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UniFi
Case Study

Insurance Entity for an Oil & Gas Powerhouse
Sees Impressive Gains with UniFi

UniFi Case Study

Insurance Entity for an Oil & Gas Powerhouse Sees Impressive Gains with UniFi

  • Read time: 6 minutes

Note: the company and contact name have been anonymised in this case study. However, our client is happy to be used as a reference, please get in contact with us to find out more. 

In an industry where efficiency and progress are measured in barrels and cubic feet, the principal insurance company for one oil and gas giant has found a new metric for success— digital transformation.

With the implementation of UniFi, they’ve experienced impressive gains and reshaped their operational landscape while driving productivity to new heights.

This case study takes a deep dive into their journey, demonstrating the remarkable impact and the value that UniFi has brought to their business.

Background

This oil & gas company’s entity was grappling with a challenge that many businesses face: outdated, manual processes that were slowing them down. For years, they were reliant on Excel spreadsheets and other external systems to track their payments. This method, while familiar, was proving increasingly cumbersome.

The process of manually entering data, cross-referencing payment information, and ensuring accuracy was not only time-consuming but also prone to human error.

"We were doing our pension business accounting and statutory accounts in spreadsheets (Excel). We had sort of a piecemeal process with financial information in Excel and other systems, and we were tracking all our payments in Excel " says the Finance Manager

Recognising the inefficiencies of this system, the team yearned for a change. They envisioned a work environment where automation could handle the routine tasks, freeing up their finance team to focus on more critical aspects of their roles. They wanted to automate as much as they could, including their accounting operations and accounts payable.

The goal was clear: to find a solution that could streamline their payment tracking process, reduce errors, and ultimately drive efficiency across their operations

Significant Time-Savings

Exchange Rates App

Before adopting UniFi, this company relied on a manual process to obtain foreign exchange rates from the approved internal source.

With UniFi, they were able to create an Exchange Rate App to automate the process, which saved them at least 10 to 15 minutes per day with the upload. In addition, this also reduced the amount of data they needed to import, being that the firm uses about 20 FX rates.

Purchase Invoice

The company made use of the UniFi’s Purchase Invoice app to automate its purchase invoice process, allowing the process to be done in a fraction of the time it used to take.

This app made the signatory workflow process much more efficient and delivered time-savings of about 10 to 15 minutes in total per invoice saved between coding, the multiple teams (Swiss finance team, Swiss Insurance team, Chennai coding team, and Chennai payment team), and actual payment process.

Due Diligence, Tax Payment Run, and Supplier Onboarding

Regarding their Due Diligence, Tax Payment Run, and Supplier Onboarding processes, the firm had a very manual process. With the implementation of UniFi, they no longer needed to manually prepare reporting for the statutory accounts or the payment process. All this information flows nicely together now.

This saves several weeks of work each year across all the teams which were previously involved. If using one full-time equivalent employee (FTE) as the benchmark, this will equate to about 20% of his/her time saved per year (onshore).

Additionally, the firm no longer involves its Chennai service centre as payment-related work has been sourced again, saving up another 20% of the time for 1 FTE from the service centre (offshore).

Financial Close

As for the company’s financial close, an estimated 4 working days are saved each quarter, although this is factored into the savings of 20% in the 1 FTE.

Embracing Innovation

The Selection of UniFi

To revolutionise a payment tracking process in an organisation as big as this, a robust and intuitive system is needed.
Our client realised this and after internal discussions they decided on UniFi.

The Finance Manager explained:

We wanted to automate as much as we could, starting with accounting processes and of course accounts payable. We saw this opportunity and that was what drove us to look for a solution. We did the tenders of the different vendors to see what was out there and eventually purchased UniFi

UniFi stood out for its unmatched ability to automate complex processes and reduce errors, its unlimited potential across finance and all connected departments, and its powerful features and capabilities.

The company saw in UniFi an opportunity to not only enhance their payment tracking but also to redefine their overall operational efficiency. The decision was made, and this oil & gas powerhouse was set to embark on a transformative journey with UniFi.

