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Interstate Batteries
Optimizing BlackLine to supercharge efficiency and empower teams
Overview
Interstate Batteries wanted to maximize the ROI it realized from its investment in the BlackLine platform. Leadership feared the company wasn’t maximizing the software’s potential, leading to operational inefficiencies that BlackLine could quickly resolve if optimized. Interstate engaged Embark for the BlackLine optimization project, wanting Embark’s team to address several specific pain points leadership had identified.
Ultimately, by leveraging its deep expertise with BlackLine and understanding of the end-user perspective, Embark’s thorough optimization process led to significant reductions in time spent on a variety of critical tasks, improved efficiencies across the finance organization, and far greater utilization of the BlackLine software. The client was left empowered, its team educated on effectively and independently managing the BlackLine system while also maximizing engagement with the platform.
Our Solutions
Embark's BlackLine implementation and optimization services provided the client with the comprehensive support it needed to hit every goal—and then some.
Index
The “Big Wins”
1. Supercharged Efficiency: Slashed a critical reconciliation process from a full day's work – 12 hours – down to a mere 30 minutes, turbocharging productivity and cost-efficiency.
2. Empowerment Unleashed: Conducted a comprehensive user education initiative, transforming the client's team into autonomous BlackLine experts, maximizing the investment in the software, and ensuring ongoing optimization.
Client challenges & objectives
Interstate Batteries faced a range of challenges with its BlackLine utilization, all of which were inhibiting the company’s operational efficiency, not to mention a low BlackLine adoption rate within its team. To address these challenges, they sought Embark's expertise with the following objectives in mind:
- Improve BlackLine utilization to maximize the ROI of the investment
- Streamline and automate bank reconciliations to improve accuracy and speed
- Educate its team on the most effective use of BlackLine to increase adoption and usage
- Ensure the system could scale with business growth and adapt to changing needs
- Improve data management and ensure data integrity
- Address specific pain points related to its previous ERP migration to SAP
- Increase visibility and control over the financial close process
- Improve compliance with SOX controls during the close process
How Embark helped
Relying on its vast experience and expertise with BlackLine implementation and optimization projects, Embark’s team took a comprehensive approach to address the company’s challenges and meet leadership’s objectives. Ultimately, Embark was able to:
- Update reconciliation templates and implement efficient bank reconciliation processes in BlackLine, streamlining a previously manual process
- Provide extensive training to Interstate Batteries' team, increasing their proficiency with BlackLine
- Provide solutions for specific pain points identified by leadership related to the previous ERP migration
- Ensure the BlackLine system was set up to correctly match transactions, improving data accuracy
- Automate several manual tasks, significantly reducing time spent and improving efficiency
- Create a system of rules within BlackLine’s matching product tailored to the company’s specific needs, enhancing the software's effectiveness
- Improve visibility into reconciliation status and outstanding items, enhancing the financial close process
- Hold "Ask Me Anything" sessions to address any concerns or questions the team had about BlackLine
- Identify and correct auto-certification errors in the system
- Help the company understand the importance of detail-level entries for data accuracy and improve matching capabilities to increase efficiency of the reconciliation process
- Assist in keeping tasks up-to-date with correct preparers and reviewers
- Collaborate closely with the in-house team, maintaining open lines of communication and providing prompt support
- Identify opportunities for future improvements and potential projects to further optimize their processes
Results
The project was an overwhelming success, with Interstate Batteries experiencing marked improvements in its BlackLine utilization metrics, not to mention several key processes across finance and accounting. Thanks to automation, tasks that previously took hours now took minutes, freeing the Interstate team to create value elsewhere.
Further, the training provided by Embark allowed the Interstate team to effectively manage the system independently, fostering a sense of confidence and ownership. In the end, the project resulted in a more efficient, scalable system that can grow with the company, demonstrating yet another instance of the immense value Embark brings to its clients.
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