Alvarez & Marsal

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Representative Client Experience

National Sporting Goods Retailer

Corporate Performance Management (Store Financial Planning (Pace®))
Retailer implements enterprise corporate performance management system to meet complex business planning and analysis challenges

Due to significant growth through both acquisition and organic growth channels, the client needed to update its budgeting, forecasting and reporting processes and tools to meet the scale and complexity challenges.A&M was engaged to lead the development of the performance management strategy for planning, reporting and analysis and implementing the enterprise-wide corporate performance management solution, which utilized several technologies and, ultimately, met the business goals resulting in reduced planning cycle times, more accurate plans and robust reporting.

Canadian Drug / Convenience Retailer

Corporate Performance Management
(Store Financial & Merchandise Planning (Pace®))
Retailer implements Merchandising Planning System to integrate with Finance’s Store Operations Plan to build comprehensive planning tool by store and sub-category

The client looked to A&M on two separate occasions to assist with planning processes. The first implementation resulted in an Enterprise Planning Application for retail stores, where common assumptions and drivers are centrally maintained, integrating both financial and operational information, eliminating the Excel-based planning environment that was previously disconnected and labor intensive. The second assignment produced a Merchandise Sales & Margin by Sub-Category planning tool that met similar objectives from the previous engagement, culminating in a reconciliation of Store Margin (owned by the Operators) with Category Margin (owned by the Merchants).The combined impact of the implementations resulted in a more streamlined, detailed and accurate budget process.

National Restaurant Chain

Corporate Performance Management (Store Financial Planning (Pace®))
Client implements enterprise corporate performance management system to meet complex business planning and analysis challenges

A client faced the overarching business problem of its existing concepts (restaurant chains) not sharing a single financial planning system. Excel-driven modeling prevented the business from robust modeling and led to a time-consuming process for creating annual plans and forecasts.A&M assisted with a quick, speed-to-value implementation of Pace Store Financial Planning. Today, legacy Excel models have been abandoned and the client is realizing results such as quicker budgeting and forecasting cycle times, standardized calculations and models across concepts and improved visibility to business drivers.

National Grocery Retailer

Corporate Performance Management (Store Financial Planning (Pace®))
National Grocer implements enterprise corporate performance management system to link Strategy with Operations

Suffering from many “process disconnects” between Strategic Plans, Line-of-Business (LOB) Financial Plans, Annual Budgets and Monthly Forecasts, this national grocer was using multiple, disjointed tools and manual processes to support the planning processes, and relied heavily on Excel-based planning. The client needed more rigorous modeling, what-if analysis and the ability to plan key initiatives supporting strategic financial targets. Ultimately, the financial planning process needed to be streamlined to enable planning across accounts, business lines and entities.A&M implemented Pace Store Financial Planning, enabling the client to integrate Strategy with Operations, and providing the foundation for integrating all of its major planning processes, along with a redesigned “Line of Business Planning” and “Budgeting” processes, into a cohesive “Annual Operating Planning” process.