Elimination of key-person dependency
The project implemented an audit recommendation by replacing a process dependent on one specialist with a transparent system accessible to a wider team.
Alignment between HR and Finance
Personnel cost data reported by HR is reconciled with the official financial results, allowing both functions to work from a consistent set of figures.
Faster month-end close
The time required to prepare complex bonus accruals was reduced from two or three days to several hours.
Rapid what-if analysis
The company can test salary changes, organizational changes, and alternative budget assumptions without rebuilding complex workbooks.
Project overview
FlexiEPM was implemented as an integrated platform for:
- personnel cost budgeting;
- employee-level workforce planning;
- rolling forecasts;
- monthly actual-versus-plan monitoring;
- bonus and personnel-related accruals;
- what-if scenario modeling;
- FTE and working-time data storage;
- reconciliation of HR reporting with the financial P&L.
The solution integrates automatically with the on-premises SAP HR system and processes data for approximately 1,700 employees.
The model supports three parallel reporting structures and involves HR Business Partners directly in planning future personnel changes within their respective organizational units.
Despite the volume of employee-level data and the complexity of the calculation rules, a complete model recalculation takes approximately ten to twelve minutes.
Customer perspective
Grupa Żywiec
A model previously dependent on complicated and error-prone Excel workbooks became a transparent solution that gives us confidence in the data and ensures full continuity within the team.
We particularly value the flexibility of the platform and the responsiveness of the implementation team. For the first time, HR and Finance at Grupa Żywiec can work from the same figures and speak the same language when discussing personnel costs.
Challenge
Before the implementation, personnel cost budgeting and control relied almost entirely on complex Excel workbooks.
The most material operational risk was the dependence of the entire process on one specialist. The absence of that person could prevent the organization from completing the planning process. An internal audit therefore recommended establishing full process continuity and effective staff substitution.
The workbooks had also become too large and complex to support efficient historical analysis or rapid updates to employee and salary data.
Earlier attempts to introduce dedicated tools had not succeeded, primarily because their calculation models were too slow to support regular business decisions.
A second challenge was the lack of consistency between HR and Finance.
Data was dispersed and difficult to update, particularly at the scale of approximately 1,700 employees. HR and Finance used different reporting outputs and could not readily reconcile their figures. Personnel cost analysis was available only at a relatively aggregated level, while detailed investigation required manual calculations.
Scenario modeling was equally demanding. Assessing the impact of salary increases, reorganizations, or other workforce changes required manual data modifications, additional workbook versions, and time-consuming comparisons.
The Group needed a platform that could support not only annual planning, but also monthly cost control, year-to-date analysis, and rolling forecasts.
Solution
Grupa Żywiec implemented FlexiEPM as a governed platform for personnel-cost planning and reporting.
Automatic integration with the on-premises SAP HR system eliminated manual re-entry of employee data and reduced the associated risk of errors.
The process was distributed across a broader team, removing the former operational bottleneck and providing effective staff substitution.
The model supports three parallel reporting hierarchies. HR Business Partners participate directly in the planning process and enter expected employee-level changes for their respective organizational units. This places responsibility for assumptions closer to the business and improves forecast accuracy.
FlexiEPM supports:
- annual personnel cost budgeting;
- rolling forecasts;
- monthly closing and cost control;
- individual employee planning;
- bonus accrual calculations;
- salary-increase scenarios;
- organizational-change simulations;
- reconciliation of simulated payroll with actual payroll results;
- detailed reporting from consolidated cost figures down to employee-level drivers.
Budget variants can be recalculated without rebuilding the underlying model. A complete calculation takes approximately ten to twelve minutes, even with detailed employee data and complex business rules.
FlexiEPM also became the data repository for FTE and working-time information, maintaining reporting continuity as legacy Group systems were decommissioned.
Business impact
The implementation established consistent personnel cost reporting between HR and Finance.
Both functions now work with figures aligned to the official financial results, allowing the organization to reconcile workforce assumptions directly with the income statement.
The preparation of complex bonus accruals was reduced from two or three days to several hours, supporting a faster and more controlled month-end close.
FlexiEPM also implemented the audit recommendation concerning business continuity. The process is transparent, documented, and accessible to a broader team rather than being dependent on one individual.
The Group can now test multiple what-if scenarios, including changes to salary-increase matrices and organizational structures, and determine their cost impact within a single model recalculation.
Users have direct access to current data and can review results without waiting for additional files or manually prepared reports. The team can focus on explaining business drivers and variances rather than determining how the figures were calculated.
