Rhenus Logistics
More insight into IT service costs
Complex supply chains and innovative value-added services are managed by the three business divisions Contract Logistics, Freight Logistics and Port Logistics. As a provider of customized complete solutions, Rhenus also handles a wide range of tasks, such as providing assembly areas for plant construction or intermodal container logistics services.
Rhenus Freight Network GmbH takes off with integrated IT finance management
Supply bottlenecks, production stoppages, empty stores: the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 impressively demonstrated how important the smooth organization of international goods flows is for the economy and consumers. Logistics service providers such as Rhenus Logistics create the basis for this: they supply supermarkets with fresh goods, provide manufacturing companies with the necessary components and bring new fridges, washing machines and dishwashers directly to the end customer.
However, the Rhenus Freight Logistics business unit is not only responsible for transporting goods by road, rail, water or air within the Rhenus Group, but also handles customs formalities and supply chain solutions tailored to individual customers, for example. The numerous branches in Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America as well as in the Middle East and Africa ensure that the worldwide transportation of goods runs smoothly.
Complex billing processes simplified
Rhenus Freight Network GmbH provides the technological foundation for this. As a shared service center, the company develops standardized software solutions for managing, optimizing and controlling Rhenus' transport processes. "The objective here is always to find agile and customer-oriented solutions and to implement new requirements for the business in the best and fastest possible way," explains Hauke Beenders, an authorized signatory. We take care of the entire lifecycle of our solutions, including user support in the Rhenus transport division." The IT service provider operates a large number of special applications for Rhenus Freight Logistics and invoices its broad service and project portfolio to around 200 internal customers every month.
However, this is easier said than done: first of all, the development, administration and support costs, as well as the consumption data, have to be allocated to the respective applications and projects and charged to the customers and business segments Road and Air & Ocean. As SAP is used within the Group, the billing data generated for invoicing then had to be transferred to the Rhenus SAP system.
In order to automate this process and increase cost transparency for both management and customers, Petra Finke, Global CIO of Rhenus Freight Logistics, decided to put IT financial management at the IT service provider on a new footing. As part of a selection process, Rhenus evaluated various IT financial management solutions on the market and ultimately opted for netinsight from nicetec. "The solution already covers all our process requirements as standard and also scores highly in terms of flexibility," says the IT manager, summarizing the key decision criteria.
Today, netinsight contributes to streamlined and transparent IT financial management at the Rhenus Freight Logistics Shared Service Center. Routine tasks such as preparing the monthly statement and the subsequent posting in SAP now run fully automatically. "Tasks that used to take two to three working days per month are now completed within a few hours," reports Berrit Lambardt, Controller at Rhenus Freight Network GmbH.
Extensive process automation has simultaneously increased quality and reduced the error rate to a minimum. The nicetec platform now creates maximum transparency where previously Excel-based cost allocation blocked the view of the essentials. "All allocations are rule-based, formula and transfer errors are a thing of the past," says Lambardt happily. The month-end closing is now also completed in no time at all thanks to the new solution.
Cost transparency facilitates budget negotiations
In addition to reporting and cost allocation, Rhenus Freight Network also uses the nicetec software for simulations, forecasts and budgeting. "This was one of the main reasons for us to implement the solution," explains Beenders. In the past, planning processes relating to costs and budgets were extremely time-consuming and complex. After all, the required information had to be compiled manually from a wide variety of data sources and consolidated and prepared with a great deal of effort and a large number of Excel spreadsheets.
There was also significant potential for optimization in the area of IT controlling, as all IT service costs were posted to collective objects in the SAP system, making a detailed evaluation of the various issues almost impossible. This lack of transparency not only made active cost management and the targeted further development of the service portfolio more difficult. It also repeatedly gave rise to discussions during budget negotiations and service allocation: "Management and internal customers want to know what costs are incurred for what and how our transfer prices are made up in detail," explains Beenders. By using netinsight, the data can now be filtered and reported in detail according to various dimensions at the touch of a button. This reduces frictional losses and provides the IT service provider with a sound basis for its own business development. "Thanks to netinsight, we can now continuously track whether our service and project teams are covering their costs or whether we need to make adjustments if necessary."
Bringing order to the data jungle
Rhenus Freight Network had to carry out some preliminary work as part of the introduction of the solution. "We had to bring order to our database, create new structures and improve the quality of the data," says Controller Berrit Lambardt. After that, everything ran like clockwork: The project team launched the new solution within just a few months.
Since then, netinsight has become an integral part of the IT service provider's day-to-day work: thanks to the integrated planning and calculation functions, target and actual figures can be compared at the touch of a button, intra-year forecasts can be created in no time at all and service prices can be calculated and charged in a cost-covering and comprehensible manner. Quantity data on service usage and cost data are automatically transferred from upstream applications. This enables reporting at product level, from which the profitability of individual services can be identified in detail. There is no comparison with the manual reporting of the past: "The longer I work with the solution, the more I love it," enthuses Beenders. "netinsight really offers everything you need to manage a complex service organization.".
Further development of the solution planned
However, the overall potential of the platform is far from exhausted. "There's a lot more we can do, and we're working on it," says Lambardt. For example, there are plans to consolidate invoices that have previously been run separately via other systems in netinsight in order to create an overall invoice for the customer. Rhenus is also introducing the solution at other IT sites of the Group in Asia and the Netherlands.
The expansion is not too much of a headache for those responsible - also because the support from the manufacturer nicetec leaves nothing to be desired. "The consultants have a lot of project experience and understand what drives us," praises Beenders. "Our contacts are always available to us and actively support us in achieving our goals." Following the go-live and the hypercare phase, the need for support from the manufacturer has now been reduced to a minimum. The Rhenus team now implements new requirements itself and with ease. Optimal conditions for smooth billing processes and transparent IT service costs.
The Rhenus Group is a global logistics service provider with a turnover of EUR 5.4 billion. Rhenus has more than 33,500 employees at over 820 locations. Complex supply chains and innovative value-added services are managed by the three business units Contract Logistics, Freight Logistics and Port Logistics. As a provider of customized complete solutions, Rhenus also handles a wide range of tasks, such as providing assembly areas for plant construction or intermodal container logistics services.
