Transforming financial processes and strengthening partnerships

In 2019, we began working with Siemens when Prestige Travel went into administration.

Siemens needed a Manchester-based organisation with local expertise to ensure continuity, and with our headquarters in Manchester, we quickly stepped in, retaining the same team that had been managing Siemens' bookings.

Over the next two years, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Siemens went through significant changes, restructuring 20 different entities to include ARE numbers to address inefficiencies in their financial processes. The lack of consistent management across these processes led to multiple errors and resulted in £2 million in aged debt.

Objectives:

Our main objective was to tackle and reduce the substantial£2 million aged debt that had accumulated due to inconsistent accounts payable processes on both sides. Beyond just addressing the debt, we aimed to over haul and streamline financial processes to ensure long-term efficiency and prevent future issues. Strengthening our relationship with Siemens by delivering value through innovative and collaborative solutions was also a key goal.

Solutions:

To address these challenges, we focused on efficient engagement and communication. We appointed a new Account Manager and established a dedicated project group comprising 13 key stakeholders from Siemens and our teams. This group included specialists in credit control and venue-find, who concentrated on identifying the root causes of the debt and implementing sustainable solutions.

We conducted a GAP analysis to understand existing issues and introduced a financial specialist to serve as a liaison between Siemens’ finance teams and bookers. This role was crucial in gathering evidence of aged debt and resolving discrepancies across Siemens' nine different finance teams.

We set up weekly stakeholder calls to ensure strong engagement and accountability. We also introduced a spreadsheet capturing all 12 Siemens entities, allowing for quick and accurate cross-referencing of data to ensure profiles and ARE numbers were correctly aligned with the right entities.

Additionally, we identified further opportunities for improvement, such as introducing an American Express virtual account for Siemens. This led to a pilot project aimed at reducing touchpoints and enhancing financial control.

Results:

Our efforts resulted in a significant £1.8 million reduction in aged debt, a 90% decrease from the original amount. Not only did we achieve this substantial financial outcome, but we also established a robust process for ongoing debt management and process improvement.

This project has become a case study within Clarity, serving as a model for future customer engagements and across Siemens' other categories. The strong collaboration and innovative solutions have led to increased booker satisfaction scores and a fortified partnership between us and Siemens.

The impact extended beyond financials, fostering a close-knit team that continues to engage regularly, even socially, showcasing the deep relationships we built during this transformative journey.

This great work also lead to Siemens shortlisting us for 'Co-Creator of the Year' category at the Siemens’ SCM UK Supplier Awards, where we took home 'Highly Commended' in a competitive category.

A TMC is more than just a booking tool and travel agent. Speak to the team to hear how we can support with an end-to-end service.