Finext supports Eneco with SAP BPC implementation project

Financial consulting firm Finext has supported Dutch energy company Eneco with the implementation of SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC).

According to a press release from Eneco, the company – which provides energy to some 2 million business and residential customers – now enjoys a “faster and more flexible system” for financial reporting and consolidation. 

The implementation of SAP BPC is part of a broader IT transformation at Eneco which kicked off a few years ago. The Rotterdam-headquartered company adopted SAP HANA as its core system, and migrated its entire SAP landscape to the cloud. “This not only resulted in a reduction in costs, but also increased flexibility. In the cloud, we can scale the capacity we use up and down in sync with our demands,” explained Sander van Steenis, Business Technology Manager at Eneco. 

In its finance architecture, Eneco decided to migrate from its Microsoft system (which almost reached ‘end-of-support’) to BPC on SAP NetWeaver running on SAP’s HANA database. Now fully operational, the new setup has resulted in several benefits, said Nicolette van Leeuwen, Manager Financial Services at Eneco.Flexibility in a rapidly changing marketplace is one example. Van Leeuwen: “We can now consolidate independently of time. This ensures that after a change in the organisation, you can quickly get your consolidation up and running again. That is a lot of flexibility that is needed in a market in transition.” 

Increased performance is another benefit highlighted by Van Leeuwen. “Approximately 110 employees work in BPC in order to ultimately have that one end product ready on time: the annual accounts. Without BPC, there would be no annual accounts. Then it’s important that they get the help of a fast system. Performance is crucial.” 

The project was supported by consultants from Finext, a Dutch consulting firm specialised in finance. Despite the tight deadlines, the joint Eneco - Finext team managed to get the new system up and running within budget and planning, well in advance of the half-yearly closing in June this year.

According to Jaap-Willem de Visser, project manager at SAP partner Finext, this was enabled by a close cooperation between the two teams. “We really teamed up. We sat together several days a week in a separate room, without distractions from daily operations. This ensures the right focus. Any issues were dealt with immediately.”