How Large Services Organizations Traverse To the Latest Tech Landscape: Proven Case Studies of Data-driven Organizations

According to a report by Aberdeen, the ‘top’ management pressure that stands out for professional services organizations is ‘increased competition’ at 36%. Competition can be in the form of price pressure and technology innovation, which further emphasizes the need for professional services organizations to equip their employees with modern tools to succeed.

Every large services organization eventually recognizes the need for fundamental change and an expedited business strategy. A number of factors can influence an organization’s choice to take action, including a sudden decline in project profitability, alluring new business opportunities in far-off markets, investing in advanced technologies for their global staff, or the growing danger of new competitors. Whatever the reason, a professional services organization, starting a change, may become paralyzed by the sheer scale of the undertaking.

However, keep in mind that only those professional services organizations which adapt to digital transformation now, will succeed in the future. Here are some of the use cases that will help you understand how Replicon has helped them in resolving projects, billing, pay and compliance issues globally.

Part 1 of this blog series discusses how Replicon helped services organizations drive project profitability. In this part, we discuss a few more use cases from various industries to understand why there is a need to invest in a unified platform  and embrace innovative technologies.

Case Study : How a Big 4 Consulting Firm Achieved a Single Source of Truth With AI-powered TimeBill

Challenge: A big 4 consulting firm operating in 145 countries with more than 200K employees was struggling with multiple project timesheet formats and templates across the globe. They had a complication of limited functionality and innovation in their time-tracking system. Moreover, the UI of their non-compliant time-tracking system was not user-friendly, and lacked flexibility. 

They wanted to reduce repetitive and manual tasks for employees that impacted employee productivity. In addition, they desired to integrate time tracking with CRM, HR, project management, accounting, ERP, and other proprietary systems to eliminate manual processes, stop revenue leakage and reduce overall operation costs. They needed a flexible approach to support multiple use cases and meet unique requirements for time capture.

Solution: The global consulting firm chose Replicon as their partner for intelligent and accurate time tracking to address their requirements for local customization and compliance. They discovered that Replicon’s scalable time-tracking platform could help them in achieving their objectives.

Result: Achieved Efficiency and Accuracy With AI-powered Time Intelligence Platform

Replicon’s AI-powered time-tracking platform solution helped improve operational efficiency with integration, collaboration, workflows, automation, and less manual effort. 

• The automation and repopulation of timesheets further enhanced user experience and supported business growth. 
• There was also a considerable increase in employee engagement. The consulting firm was able to drastically reduce revenue leakage, and increase project margins and billable utilization rates. 
• They acquired a worldwide perspective of employee data and immediate access to critical project information, worker time, compliance, and resources. 
• Data consistency was achieved by implementing an integrated platform across various systems that complied with regional business needs for payroll, leave, and compliance. 
• With the use of mobile time capture, staff members were able to submit timesheets while on the road, increasing employee engagement and productivity. 
• The integrated platform provided quick delivery and smooth integrations across the entire organization, including plug-and-play integrations to numerous SAP systems and Workday. As a result, the large consulting firm was also able to optimize its business processes, reduce inefficiencies, and eliminate labor-intensive manual tasks.
• The global consulting firm also reduced audit costs by providing evidence of continuous compliance. Additionally, they acquired all-time data transparency, which made compliance and governance issues easier to manage. Every entry and update is now automatically documented and validated through approval workflows and validation criteria. 

Case Study: How a Large Services Organization Accomplished Data Harmonization With Transparency in Local Optimization and Global Governance

Challenge:  A large services organization wanted to streamline business processes and reduce specificities to local compliance, local bargains, business-critical and engagement type requirements. They were looking for one global solution for time entry with end-to-end integration to enhance user experience. Further, they wanted to simplify time entries and ensure they were consistent with improved upfront validation to optimize their business processes and minimize inefficiencies.

Solution: Replicon provided a single source of truth for time data. The large services organization was able to spend more time focused on their client engagements owing to the transition to a more automated, intelligent time-tracking process. By decoupling time tracking from their ERP systems, they were also able to save operational costs.

Result: Increased Business Value With Streamlined Business Processes and Reduced Inefficiencies

Replicon’s time capture implementation was a part of the larger cloud transformation journey to achieve a single source of truth for time. They could see accurate, real-time data for projects, time, compliance, and resources, which accelerated operational excellence and profitability throughout the organization. 

• Automated pay calculations and the built-in compliance rules engine ensured compliance with multiple global collective bargaining agreements. 
• Plug-and-play integrations with multiple SAP environments and Workday offered speed of delivery and seamless integrations within the entire ecosystem. 
• The new connected landscape enabled them to optimize their business processes and minimize inefficiencies.
• The organization’s path to a greater ROI became simpler and more manageable with transparency and governance in place. 
• They were empowered to monitor measurements and assess precise data related to- their digital transformation initiative. With the help of these insights, the large services organization quickly and effectively optimized its strategies and procedures. 

Case Study: How Unified Time Tracking Led to Digital Transformation

Challenge: Acquisitions take place for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the reason for such a move, many financial, HR, and IT-related pieces must be in place to ensure a smooth transition for all entities. If you’ve ever been part of an acquisition, then you are well aware of the complexities involved and the potential disruption to productivity. Integration with payroll and benefits administration is especially key in minimizing disruption within organizations. One of our customers, while undergoing an acquisition, relied on us for easier integration, simpler collaboration and faster completion.

Because of disparate and old legacy systems being used across different companies, employees were spending countless hours managing and resolving data. They were unable to communicate or access the pertinent information; as a result, further creating siloed databases. The use of multiple systems resulted in overlapping functionalities and cost increases. 

Solution: In today’s data-driven world, absorbing or merging another company can be stressful work. Fortunately, our cloud-based technology made integrating the infrastructures of two or more businesses easier than ever. A single system with a modern user interface became a significant distinction, when employees were utilizing two to three different systems to record their work time. Employees were able to record their time without any difficulty, thanks to the preconfigured templates and automatic approval protocols, which made it easier for them to concentrate on billable duties.

Result: Improved Employee Experience With Built-in Compliance Rules

Replicon’s Replicon’s AI-powered time-tracking platform made it easier for the organization to tighten resource allocation and increase resource utilization through more accurate time tracking. 

• They were able to reduce the burden of the systems by having a single source of truth for time for the entire organization, which automatically reduced the cost. 

• Through continuous upgrades, a unified and scalable time-tracking platform with built-in compliance helped our customer to reduce compliance risks and audit costs. 

• They now have access to:
  • A global library for payroll compliance across countries and jurisdictions
  • Ongoing legislative updates for new regulations around the world
  • Comprehensive reporting to manage and maintain time, cost, and pay records for possible audits

Technology Enabler: Cloud Adoption Is the Game Changer

Nowadays, professional services organizations face several project management pressures, such as increased competition, ever-changing customer expectations, the need to use project resources more effectively, increased variability of costs throughout the life of a project and volatile business conditions. 

Aberdeen also states that “the best-in-class” perform significantly better than competitors in key business areas. Further, a modern and unified time-tracking platform is one of the technology differentiators that professional services organizations need to follow to reach the best-in-class level. 

Using cloud-based ERP solutions provides business leaders control over their projects, leading to increased project profitability, reduced risks, global compliance, and real-time project visibility to make agile business decisions and maintain a competitive edge.