Henkell Freixenet reduces work hours by 80% annually, creating more time for analysis

Henkell Freixenet has many years of experience with Jedox. Since its initial implementation in 2012, the adaptable platform has evolved with the organization, including the Henkell Freixenet merger. The central finance department has continuously expanded the solution to provide a shared platform for planning and reporting across the organization.

The initial goal was to support consolidation and replace a disconnected spreadsheet-based process with an automated solution, leveraging Jedox’s seamless integration with Excel and Excel similarity. Throughout the years, more departments have used Jedox for planning and reporting. A significant accomplishment was establishing self-service capabilities, along with easy access to fully automated daily billing through Jedox Web.

Since migrating to Jedox Cloud in late 2022, the team has uncovered additional opportunities for innovative use cases. The global finance department is currently using predictive forecasting and driver-based planning through Jedox AIssisted™ Planning.

With the cloud migration completed, the number of active users has increased to more than 150 worldwide. Currently, six departments use Jedox for activities such as sales planning, rolling demand planning, predictive forecasting, fixed cost controlling, technical reports, brand reporting, market data analysis, group consolidation, and pricing.

Replacing static reports with dynamic dashboards

For global financial planning, the main focus is management reporting. Previously, management received a static, 120-page PDF report twice per month, which summarized sales by region and by brand. However, the PDF could not incorporate relevant KPIs and drivers.

Using the Jedox Canvas dashboarding capababilities, the project manager set up a dashboard that consolidates the sales information using dynamic filters. The Canvas combines content from various sources, and visualizations can be arranged side by side with simple drag-and-drop functionality. The most important KPIs are easily pinned to the top of the report. Management can easily view deviations and individual drivers at a glance and drill down to detailed views, such as region, business unit, brand, brand subgroup, or product group.

Increased accuracy with predictive forecasting and driver-based planning

The finance team currently uses AI-powered predictions via the Jedox AIssisted™ Planning module to improve planning accuracy for group outcomes. Additionally, simulations help identify the most impactful business drivers and seamlessly incorporate them into the planning process.

When contrasting historical actuals and planned figures from past years with the AI-generated predictions, the automated algorithm exhibited remarkable superiority over labor-intensive, traditional planning methods. This advancement resulted in an impressive prediction accuracy of approximately 91%, even at an early stage based on four years of key data. As the data repository grows, the team envisions achieving even greater accuracy using the AI module.

For more than a decade, Jedox has provided a reliable and scalable platform for planning and performance management that has evolved alongside Henkell Freixenet. A significant benefit for the finance team is the ability to autonomously develop applications and deploy them across various groups as needed. For example, in the latest expansion, the department responsible for management reporting created a sales dashboard without assistance. The dashboard replaced a complex PDF report, offering faster, higher-quality insights as well as more analysis options.

The department can now manage data with continuous automation, from direct Excel uploads to an in-house upload center and connecting to source systems through an SAP connector. This streamlined approach has significantly simplified investment tasks, enabling the team to focus on data analysis rather than spending valuable time on uploading during reporting days.

Companies within Henkell Freixenet can easily access the Jedox platform at any time, regardless of time zone, resulting in considerable time savings in data reporting. The team aims to enhance data management even further by gradually implementing a dedicated middleware across the group of companies.

Henkell Freixenet continues to expand the Jedox platform. A key objective is advancing driver-based planning with the assistance of AI-generated default values. By simulating and validating possible drivers, the team will be able to further automate KPI planning and improve relevance and accuracy. The team’s future plans also involve optimizing data visualization and, above all, maximizing the unparalleled adaptability inherent to the Jedox platform.