Managing performance in 56 countries in real time

Mercur Business Control supports Hellmann Worldwide Logistics to plan and monitor performance worldwide. Almost 600 users access the system to enter budgets and forecasts, run reports, and analyze their business performance.

Automated reallocation processes are indispensable tools, and they enable the central controlling department to create an accurate picture of performance on all levels of the Group.

A long lasting partnership

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics has been a loyal and satisfied customer of Mercur Solutions for more than two decades. During this period, Hellmann has grown steadily to become a leading global supplier of logistics services. Growth inevitably means changing and increasing demands for planning, budgeting, reporting, and analysis.

Yesterday’s efficient and comprehensive solution cannot support tomorrow’s new requirement, and Mercur managed this process through constant development and technical innovation in every new generation. All the requirements for supporting more and more users, as well as larger data volumes, have been met. Today, Mercur Business Control is used by Hellmann offices worldwide and by the central departments at the group headquarters in Osnabrück, Germany.

Hellmann – early adopters of new technology

An increasing number of organizations deploy specialized applications for performance management. Nevertheless, according to industry researchers Gartner, 50% to 60% of large enterprises still use spreadsheets for planning and budgeting.

But at Hellmann, they understood the value of a standard solution for planning, budgeting, and reporting and implemented an early version of Mercur in the 1980s.

Hellmann´s current solution

Mercur is the primary tool for Hellmann’s budgeting, reporting, and analysis process. Every monthly reporting cycle is started by updating the system with actuals from various ERP systems. This is done through Mercur’s built-in data integration tools, which eliminates the need for all manual data entry.

Mercur then automatically handles the necessary currency conversions, eliminations, reallocations, and consolidations to present a complete and unified picture of the Hellmann Group’s performance. In other words, Mercur is the primary source of information regarding business performance for Hellmann’s management and financial controllers as well as for business managers based all over the world – in total, almost 500 users!

Mercur in a decentralized organization

The main challenges during the setup and implementation of Mercur came from the decentralized organizational structure. Detailed reallocations and many different responsibilities mean a significant number of consolidation hierarchies.

Mercur offered solutions for all the requirements with only a minimum of customization. The controllers at local subsidiaries can run their P&L and other reports at any time, independent of the central controlling department at the head office. Mercur also allows users to connect to the system during the budgeting cycle to input their plans. Hellmann’s budget forms contain all the reference information and calculations that the users need to complete their budgets on time and without compromising on data quality.

Central controlling can manage the process through Mercur’s Work Process Control function, which gives an overview of how the work is moving forward.

Important benefits

Hellmann benefits from Mercur for its performance management processes in many ways but most important are:

Less time spent on planning cycles
Fast and flexible delivery of reports
Improved analysis and decisions based on numbers that everyone trusts
Elimination of manual work through integration with general ledger & other systems
Enhanced cooperation with, and ownership by, business managers throughout the world
Removal of administrative bottlenecks when the organization grows
The increased strategic value of the financial control function

A corporate culture for continuous development

Mercur’s continuous development is driven to a large extent by our customers’ ideas and requirements. As one of Mercur’s largest and most demanding clients, Hellmann plays a crucial role in this process.

A Solution Review Team consisting of representatives from Hellmann’s controlling department and Mercur’s consulting and development departments meet at least once a year to exchange ideas and discuss improvements and new functionality for the future.

This symbiotic relationship fits well with the spirit of both companies.

The Mercur solution

Applications: Mercur Business Control
Number of users: more than 600
Processes covered: Annual Budgeting and monthly, Reporting and Analysis
Highlights: Despite the scope of the application, Mercur is managed day-to- day entirely by the financial control department. No consultancy is needed. The controllers can create and modify the reports they want after a short training course.

About the company: Hellmann was founded in 1871 by Carl Heinrich Hellmann. For almost 150 years, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics has been offering individual solutions for all kinds of transportation. From a medium-sized service provider with few branches in Germany, the family-owned company has developed into a global player with annual group sales of around EUR 2.42 billion. Today, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is represented in 56 countries with 263 branches. Through the network, the company has access to 437 offices in 162 countries. The company attaches particular importance to long-term relationships with customers, partners and employees and thus gives logistics a face - personal, close and reliable. This resonates well with how Mercur defines a successful customer partnership – long lasting and based on mutual trust.

Turnover: 2,42 billion Euro
Number of employees: 10 743
Business activity: Hellmann is a full-service logistics provider whose core competencies include the product areas Air, Sea, Road & Rail and Contract Logistics. The extensive portfolio also includes industry and IT solutions as well as offers in the areas of recycling, training and insurance.