Service provider - business acquisition & integration

Background

One of Australia’s largest operator of Medical Centres and subsidiary of an ASX Listed company. The subsidiary has revenues of $150m and employs 1,300 staff.

Problem

The business had recently acquired an organisation based in Western Australia that owned and operated 40 Medical Centres across Australia with Revenues of $35m, staff of 300 and 90 Medical Practitioners. The purpose of the engagement was to lead a cross functional team to ensure a smooth transition of people, processes and systems from Western Australia to a shared service centre in Sydney. The major objectives included: employ a new finance team based in Sydney, document all existing processes, identify and implement process improvements and successfully implement a new ERP system. Other considerations included: change management and cultural issues.

Solution

We formed a cross functional project team with representation from finance, IT, HR, operations and property. We agreed on roles and responsibilities and reached a consensus on a 6 month project timetable. We identified and agreed on tasks and activities to meet the desired objectives. We appointed an implementation partner to assist with the design, build and configuration of the ERP system.

Result

The project was delivered on-time and on-budget. A new finance team was established in Sydney, induction and training was provided to all staff. All processes were documented and several improvements were also delivered around core processes. The ERP was implemented and met stated requirements. The acquired business is now fully integrated into the shared service centre. Finance headcount reduced from 6 to 2. The doctor's disbursement process reduced from 5 days to 2 days per week. The month-end timetable reduced by 20 days. The number of people involved in the payroll process has reduced from 5 to 1 person.

The most pleasing result is that the quality relevant and reliable financial information has significantly improved. The board and the ultimate parent company now receive consistent quality information that can be easily understood and that can be consolidated.