Big steps towards a digital working day

Automation and digitisation are on the agenda in almost all 2022’s finance functions – this is not news. Who wants to do typing work when they can be business partners? But what forms a solid foundation for such a project? What constitutes the greatest value creation, and how do you go about the task if you have to start from scratch? We had a talk with Allan Stich, CFO in Hedin Automotive Belgium, on exactly that.

There is a buzzing energy in the office when we meet Allan Stich for a few hours before working day turns into weekend. We are going to talk about Hedin Automotive’s automation and digitisation project. A project which has helped Hedin Automotive Belgium from 0 to 100 in a sprint away from heavy-trotting typing work towards a more digital working day.

There’s been no time to waste. There still isn’t, and this is obvious in our conversation, where Allan gets straight to the point.

The Hedin Group went into Belgium as part of an international expansion that began in 2017. And in April 2018, Hedin Automotive Belgium took over three dealerships with a total of seven facilities with both sales and workshops.

“We took over the three companies and the associated facilities completely systemless as they were bought out of the Daimler­Benz group and therefore had used Daimler’s system and shared service centre setup.”

“This meant that there was neither IT infrastructure, computers nor historical knowledge of data, systems etc. which the employees could make use of.”

“When I arrived in Belgium in August 2018, I therefore landed in a considerable level of lacking structure. New systems had been implemented, but data had not been migrated which meant that I was standing with my feet in a billion-dollar company which process-wise could be compared to a start-up,” says Allan and smiles.

“At the same time, that same autumn, we took over four additional companies with five facilities from which Mercedes­Benz passenger cars were traded. A deal that was closed on 1 September 2018. So things went fast. Contrary to the previous takeover, several different systems were included as well as one-two bookkeepers associated with each facility. That way, we had chaos and order on opposite sides of the scale in the organisation.”

“A fact that did not make it easy when the different cultures had to be merged at group level, and the different technical environments and ERP systems had to be combined. Not to mention all the different contracts, remuneration and commission agreements and holidays and rules as well as the big task of retaining key employees and avoiding too much variation in labour law conditions. So, in short, that was the starting point from which we as a company had to move on,” Allan rounds off.

• In 2020, Hedin Mobility Group could mark 35 years in the motor industry. Hedin Mobility Group is a family-owned company that primarily deals with sales and maintenance of vehicles and is owned by Anders Hedin.
• The company has 6,300 employees in 8 countries, represents 42 brands and had a turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2021.
• Allan Stich has been CFO in Hedin Automotive Belgium since the beginning of 2018 and has previously been with ISS, Daimler-Benz and Deloitte.

It was obvious to Allan that the processes had to be coordinated and harmonised. He had the ambition to identify the most well-functioning processes and roll them out across all sales and workshop facilities instead of re-designing the various business processes. And this is where the cloud platform Nintex Promapp®️ came into the picture.

Because Promapp has made it possible for the employees to always document the processes they are involved in while always having the latest version of the processes in hand and, at the same time, all information about the organisation’s processes gathered in one place.

“We started in our car logistics and in our aftersales department where we designed processes in the cloud platform for all the different dealership facilities. And it was a bit messy, but it provided visibility. Visibility in relation to the importance of documenting how you work by means of instructions, guides and examples. We wanted to give a lot of users insight into the company’s processes, but also the opportunity to adapt those processes along the way, which Promapp enabled us to do,” elaborates Allan.

“The value of the process documentation has been great. In the sense that it has been a source of learning and training across the organisation and a solid starting point for the automation and digitisation of processes which we have been and are still working on. Two thirds of our processes are now documented, and Promapp’s user-friendliness means that the employees themselves can find help for self-help. They have insight into what is going on in the organisation and, even better: It enables them to see how the sub-processes are connected and affect the rest of the value-chain,” Allan says and continues.

“So I would say that Promapp has been and is a simple cloud platform that has helped our change well along.”

If you are one of the digital natives who do not remember the time before the internet, you will probably cringe at the thought that Belgium is characterised by physical paper, also when it comes to the buying and selling of cars. In connection with the purchase of a car, no less than 25 physical documents are involved in the delivery process. This also meant that in Hedin Automotive Belgium virtually all purchase invoices were on paper, and not even the large suppliers of for example spare parts sent digital files. Which left the warehouse function and the finance department with a lot of physical documents and associated typing work.

“After all, employees who enjoy typing are a rarity today, and manual typing work significantly affects efficiency and quality. So we were determined to find a solution to have a more automated and digitised workflow. Therefore, we first worked to get the suppliers to send their invoices as pdf files rather than on paper. After that, we had a number of robots built that could extract data from the pdf files and thus built an automated process for storing data in our ERP systems,” Allan describes and elaborates.

“Although scanned pdf files are old-fashioned, it is something which all suppliers can deliver – unlike digital files – almost immediately. This meant that we could begin our automation and digitisation journey directly without being dependent on the suppliers’ IT function or other external partners.”

“Next, we chose to enter into a managed automation agreement which means that we are not responsible for developing and maintaining our automation initiatives ourselves. The advantage of this is that we are not vulnerable if, for example, a robot should fail. Because there is a team of skilled people who monitor our automations, ensure that everything runs smoothly and help with any troubleshooting. Everything is handled for us. And right now, we have 13 robot automations running.”

