LONDON, UK — 6 September, 2010 — Hitachi Consulting UK today announced that it has implemented a Cost Operations Shared Service Centre model on behalf of Swiss Re designed to provide consolidated expense processing and reporting for the company’s US and UK entities. Known internally as BOOST (BIS & Oracle Operations Standardisation), the project was based on Oracle ERP Financials, and designed to control overheads, increase efficiency and simplify data reporting associated with intercompany recharge process. The new system replaces multiple policies and procedures and simplifies complex processes that required streamlining, involved numerous resources and lacked cost transparency.
Founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1863, Swiss Re operates in more than 20 countries and provides its expertise and services to clients throughout the world. As a leading and highly diversified global reinsurer, Swiss Re offers financial services products that enable risk taking essential to enterprise and progress. The Swiss Re group’s position as a preferred supplier in the risk transfer industry is based on value propositions that comprise risk expertise, global reach, scale, diversification, very strong capitalisation and resilience over the long term.
“Hitachi Consulting created a Cost Operations Shared Service Centre model by creating two new operating units for our US and UK entities,” said Thomas Wright, IT Director of L&H Finance Processes for Swiss Re. “As both the US and the UK entities were moving towards a new standard Chart of Accounts, we needed a Set of Books for each. Hitachi Consulting created the Technical Delivery Plan, application set-up, technical specifications and components, as well as the strategic project plan to ensure a smooth delivery of our new consolidated operations. Before this project, we’d have many expenses from different sources and entities, and our accounts would have to know the cost centre structures, codes and expenses in order to effectively process them. Hitachi Consulting enabled us to view a single standardised set of accounts. This has not only streamlined our internal efficiencies and processes, but also significantly improved our management reporting and insight, giving us trustworthy and meaningful data from a management information perspective.”
Hitachi Consulting worked collaboratively with Swiss Re to develop two standard system and process platforms with harmonised financial processes incorporating BIS and Oracle. Hitachi Consulting also helped centralise cost operations into a single service company model, standardise the processes around global expense policies, procedures, and reporting transparency, and eliminated manual workarounds.
“In my opinion, Hitachi Consulting is one of the few organisations that truly understands both the technical detail, as well as the bigger business context. Their ability to help implement technology to achieve specific commercial objectives makes them one of our trusted suppliers for global technology execution,” added Wright.
