Performance management for everyone

Bonnierförlagen uses Mercur for budgeting, rolling forecasts, ongoing business analysis and profitability analysis of individual titles (ISBN numbers). Analysis can be made down to transaction level and scanned invoices can be viewed when needed.

Background

The Bonnier Publishing Company is an example of how a vision of a system solution for business management can be constantly renewed and developed in line with new requirements and desires as well as affect new user groups and functions in the company.

When the company initially evaluated various alternatives during the years 2000-2001, the focus was on solving immediate problems with the budget process and ongoing consolidation. Both elements were considered time-consuming and manual, which led to error sources and poor decision-making bases.

A new operating system with modules for order-warehousing invoicing, customer and supplier accounting and finances had been put into operation, but tools for efficient business management were still lacking.

Knowledge of expected sales revenue, royalties and printing costs based on experience values from previous issues is today a central part of the publisher's decision.

Bengt Linnaeus, Controller, Bonnierförlaget

The solution for new requirements and wishes

After a careful analysis of many business management systems, the choice became the Business Control system from Mercur. Bengt Linnaeus, the Controller, who is currently in charge of the system at Bonnier Publishers, believes that the promise of an extremely quick implementation (which was later fulfilled) was crucial, but that today it places a higher value on the system's properties.

The flexibility of Mercur Business Control has meant that it has been possible to develop the system in line with changed processes and new requirements for financial management. On an overall level, the previously detailed budgeting and forecasting have been replaced by control against target figures and by rolling forecasts. Bengt Linnaeus is particularly pleased with the flexible column templates that can be changed for rolling 12-month forecasts or the tertiary financial statements.

Mercur Business Control is not only used by the central controlling function but also by about 10 publishers and 10 book clubs, with different requirements for variants of control models based on their own needs and maturity. They appreciate that Mercur Business Control allows the various companies to develop their processes individually and at their own pace.

Business-related planning

All publishers and book clubs have their income statement, while the profit effects of balance sheet items such as inventories and accounts receivable are allocated with distribution keys. For publishers and book clubs, however, the operational planning and analysis with Business Control have brought more benefits than purely accounting, which has meant that the system has become daily support, for example, editors and publishers.

These new stakeholders today use Business Control to do both pre-calculations and post-calculations on individual titles, so-called. ISBN number. At the same time, Bengt Linnaeus points out that the pre-and post-calculations are also used by the marketing department and company management.

Analysis down to scanned invoice

Common to all users of Business Control is access to up-to-date information at the right level for different types of decisions. The system is updated every evening with new information down to individual transactions and the user can, with any report, choose depth analysis (drill-down) to the relevant level or directly to the lowest transaction level.

Mercur Business Control - a system in continuous development

Bonnier Publishers recently upgraded their system to the latest version of Business Control. This has mainly meant improvements to monitor details, which is also facilitated by improved search and sorting functions.

Bengt Linnaeus also thinks that it has become much easier to maintain reports and that the user interface is more modern. In addition, consolidation has become even simpler by now being done automatically as soon as the database is updated with new information.

Bonnier Publisher's also benefit from the new Web Deploy access method, which allows users to start their Business Control session from an icon on Bonnier Publishers intranet. Web Deploy takes care of both the initial client installation and ongoing version upgrades for the users.

With over 100 users in Business Control, this means a huge work saving for the IT department.

The next step at Bonnier Publishers

In the future, Bonnier publishers see the continued development of Business Control for operational monitoring. Among other things, the book clubs want to be able to analyze operational key figures from their order and distribution system.

Purchasing behaviors of customers will be analyzed to optimize future book club offerings. Bengt Linnaeus sees many opportunities in what can be achieved with Mercur Business Control, sometimes with the support of Mercur's experienced consultants.

The system, originally purchased for a fairly standard budget and forecasting process, today facilitates the work of multi-employee categories at Bonnier Publishers and continues to develop into an increasingly integrated part of daily business management.

Mercurs solution

System: Mercur Business Control 7
Users: Ca 150
Processes: Budgeting, Rolling Forecasting, Goal Management, Reporting and Analysis

Other: Bonnier publishers also use Mercur to make pre- and post-calculations for their editions. In addition, analysis can be done down to transaction level and scanned invoice. Web Deploy access and client management, which automates upgrades.

About the company: The Bonnier publishers include all the Bonnier Group's Swedish book publishers and book clubs. Together with the Group's international publishing, the Bonnier publishers are part of the business area Bonnier Books Sweden, which is part of the Bonnier AB group.

Revenue: 106 MEUR
Employees: ca 329