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Replacing legacy systems with integrated ERP and process automation to enhance operational efficiency and financial controls and reduce order-to-cash cycles.

Analysed architecture, identified and designed improvement solutions and provided project planning and governance to implement changes.

Sector: Media distribution (Film)

Duration: 18+ months

The client

International film distributor operating through a global network of distribution offices and

licensee partners (re-distributors).

Business challenges

The company operated across 15+ local instances of outdated green screen legacy systems that were rigid, lacked automation, and offered limited data transparency. This resulted in inconsistent processes, poor resource management, and operational inefficiencies.

 

Additionally, the absence of a centralised database or analytic dimensions hindered consolidated level reporting, which became more critical due to a substantial increase in the scale of film releases, licensee transactions, and complex cost economics.

 

The existing systems and manual processes were no longer able to handle the growing volume of transactions, resulting in inefficiencies and weakened financial controls.

Business objectives

  • Replace multiple local systems with a single integrated ERP solution, interfacing with legacy systems where needed.

  • Implement standardised financial and distribution processes across the organization.

  • Introduce Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline ticketing system.

  • Design and deploy best-practice Order-to-Cash processes, including automated invoicing and cash-matching functionality.

  • Reduce the administrative burden of managing licensee data by integrating it into the new system.

  • Enhance reporting capabilities at both consolidated and detailed levels.

Transformation challenges

  • Resistance to change: The central organization had not undergone major transformations for over 20 years, and no thorough change management assessment had been done prior to the program launch. As a result, we anticipated slow employee transition and a need for extensive change management, including coaching, training, and iterative walkthroughs.

  • Ambitious timeline: The program had a very aggressive two-year global transformation timeline, driven by anticipated regulatory changes overseas. This created a high risk of scope creep, shifting requirements, and a need for continuous adaptability in what was essentially a "super-agile" environment.

  • Data and process inconsistencies: Poorly documented operational, financial, and system processes, coupled with incoherent business practices, made business analysis and data mapping complex. This prolonged the discovery phase of the project and required in-depth analysis to establish a foundation for change.

Our role and deliverables

We provided comprehensive commercial and financial business analysis, as well as project management support, for various systems at different stages of transformation.

 

Key contributions included:

​

  • RPA and financial project scoping: Identified key business areas and workstreams that would benefit from RPA and financial system improvements. Estimated data volume to include into RPA.​

  • Operational architecture review: Evaluated the business system landscape, including data governance, business processes, customer and company structure, to identify gaps and areas for improvement.​

  • Vendor evaluation and RFP process: Reviewed vendor proposals, compared budgets, and assessed the potential benefits of various ticketing system and RPA solutions.​

  • Project planning: Developed detailed project plans and governance tools to ensure structured delivery, starting with Stage 1 of the financial transformation.​

  • Business workshops: Conducted workshops with management and to gather business requirements, select the optimal solution, and ensure buy-in.​

  • Requirements documentation: Created baseline documentation outlining minimum viable product (MVP) features for the financial system and invoicing.​

  • Stakeholder management: Acted as a liaison between business and technology teams, ensuring clear communication and accurate interpretation of requirements.​

  • Implementation leadership: Led the order-to-cash system implementation workstreams, managing tasks such as front-end configuration, data migration, pilot testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT).​

  • Process mapping and design: Developed best practice Order-to-Cash financial controls and mapped out ideal operational processes aligned with industry standards. ​

  • Documentation: For the first time, documented ticketing, distribution processes, and various financial and operational concepts.​

  • Change management support: Facilitated Q&A sessions, demos, walkthroughs, and training to guide employees through the transition, supported by SOPs and detailed system descriptions.

Key solutions designed

  • Central master data management: Created centralised master data for items, customers, suppliers, and Chart of Accounts (CoA).

  • Order-to-Cash system: Designed automated invoicing processes and data flow structures, with a focus on customer account workflows.

  • System interfaces: Developed interfaces for upstream systems and user interaction, including automated licensee data upload functionality.

  • Business process documentation: Created comprehensive forms, working templates, data models, and SOPs to standardise workflows and improve efficiency.

Results

  • Successful delivery of stage 1: The first stage of the program was completed on time, laying the groundwork for subsequent phases of transformation.

  • Operational alignment: Documenting the operational architecture aligned value driven workstreams with the company's long term transformation goals.

  • Data integration and efficiency: The new licensee data integration solution aggregated over 120 customer statements, standardising the data and improving overall reporting capabilities.

  • Automated invoicing: Automated invoicing processes reduced billing volume by 2,000 invoices per year. New group invoicing functionalities are expected to decrease invoicing volumes by an additional 9% in the following year.

  • Enhanced reporting capabilities: Centralised master data allowed for advanced reporting by customer segment, film, and studio, empowering more dynamic financial analysis and planning.

  • Process efficiency gains: Integrated workflows provided clear segregation of duties, optimised resource allocation, and reduced manual workload, allowing staff to focus on higher value tasks.

Conclusion

This project not only replaced outdated legacy systems with a modern, integrated ERP solution but also significantly improved the company's financial controls and operational efficiency. By automating critical processes and enhancing data transparency, the transformation enabled the company to handle increased transaction volumes, improve reporting capabilities, and position itself for continued global growth.

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