Analytics-driven Finance and HR Transformation for a Leading Energy Provider

Client

The client, a Fortune 500 company, ranks among the largest natural gas distributors in the USA. Their operations span natural gas distribution, wholesale services, and retail operations. Serving over 4.4 million households and businesses across four states, they prioritize sustainable solutions for clean, reliable, and cost-effective energy.

Challenge

In the competitive landscape of past business, streamlined access to information was critical for effective decision-making and strategic planning. However, complexities in the supply chain and large data volumes often led to a fragmentation of business information. This fragmentation resulted in limited access to self-service options and the customer portal, which were previously confined to the intranet. Such constraints not only impeded operational efficiency but also hindered the availability of crucial analytics, essential for informed decision-making and strategic insight.

Furthermore, inaccuracies in financial transactions across the supply chain were common, making compliance a significant challenge. These issues were traced back to the client’s legacy systems—namely, the HR and Financial modules within PeopleSoft. The outdated PeopleSoft Financial system contributed to inaccuracies in vital financial operations, including invoicing, payments, and the analysis of time and expenses. These inaccuracies complicated compliance efforts, further burdened by insufficient BI and reporting capabilities.

Additionally, the absence of sophisticated, integrated HR analytics adversely affected the management of employees and the overall profitability of resources. To tackle these multifaceted challenges, a modernization of the legacy systems was essential, enabling improved accuracy, compliance, and business intelligence that today’s market demands.

Solution

In order to address the challenges, Hexaware implemented a multi-pronged solution approach including modernization of legacy systems. Hexaware analyzed existing systems in place and framed an engagement model to implement the following:

• Upgraded the HR Management system, PeopleSoft HCM from version 8.9 to 9.2 (8.53 Tools).
• Implemented process improvements for Invoice Processing, Exceptions Handling, Supplier Vendor Management, P-Card Administration, Inbound/Outbound Calling Helpdesk, Payment Cycles, Time & Expense Analysis.
• Deployed proprietary tool for increased accuracy in capturing data from invoices and integrated it with the PeopleSoft financial system.
• Provided Portal Unified Navigation Framework to access all the applications using one common system menu.
• Enabled service-oriented architecture integration with 3rd party vendors.
• Installed Oracle pre-packaged HR Intelligence.
• Integrated Oracle BI solution with PeopleSoft HR and ELM.
• Implemented Oracle HR Intelligence with Oracle PeopleSoft HR and ELM.
• Deployed extensions for functional areas:
  • Compliance forecast.
  • Qualified workforce configuration of DAC & Informatica for initial and incremental load.
• Configured pre-packaged reports and dashboards.

Benefits

• Accuracy levels of data capturing have been maintained consistently at 99.5% as against the client-defined SLA of 95%.
• Increased access to reports and dashboards through the implementation of HR Analytics Learning Management, Absence Management, etc.
• Improved reporting effectiveness on custom areas such as Compliance Forecast & Qualified Workforce
• Centralized security provision across all the applications for core user groups (employees, managers) and integration of user security with LDAP server: single sign-on
• Productivity improved by 25%, primarily driven by the successful implementation of process improvements

Summary

Hexaware’s well-executed transformation was based on key principles: a collaborative approach with clearly defined implementation goals, and a phased deployment strategy based on process and technology complexity. Robust process analysis and experience of legacy modernization ensured a seamless modernization with minimal disruptions. Strong governance and support helped set the stage for future transformation initiatives.