JSE-listed chemicals group AECI has overhauled its human capital operation. After years of collaboration, of testing and applying solutions, the Sandton-based South African global enterprise combined its skills with those of 麻豆原创 and BCX to聽transform聽the 鈥榥uts and bolts鈥� of its HR operation 鈥� based on 麻豆原创 employee payroll enterprise software.
AECI was founded in 1924 and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1966. Today it has operations across Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, and Australia, serving聽several vertical markets including chemicals, agri-health, water, and mining.
Speaking on the sidelines of the African 麻豆原创 User Group (AFSUG) Saphila 2023 conference, Toni Serra, CIO of AECI, and Henlie van Rooyen, senior manager of 麻豆原创/4HANA implementation partner聽BCX’s 麻豆原创 Centre of Excellence, explained how AECI initiated an enterprise-wide project to centralise and streamline operations across its multiple businesses.
AECI used to be a conglomerate of multiple businesses that operated with a high degree of independence, and each had their own IT and HR departments.
This model worked up to a point, but it was soon apparent that the model had to change said Serra, if the company was to transform its HCM as well as consolidate and simplify its IT strategy.
In 2015, management decided to begin with the implementation of a global enterprise-strength human capital management solution.
The company sought to partner with a service provider that could align with AECI and supply the right technology.
In 2018 AECI decided on the 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP) solution, before moving to the BCX Partner Managed Cloud in 2020.
The project was extensive and complex because AECI was running several disparate systems between various businesses and silos,聽 according to Serra.
Van Rooyen said that 麻豆原创 ECP implementations are in project mode in South Africa, which added to the challenges.
鈥淚ncluding AECI, there are only four South African ECP implementations live. Due to the confidential and complex nature of any payroll for a larger company, ensuring the transition from on-premise to the聽cloud聽happens seamlessly, delivery聽partners聽must ensure that parallel runs achieve the same numerical results for all employees prior to activating the cloud payroll as the main solution. ECP is built on the robust 麻豆原创 Payroll code engine and supplemented with cloud qualities such as quick configuration, intuitive UI, simplification due to configuration-based on best practice. The resilience is the same as the 麻豆原创 on-premise solution.鈥�
Tailored solution
For the next few years AECI spent time tailoring the solution, securing buy-in from across the business, and investing in the on-board process.
Van Rooyen said the original plan was to do a 鈥榣ift and shift鈥� of the on-premise payroll for AECI, and move that into the cloud. But the plan had to be revised to a clean install to ensure that technology is future-proofed for AECI.
鈥淒uring the initial discovery phase of the project 鈥� and due to the similarity of the payroll engine between on-premise and the cloud solution, one consideration was to 鈥榣ift and shift鈥� the on-premise payroll into the cloud, which is possible with ECP. After detailed investigation and consideration, the decision was taken to do a 鈥榗lean install鈥� in ECP which allowed AECI not only the latest functionality, but a future-proof solution for years to come. Any system used over a long period of time requires a refresh of the system use and config from time to time to ensure optimal utilisation and this was the main reason for considering a clean install over a lift and shift.鈥�
Today AECI has been fully on-boarded.
“It鈥檚 been massively successful in that the repository of data available to us to start making decisions now, is enormous,” Serra added.
鈥淲e must now drive real value out of what we鈥檝e got. For example, we can optimise the wage bill, link the solution now to our MRP [material requirements planning] way, to our resourcing in the factory, link it to time and attendance, and to areas where we drive proper rands and cents value鈥hen it becomes the way you go to work.”
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