Through the use of Qlik and Board, we were able to quickly implement the transformation process into a new organisation and to independently manage it based on key figures within a very short time.
Oliver Fausten, CFP, PLIXXENT GmbH
Through the use of Qlik and Board, we were able to quickly implement the transformation process into a new organisation and to independently manage it based on key figures within a very short time.
Oliver Fausten, CFP, PLIXXENT GmbH
Case Study
Successful carve-out with Qlik and Board
Challenge carve-out
The carve-out, i.e. the sale of individual parts or assets from a company or a group of companies, is considered one of the most challenging M&A transactions. The operational carve-out involves demanding organizational requirements, primarily the operational business takeover and simultaneous establishment of the new organization, as well as the decoupling of existing IT systems.
The private equity firm H.I.G. Capital also faced these challenges: it had to carve out four European system houses from their former parent company Covestro and consolidate them under a new holding, the present-day specialized polyurethane systems (PU) company group PLIXXENT based in Hamburg. In addition, a separate shared service centre should be established. Since the investor pursued a buy-and-build strategy, it was essential to ensure that future acquisitions of companies or business units could be seamlessly integrated into the infrastructure and the shared service center.
Business Intelligence ensures transparency
As part of the carve-out, a business intelligence solution was to be introduced that would provide all the necessary data, analyses and reports as a central data hub. On the one hand, we worked under Transitional Service Agreements, meaning there was a subsidiary agreement with the former parent company for the provision of IT and other services, which, however, had a very limited duration.
duration and is also cost-intensive. We had to ensure that we become independent from the parent company as quickly as possible and also gain access to relevant metrics for managing the new company,” explained Oliver Fausten, CFO of the PLIXXENT corporate group
At a glance
Customer
PLIXXENT GmbH & Co. KG
Branch
Chemistry
Region
Oldenburg, Germany
Function
Finances
Business value driver
Redesigned processes
Challenges
- Generation of control-relevant key figures for a newly formed organization
- Providing in-depth financial information
- Intra-year budgeting
Solution
- Implementation of Qlik as BI solution and Board as a planning tool
- Provision of the tools for 50 employees at all six locations of the company
Outcomes
- Enabling the departments to independently retrieve required data and analysis
- Availability of control-relevant key figures
- Uncomplicated budgeting during the year
- Reporting obligations towards investors and banks can be easily fulfilled
The success
Key figure-based corporate management
The success
Short TSA phase
“On the other hand, the management and also the financial investor needed in-depth financial information,
which was not available at the time.”
In particular, profitability considerations were needed at different levels such as product, industry and customer. It was important to Oliver Fausten and his team to use BI software that could be implemented quickly, was scalable and had a high performance. In addition, the solution should have comprehensive self-service capabilities, allowing employees in the individual production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, and later the acquisitions in the UK and Italy to independently retrieve and analyze the data they require.
For the selection of suitable software and the implementation of the BI project, Oliver Fausten brought in the transformation specialist and Qlik Elite Solution Provider, H&Z.digital. He stated, ‘We needed a partner who not only has expertise in technology but, more importantly, brings knowledge and experience in M&A and Private Equity. Given that H&Z.digital’s roots are in the ‘Big Four’ of internationally renowned consulting firms, I was confident that this expertise would be available. At the same time, due to the company’s size, H&Z.digital is able to act very flexibly.”
The CFO’s trust in H&Z.digital paid off: Already in the two-day kick-off workshop, the decision was made to use Qlik as the business intelligence platform. The flexible connectivity of source systems, the self-service approach and the high level of user-friendliness, which also allows the solution to be operated and expanded internally, were convincing. Around 50 employees at all six locations work with the solution. Data access is regulated by an authorization concept.
Integrated, flexible planning
New requirements already crystallized during the workshop: “The financial investor expected a rolling forecast,” Oliver Fausten explains. “In addition, because of the buy-and-build strategy,
we saw the need to become more agile in corporate management and thus more flexible in planning. Accordingly, we also needed the ability to produce budgets and forecasts during the year.”
For this tool, ease of use was important to PLIXXENT, as the employees of the acquired business unit had little experience in budgeting and planning.
PLIXXENT decided to use the Board platform. “In addition to the high user-friendliness, another factor in favor of the solution was the ability to implement approval processes that should be used in the future for more complex planning requirements.
Budgeting is done in a multi-stage process. “The sales targets are set by the Chief Sales Officer. These are then broken down to the countries. On this basis, the Chief Operating Officer determines the targets for the individual locations and passes them on to the responsible employees,” Oliver Fausten explains. The plan data is entered via the board interface. Relevant prior-year and prior-quarter figures are transferred directly from SAP S/4HANA to Board via Xtract Universal.
Through integrated planning, the group of companies has won on several levels. This applies to the purchase of raw materials as well as to resource planning for production.
Budgeting during the year, which is now possible, plays a central role: as a company acquired via a leveraged buyout, PLIXXENT must fulfill special reporting obligations to the investor as well as to the banks. With the solution, the group of companies was able, for example, to calculate key figures for equity, debt, earnings or liquidity, so-called financial covenants, for future quarters and to make them available to the various stakeholders.
“A carve-out is a very complex process in which continuous monitoring of key figures plays an
essential role. Qlik provided us with the right tool to generate and visualize these key figures quickly and easily. At the same time, we were able to meet our reporting obligations to investors and banks in a uncomplicated way.”
Roll-out in other departments
For the future, the provision of business intelligence applications for other departments is planned.
“Through the transparency gained in metrics and the ability for rolling planning using Qlik and Board, we were able to keep the Transitional Service Agreements phase very short and swiftly transition to the driver’s seat, steering PLIXXENT into the future in a data-driven manner.”
Oliver Fausten, CFO, PLIXXENT GmbH
“Through the transparency gained in metrics and the ability for rolling planning using Qlik and Board, we were able to keep the Transitional Service Agreements phase very short and swiftly transition to the driver’s seat, steering PLIXXENT into the future in a data-driven manner.”
Oliver Fausten, CFO, PLIXXENT GmbH
About H&Z.digital
H&Z.digital GmbH is a specialized consultancy and solution provider for digital transformation in the BI environment. With technical and professional expertise as well as many years of experience, H&Z.digital supports its customers in making the modern working world easier, more flexible and more transparent. The experts at H&Z.digital achieve this by providing holistic support to their clients as sparring partners from concept to implementation.
About Qlik
Qlik® has a vision: a data literate world where everyone can use data and analytics to make decisions
and solve complex problems. The Qlik Active Intelligence platform provides cloud-based, real-time end-to-end data integration and analysis. This closes the gaps between data, evidence and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, companies are able to make informed decisions, increase revenue and profitability, and improve customer relationships. Qlik operates in over 100 countries for more than 50,000 customers worldwide.
More information at qlik.com
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