August 2023
Confronting the ever-evolving challenges of financial management is like being Tony Stark – always racing against time, battling unpredictability, and needing to innovate constantly. The demands of the modern business world are as complex and dynamic as the toughest adversary in the Avengers' universe, presenting a puzzle that even a master of adaptability like Loki might find daunting.
One such organization requiring this level of advanced capabilities was our customer, OSI Group, a global leader in providing quality protein and food items to top foodservice and retail brands. Their quest for a solution brought them to us, beginning an exciting journey into the future of financial management.
OSI's Challenge: A Maze of Systems
In its expansive business network - think Stark Industries meets the United Nations - spanning across 75 facilities in 17 countries - OSI Group was juggling over 15 different ERP systems worldwide. From multiple versions of SAP, Microsoft AX, to Navision, it was like trying to play 15 different pieces of sheet music at once.
OSI relied on Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) for financial consolidation and reporting, which was becoming more of an annoyance than an asset. The result? A laborious, time-consuming, Excel-like whack-a-mole game that lacked the capacity to delve as deep as Sherlock Holmes into the granular data needed for accurate reporting.
The old saying, "time is money," turned into a harsh reality for OSI, and it was clear - it was time for a Hulk-sized transformation.
The Journey Begins with Nova: Introducing OneStream
Nova and its team of financial virtuosos geared up to assist OSI on their transformative journey. We introduced them to OneStream, the Iron Man armor of financial reporting and consolidation. This cloud-based solution was the answer to OSI's complex riddles, harmonizing all processes into one coherent symphony, eliminating middlemen, and providing the extensibility factor OSI sought.
Embracing the Digital Transformation
OSI’s shift to OneStream felt like when Thor discovered his powers weren’t in his hammer but were actually within him. It opened up a treasure trove of possibilities for OSI.
The change couldn't have been timed better - with the pandemic playing the role of the universe-altering snap from Thanos, making remote work the new norm, the cloud-based OneStream enabled uninterrupted access to the system, even in the most stringent lockdown conditions. OSI began seeing improvements almost instantaneously.
Financial reporting for OSI's Japanese joint-venture for example was cut down from three days to just half a day. A more detailed view of data meant better internal data cleaning, more consistent reporting, and a clear trail from individual business activities right through to the final figures in the financial statements.
OSI's New Reality: The Language of Business
OSI’s newfound ability to add more visibility into their individual units reporting, allowed for cleaner and more consistent reporting in the long run. OSI's Director of Corporate Accounting shared, "Now being cloud-based, our teams use the same data to talk the same results with management and executives — we’re all talking the same numbers, which is great."
OneStream is akin to a universal translator on the Starship Enterprise. Despite each division running its business independently, OneStream provides a platform where all data can be seamlessly brought together at the top level, echoing the larger vision of the organization.
Nova's Perspective
Much like Nick Fury masterfully manages complex missions in the Marvel universe, applying strategic foresight and anticipating problems, our work with OSI felt akin to embarking on an exciting quest, ripe with challenges and thrilling solutions. We reveled in the opportunity to engineer a singular, streamlined financial system out of a patchwork of disparate units.
With OneStream's extensibility, we could empower OSI to speak the same business language across their various units while maintaining a consolidated view. That's the true power of a CPM software like OneStream - it's about bridging gaps, breaking down silos, and creating a harmonious, efficient, and productive business environment.
Extensibility is to an accountant what multiverse theory is to a quantum physicist. It's not pure balance-sheet-ology, it's a joyous exploration of infinite possibilities and exciting new dimensions in integrated business planning.
Cue The Avengers' Theme: OSI's Triumphant Transformation
Much like Tony Stark's journey from a tech mogul to saving the world, OSI’s journey from inefficiency and frustration to a streamlined, user-friendly system wasn't without its share of adversities. But with Nova's expertise at the helm and OneStream's capabilities, OSI navigated and triumphed over the challenges of digital transformation.
Today, OSI stands as a testament to the power of investing in the right technology, embracing change, and stepping bravely into the future of financial management. At Nova, we are humbled and proud to have been part of OSI's journey and look forward to guiding other businesses on their path to financial transformation.
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