Background

Saab Aeronautics in Linköping needed to replace an aging supply chain contracts management system and had decided to develop its new application on an existing in-house solution. The steering committee had chosen their direction and was about to procure the new application when a telephone call from Mercur changed their direction. The result of that telephone call resulted in Mercur being selected to deliver the solution to replace the old contracts system. 

The reason a new system was needed was that the existing system was aging but critical to the Gripen project. The system was a 35-year one-user system without the possibility of development and modernization. Whilst Gripen was looking for a new contracts support system, a need was emerging for a Business Intelligence System to address the analytical and reporting needs of the business area's finance department.

Saab Aeronautics had two needs; firstly to be able to manage the individual contract/business for progress reporting to their customers and to strengthen internal business controls at Saab, secondly, Saab needed to be able to compile and analyze business plans, budgets, and forecasts for all contracts in the business area.

Mercur met the needs of both business imperative. Following the selection of Mercur, a working group was created consisting of one project manager and two sub-project managers with responsibility for each stream being, Ulrika Klaar, Business Management Gripen, and Cecilia Wilhelmsson, Controller in the business area finance department at Saab Aeronautics.

Manual, time-consuming process in Excel

Aeronautics, which is a distinct business area within Saab, also needed information on the status of the Gripen contracts, but from a different perspective. Saab's contracts are extensive both in terms of operations and elapsed time, they can be identified as "companies within the company". The profit per contract is analyzed down to gross profit, cash flow management and cashflow forecast is analysed and certain balance sheet items surfaced and reviewed.

Before Mercur, this introduced a time consuming, laborious, manual process with Excel as solution support these exercises. To build, maintain and analyzethe budget and forecast for all contracts, there were about 70 files with 15 tabs in each linked to a compilation. There was an unacceptable amount of time to manage these excel files and the risk of incorrect information being delivered to the executive and business managers.

The analysis of the detailed information collected was also time consuming. Therefore, a support system was needed to collect data for business plans, budgets and forecasts and to be able to analyze outcomes in relation to budget and forecasts.

Wins with Mercur

The biggest gains Saab has experienced with Mercur is the achievement of more efficient and stronger quality-assured processes as well as a much more robust analysis of their budgets, plans and forecasts.

Less utilization of Excel and standardized input forms have accelerated the finance processes and reduced cycles by several weeks. The information within the Mercur system is "owned" by the person entering it and everyone has access to the information. This is far from the previous situation when data was manually moved from Excel to the single-user system and where only one person could generate reports.

The possibilities for analysis have become better and faster. Summing can be done at different levels, the information can be ‘sliced and diced’ in different ways and there is drill-down functionality. The benefits are felt both in the finance department and for controllers in the business.

Mercurs solution

System: Mercur Business Control
Processes: Contract management Budgeting Forecasting Analysis Business planning
The introduction of Mercur: Project commencement in January 2013 and the system went live/production August 2013.