United Laboratories chose VISEO for its financial planning transformation with Anaplan
United Laboratories (UNILAB) is a major player in the pharmaceutical industry, known for its innovative approach to healthcare solutions across Asia. As the company grew, so did the complexity of its financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes. In response, UNILAB sought to enhance its financial planning systems to improve efficiency, transparency, and collaboration within its finance team and across departments. The company partnered with VISEO/Scanomi to implement Anaplan, a cloud-based FP&A solution that transformed their financial processes.
The challenge
Before implementing Anaplan, UNILAB faced multiple challenges with its existing financial planning tool, SAP. Despite the system’s capabilities, many tasks were still carried out manually, with extensive reliance on Excel for planning and reporting. This manual process hindered collaboration between finance, sales, and marketing, leading to inefficiencies and a lack of real-time insights.
With an increasingly complex business environment, UNILAB recognized the need for a more agile, collaborative, and intuitive solution. The company required a system that could not only streamline financial planning but also accommodate the diverse needs of various stakeholders across the organization.
The solution
To address these challenges, UNILAB partnered with VISEO. During the proof of concept (POC) phase, VISEO impressed UNILAB’s finance team by demonstrating both technical prowess and deep business knowledge.
“We were very pleased when they presented the POC for us. We actually invited our finance colleagues during their POC, and they were excited and confident that Scanomi would deliver the FP&A for us.” says Aldrich P. Sabay, Senior Financial Planning Manager for UNILAB Finance in charge of the Financial Planning and Systems Group
VISEO’s approach went beyond just implementation, focusing on understanding UNILAB’s specific needs and tailoring Anaplan to meet those requirements. Their commitment to delivering value and business insights, not just technical solutions, solidified the partnership.
“It’s not only about their knowledge in Anaplan that made us decide to choose VISEO. It was really more of the value they actually put in, apart from the implementation itself. Their knowledge about business, their ability to extend beyond what was needed, and ensuring we were on the right track made the difference,” said Ramel T. Sam, Assistant Vice President for Corporate Financial Planning and Systems.
Achievements unveiled
The implementation of Anaplan revolutionized the way UNILAB managed its financial planning. Within just two weeks, the sales planning process was completed, allowing for immediate collaboration between the finance team and sales and marketing departments. The ease of use and configurability of Anaplan empowered teams to take ownership of the process, making planning more inclusive and collaborative across the organization.
“We were able to capitalize on our investment with Anaplan quickly. In a matter of two weeks, we completed our sales planning process and collaborated with sales and marketing. They were very excited to use Anaplan,” shared Aldrich P. Sabay.
The shift from SAP BPC to Anaplan also allowed UNILAB to automate previously manual processes, reducing the time and effort needed for planning. The new system introduced innovations in how the company approached planning, focusing on process improvements and ensuring that the requirements of all teams were incorporated into the solution.
“In Anaplan, we incorporated a lot of manual processes, unlike BPC where most of the work was done in Excel. We changed the way we plan things, focusing on process improvements and collaboration. Anaplan made it very easy to configure the system according to our needs,” added Ramel T. Sam.
The outcome
The partnership between UNILAB and VISEO/Scanomi, along with the implementation of Anaplan, delivered significant improvements in UNILAB’s financial planning process. Teams across finance, sales, and marketing now work more collaboratively and efficiently, with real-time insights at their fingertips. The agility and ease of use provided by Anaplan allowed UNILAB to move from a manual, Excel-based system to an automated, innovative planning process that improved overall business performance.
By incorporating VISEO/Scanomi’s deep business understanding with Anaplan’s technical capabilities, UNILAB achieved a solution that not only addressed their immediate FP&A challenges but also positioned them for long-term success in an increasingly dynamic market.
In the words of Aldrich P. Sabay: “Anaplan gave us a new system, a new process, and a new way of planning.”
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