it with our SAP system manual input is reduced to a bare minimum.

6 About Miele Miele is a German-based manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances, commercial equipment and fitted kitchens, based in Gütersloh, Germany. Miele has always been a family-owned and run company, founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann.

7 About Xpenditure Xpenditure is a leading expense management solution that helps you save time managing your expenses. With customers in over 150 countries worldwide, Xpenditure has reinvented the entire expense management process by focusing on digitizing receipts and on eliminating the need for expense reports. The easy to use solution is designed to meet the needs of everyone from entrepreneurs, SME s and corporates. Xpenditure - Claim back your time Contact Want to learn more about how Xpenditure can help you claim back your time? Amsterdam London Mechelen New York Sao Paolo