HOCHTIEF
nicetec netinsight™ - Plea for transparent
IT cost allocation
About HOCHTIEF
HOCHTIEF is a technically oriented, global infrastructure group with leading positions in its core activities of construction, services and concessions/public-private partnerships (PPP) and with activities focused on Australia, North America and Europe. With around 37,000 employees and sales of over EUR 26 billion in 2022, HOCHTIEF focuses on developed markets worldwide. In Australia, the Group is the market leader with CIMIC. In the USA, HOCHTIEF is the number one in commercial building construction through Turner and, with Flatiron, is one of the most important providers in civil engineering, mainly for transportation infrastructure. The Group owns a 20% stake in Abertis, the leading international toll road operator. HOCHTIEF has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices since 2006 due to its commitment to sustainability.
HOCHTIEF creates a future-proof foundation for IT finance management with netinsight™
What do Frankfurt's banking district, the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland and Warsaw's Chopin Airport have in common? At first glance, not too much. But a closer look reveals a common denominator: all three were built under the leadership of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft. Founded 150 years ago and headquartered in Essen, the Group offers a wide range of services relating to the planning, construction, financing and operation of building construction, civil engineering and infrastructure projects and is now by far the best-known construction company in Germany. HOCHTIEF scores points with its clients for its outstanding technical expertise and high level of reliability. According to surveys, nine out of ten decision-makers rate the company's image positively, and in 2022 the long-established group was also named "Brand of the Century". HOCHTIEF is also a force to be reckoned with beyond Germany's borders: in 2022 alone, its 37,000 employees generated over EUR 26 billion worldwide - 96 percent of which was generated abroad.
All IT costs are allocated according to originator
In Europe, the management company HOCHTIEF Solutions AG bundles the core business of the operating companies. The Corporate IT department of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft is responsible for the IT operations of the holding company and almost all companies and branches of HOCHTIEF Solutions AG. "Our strategy is to buy in IT services outside our core business, primarily externally," is how HOCHTIEF's IT management describes it. This allows IT to concentrate on the essentials while benefiting from tried-and-tested standard solutions and cost-effective provision models.
"The resulting costs are charged according to the cost-by-cause principle - right down to the user level," says the Head of IT, explaining the key benefit. In addition to a correct profitability assessment, this enables users in particular to control the costs and benefits of IT services on the basis of their specific needs.
In the past, the company used a self-developed solution for its internal IT controlling and cost allocation processes. However, as this was getting on in years and a fundamental modernization was due, the Group decided to switch to standard software in 2022. The IT financial management platform netinsight™ from nicetec GmbH was selected as part of a tender process. "On the one hand, our aim was to replicate the previous controlling and accounting process as closely as possible with the new solution," says the Head of IT. On the other hand, it was also about reducing operating and development costs and establishing a future-proof cloud-based solution. "netinsight™ provided the best conditions for us. While the nicetec solution already contained many of the desired functionalities as standard, the development costs for other products would have been much higher. "Experience shows that increased customizing also increases the risk of running out of control in terms of time and budget," the IT managers know. This was to be avoided at all costs - not least in view of the tight schedule. This is another reason why netinsight™ was the project team's first choice. "Especially as nicetec also scored with a very good price-performance ratio," emphasizes the IT management.
No need to reinvent the wheel
In April 2022, the go-ahead was given for the replacement of the old system. The task was clear: to replicate the previous billing process as accurately as possible and also learn from nicetec's processes and solutions. A demanding challenge, as the old system was a tool that had grown over the years and had an extensive range of functions.
A pragmatic solution was therefore needed, which was quickly found together: instead of creating pages of specifications, the project team took a close look at the old tool in several workshops, analyzed all functionalities down to the smallest detail and then built the required solution on this basis. The IT management attributes this perfect success to two key factors: "Firstly, netinsight™ already covers around 98 percent of our controlling and accounting requirements as standard. Secondly, the nicetec employees have an immensely high level of technical and professional expertise and understood our customization requests right away and implemented them precisely." The new solution went into three-month test operation in July 2022, and the old system was finally shut down in October 2022 as planned. Since then, the new software has been showing what it can do: Once a month, the external service providers are automatically prompted by email to record their services on the netinsight™ platform. The platform provides all the data needed to create the batch input folders that enable the appropriate cost centers in SAP to be posted according to source. The HOCHTIEF managers have five days beforehand to check the quantities and report any errors. "This is the case, for example, if an employee of the Group has changed or is managed under a new cost center. Or if an account has demonstrably already been deregistered, but the service provider continues to bill services for it," explains the IT manager. Once the service providers have corrected the quantities by the end of the correction period, nothing stands in the way of invoicing by the provider. All contact persons and addresses are known in netinsight™ in compliance with data protection regulations, so that the provider can invoice the respective recipient on the basis of the quantities that have now been checked.
The recipient can then easily transfer the data from the system to the respective accounting systems for source-based billing and distribute the invoice internally accordingly.
Constructive partnership for future projects
The project goal of taking over the previous billing process was thus achieved.
"nicetec even provided us with a frontend that hardly differs from its predecessor in terms of operation. The providers can upload their quantities via the usual interfaces. Change management was therefore not really an issue for us," praises the IT manager.
What clearly distinguishes netinsight™ from its predecessor, however, is the state-of-the-art technological foundation and the solution's outstanding expandability.
"nicetec operates the product as its core business, giving it perspective and sustainability. This gives us security and reduces development costs on our side."
In addition, the underlying data model enables a wide range of other functionalities "that we haven't even scratched the surface of yet", says the IT manager, who is pleased that the solution contains a number of tools for tapping into further added value.
"The collaboration with the software manufacturer was extremely constructive and without any frictional losses," she praises.
Good prerequisites for ensuring that future netinsight™ projects at HOCHTIEF also run smoothly.
HOCHTIEF is a technically oriented, global infrastructure group with lea‐ ding positions in its core activities of construction, services and conces ‐ sions / public‐private partnerships (PPP) and with a focus on Australia, North America and Europe. With around 37,000 employees and sales of over EUR 26 billion in 2022, HOCHTIEF is focused on developed markets worldwide. In Australia, the Group is the market leader with CIMIC. In the USA, HOCHTIEF is number one in commer cial building construction through Turner and, with Flatiron, is one of the most important providers in civil engineering, mainly for trans‐ portation infrastructure. The Group owns a 20% stake in Abertis, the lea‐ ding inter national toll road operator. HOCHTIEF has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices since 2006 because of its commitment to sustain ability.