The digitisation of Hedin Automotive Belgium is at full speed, and, even though there is still work ahead, Allan has already gained a lot of experience. Therefore, we asked which three elements, in his opinion, are most important to keep in mind before a digitisation and automation project.

“First and foremost: I would not recommend doing it yourself when it comes to automating – unless you have a large internal IT function. Regardless of whether we are talking automations in connection with digitising manual tasks, workflows, control and approval processes or reporting, I will repeat my previous point. Namely, that automations can make you vulnerable if you are not large enough to have the right skills inhouse.”

“And even then, you do not completely escape a certain vulnerability, because you are never protected against your automation specialist finding new pastures. My recommendation would therefore be that you find a partner you trust, and who has the muscles to both develop and operate your automations,” Allan emphasises.

“Secondly, I would recommend simply getting started – ‘proto typing on the go’. The cost of throwing in a few smaller automation robots is not nearly as high as if you were to do a comprehensive analysis. Try it out, and put it into production – this is the fastest way to get it pressure tested. And if you have a competent partner, you are also assured that you will get a sensible technology without having to spend oceans of time selecting software.”

Allan’s last piece of advice concerns the process documentation.

“When you have to work on digitising and improving processes, start in a place where people think in terms of processes, and where there are large amounts of data – e.g. in HR or the finance function or perhaps in procurement.”

“As CFO, you must do a lot of legwork to create interest in and focus on the processes in the business – and you must encourage a culture where the employees work process-oriented. In that connection, it is important to include the core employees who have the interest, skills and insight into the daily processes and their interconnection. It is important that the process documentation and the subsequent digitisation becomes a business project rather than just a finance project,” states Allan and continues.

“The finance people in the organisation can be facilitators because they are skilled at thinking in terms of processes, but the value is created by different people branching into the outer corners of the business getting to speak and becoming involved. Only in this way, you can draw the complete picture.”

If you have changes on the agenda – such as implementing a new ERP system or initiating a digitisation project – it is vital to get an overview of your processes, and how you change them.

But this does not mean that your processes ’just’ have to be known. It means that your employees must be involved, that documentation, from the main process down to work instructions, must be easily accessible, and, not least, that the processes must be revised and adapted to the business.

An integrated ’process management’ application such as Nintex Promapp®️ can help you with just that.

With Nintex Promapp®️ you can …

• Go from complex process descriptions and procedures to simple and easily accessible ‘process maps’
• Add short video guides that increase the employee’s understanding and promote agility when updating
• Increase collaboration across the company, spread knowledge about processes and create a basis for process improvements
• Ensure that knowledge about process changes is automatically gathered and shared with relevant employees
• Receive timely feedback from the entire organisation
• Identify potential opportunities for automation
• Think outside the silo and thus consider your processes in a holistic perspective.

With the above seven advantages of using a process management application, it is natural to ask: Did it give you the courage to try your hand at ’process management’?

Click here to get a sneak peek at the application’s user interface and functionality.

Allan’s position on digitisation is that everything that can be digitised should be digitised. And the next thing he would like to focus on is the car logistics – a process that consists of order receipt, delivery and payment. And a process that is inherently more difficult to digitise because it goes beyond the finance function and includes interaction with customers.

“The process from a customer placing an order for a car until it is delivered and payment received must run smoothly. Here, the greatest challenge is to ensure the good customer journey – including good communication – and that the paperwork is always in order. It is a process very close to the core performance of our business, and, therefore, it also has some other consequences for the customer experience and our reputation if something goes wrong in an automation.”

“The process also has another complexity as it includes the customer and several channels which the customers communicate on, expect answers from and – not least – a high level of service. So it will be an exciting challenge."

"The massive focus on automation and digitisation in Hedin Automotive Belgium has undoubtedly created the greatest value by contributing to better quality of the data registrations which is reflected all over the organisation. The employees have more time to focus on intellectual tasks, and there is more time for validation and control. And this has resulted in the work being carried out in a consistent way. Knowledge flows easier because the processes and documentation are readable to others which also contributes to the challenges and problems coming to light, and that tasks that have not been carried out correctly or completely cannot be swept under the carpet.”

There is no doubt that digitisation and growth in Hedin Automotive Belgium have been on the fast track. Big – and quick – steps have been taken towards a digital working day with an extensive digitisation project. A project Allan would not necessarily call ’real’ digitisation himself.

Because “we are not paperless yet after all,” he says with a twinkle in his eye and emphasises that he still has ambitions to automate a lot.

Since Hedin Automotive Belgium sold its first car in 2018, an automation of everything, hell for handbrakes and rear-view mirror, has begun in order to keep up with the workload that has arisen in the wake of the many acquisitions. At the end of 2023, Allan predicts a turnover of DKK 5 billion after another deal in mid-September 2022. However, the difference from 2018 to today is unmistakable.

Because today, the new businesses are simply placed on top of the existing structure without the need for more hands to handle the many extra deals and invoices.

The automations – they run steadily on wheels.