Case study
Woven and Sage Data & Analytics
Woven gains clearer financial oversight and stronger data with Sage X3 and Sage Data & Analytics.
Industry:
Business Processing Outsourcing
Website:
Requirements:
Security, Cloud-based solution, one source of truth, quick & accurate reporting
Data Sources:
Sage X3
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Background
Woven is a Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) and contact centre operation providing outsourced customer service solutions for well-known brands.
Solution
SD&A, Sage's data management & analytics software that's powered by Zap Data Hub.
Key outcomes
Remote access to real-time data anytime, anywhere
Secure system critical for customer data protection
Cloud access for multi-site, multi-country, multi-jurisdictional group
New requisitions order process improving transparency and accountability
In-depth data analytics and instant reporting
The Woven team provide a human and digital solution to their clients, helping them expand their customer services by offering in and outbound email, chat and SMS services, along with back-office processes.
Since its inception in 2018, Woven has grown rapidly, acquiring three complimentary contact centre businesses, and employing some 1,200 people in the UK and South Africa. It is driven by the mantra “People powered by technology”, which was never more evident than during the pandemic when it supported businesses and care homes to continue operating by providing their services online or by phone.
Today Woven has over 700 customers who vary in size, from large household names in retail, logistics, energy and telecommunications, to small-sized business owners who just need some extra help servicing their customers’ needs.
Global expansion needs a global solution
With successive company acquisitions, international expansion and client growth, Woven was on an upward trajectory. The group’s services were in high demand, but its internal business processes and financial systems were beginning to feel the stretch.
“Our previous solution was not cloud-based and very painful to access, making it difficult for us to do our day-to-day jobs,” says Woven’s Financial Processes Consultant, Judi Babbage.
The group needed a truly worldwide multi-company, multi-currency and multi-jurisdictional solution that could comply with different local laws and regulations. Security was also a number one priority.
“We wanted an ERP package that was truly in the cloud and that was secure so that we could use it from anywhere in the world,” adds Judi.
Streamlined and fully integrated
The company needed a fully integrated ERP solution to support all of its operations, streamline its processes and provide full transparency and accountability, and Sage X3 ticked all the boxes.
Judi explains: “On a day-to-day basis, we use Sage X3 for everything from paying suppliers, raising requisitions, recording sales invoices, collecting customers cash, sending out end of month statements to customers and bank reconciliations. If I had to pick a feature that has really transformed our internal processes across the business, it is the purchase order process.”
Staff complete a purchase order request, attach a copy of the quote, and it is signed off electronically by the relevant budget holder, all in Sage X3. There is no need for paperwork or emails any more. There are even six layers of sign off available, and for very large spends, the executive team have ultimate authorisation.
This new process has been very well received among staff, saving everyone time but most importantly, promoting accountability. “Sage X3 is completely transparent, and the audit trail is much clearer. The purchase order process ensures that each budget holder is responsible for their particular budget, because it’s all recorded on the system,” says Judi.
One common database
The Woven group is made up of 18 different companies across four sites in the UK and one in South Africa, with some of the group’s clients engaging the services of more than one of its companies simultaneously. One of the major issues the finance team faced prior to Sage X3 was that they did not have one single place to collate this data in.
Judi elaborates: “If a supplier provides services to five of our group companies, previously we would have created five different accounts for them in five different databases. With Sage X3, we only need to create the supplier once.”
She adds: “We now have one common database. It’s a single source of truth and its accurate, reliable and up to date.”
Another issue Woven previously encountered as a result of multiple databases, was a higher tendency for human error in data entry. This made the process of reporting more difficult and time-consuming.
“Sage X3 makes data entry uniform,” says Judi. “Information can only be entered using established analytical codes, thereby removing the need for free-text codes. This has vastly improved the veracity of our data.”
About Sage X3
A scalable, global business management system, Sage X3 has been designed to support industry specific processes across finance, purchasing, inventory, manufacturing and customer relationship management. Sage X3 manages all areas of your business in one solution. Modules within the system are parameterised and can be enabled as the demands of the business grow; a solution for the future.
Detailed reporting and accurate business insights
One of the most impressive aspects of the Sage package is the Sage Data & Analytics tool. Previously, reporting could take days to complete, compiling data manually from all the databases across the business. Now it is done almost immediately with just a click of a button.
Data can be sliced and diced in any way to meet the requirements of the business. It is possible to scrutinise the minutia of the data in a way that was incredibly time-consuming before, drilling down into the detail of each client, each service, each office, each territory, each company and each team.
Judi says: “Being able to see and extract data in real-time with precision has saved us time and enabled us to make informed strategic decisions to stay ahead of the curve.”
Double-time implementation
Not ones to delay, the implementation of the Sage technology was done in double quick time. For a project that normally takes six to nine months, Woven did it in four. Sage partner, X3 Consulting, managed the whole project and trained the Woven team remotely during the pandemic.
“We had very few outstanding issues because the training and understanding of X3 by the consultants was so good. Once we had gone live we had weekly meetings with the Sage helpdesk. Any problems that arose were dealt with promptly by Sage who were very responsive throughout the whole process,” says Judi.
Future expansion
Sage X3 and Sage Data & Analytics have provided Woven with reliable 24/7 remote access to real-time data, one common database, and better data processes so that the data itself is clean and up-to-date.
Judi exclaims: “Being able to see real-time data and put reports together without too much fiddling has been amazing. And it’s not just the speed that’s remarkable, it’s that the data can now be trusted too so we don’t have to spend hours rechecking everything. The beauty with Sage X3 is that if there ever is a problem with data being entered incorrectly, then we can see it and fix it immediately.”
Being a progressive, digitally savvy business, Woven needed an ERP system that could keep up with its innovative and fast-moving business. With short-term plans to buy more companies and expand internationally, Sage X3 has done just that.