Harnessing UniFi for Efficiency and Automation

Primarily, the company utilised UniFi to manage their purchase invoices, which was a largely manual process within their financial operations. UniFi provided all the features and use cases to automate the invoicing process and make it more efficient.

Furthermore, UniFi was employed to import foreign exchange rates—an essential task given the company’s international dealings. To accomplish this, an API connection was established with the energy company’s network, allowing automatic updates of rates.

The company’s exploration of UniFi didn’t stop at these two primary use cases. Intrigued by the software’s innovative capabilities, including the ability for end-users to build business applications with no coding knowledge, they probed deeper, asking questions and learning more about what the system could offer.

This curiosity led to the creation of additional bespoke apps, workflows, and processes tailored to their specific needs, including a Standing Data App, a Due Diligence App and Payment Run App.

The Standing Data app was created by the end users to manage and track standing data, providing an organised, easily accessible repository of information while the Payment Run app was created to efficiently manage and track payment runs, further enhancing the company’s financial operations.

Previously, all these tasks were handled manually, consuming considerable time and resources. With the implementation of UniFi, these processes became automated and significantly more efficient.

Expanding on the use of UniFi , the company also adopted it to streamline their due diligence process for new vendors. Previously, this process was handled via emails and documented in an Excel spreadsheet, which was both cumbersome and inefficient.

With the help of UniFi, they created a custom due diligence app that not only stored all the necessary information but also included an approval flow. This allowed the person responsible for approving new vendors to do so within the system itself, making the process more streamlined and traceable.

Speaking about UniFi, the company’s Finance Manager had this to say:

UniFi is really easy to use because it’s click-and-drop for the most part. Even when minor glitches occur, the support desk has been quick to resolve them, ensuring smooth operations.

How UniFi Benefited the Insurance Company for the Oil & Gas Giant

Upon implementing UniFi, the company began to see a significant shift in their operations. The previously tedious process of payment tracking was transformed into a smooth, automated system that reduced errors and freed up valuable time for the team.

UniFi brought a level of efficiency and accuracy that the traditional Excel-based system simply couldn’t match.

But the benefits of UniFi extended well beyond payment tracking. The platform’s comprehensive suite of tools and features addressed various operational pain points, driving overall productivity and effectiveness.

Streamlined Processes : The switch to UniFi meant moving from manual to computer-based solutions. This eliminated a lot of administrative tasks for the team, substantially reducing their workload.

Multi-Attachment Uploads : UniFi introduced the ability to upload multiple attachments at once, a feature that saved significant time. Before, team members would have to manually combine, for instance, eight attachments into one PDF.

Simplified Approvals : For approvers, the process became much simpler. Approvals used to be an administrative burden with multiple manual sign offs. With UniFi, signatories and approvers can now easily click to show they’ve approved an invoice. Plus, the additional benefit of having all relevant information conveniently located in one place.

Improved Audit Trail : Another significant benefit of using UniFi was the creation of an effective audit trail. UniFi not only aided proper checks and balances but also provided a clear record of approvals, enhancing transparency and accountability.

Centralised Documents : The system’s ability to centralise supporting documents was another major benefit for this organisation. This eliminated the need to hunt through countless emails for specific information, thus improving efficiency and reducing frustration.

One clear advantage of this transition is that the company can now easily monitor transaction histories and maintain accurate records.

With everything now digitalised, we’re able to track all the payments we’ve made with greater ease and efficiency. It’s not about juggling Excel spreadsheets anymore; it’s about having a complete overview of our payables at our fingertips. This digital transformation has absolutely changed the way we operate for the better.

The company sees potential for further expansion and utilisation of UniFi in the future (especially in implementing UniFi’s native machine learning, artificial intelligence, and automated scheduling capabilities) acknowledging the software’s ability to revolutionise their operations even further.

The Overall Experience with UniFi

When asked about their experience with UniFi, the company’s Finance Manager responded:

UniFi is actually a really excellent product that does a lot of things. And there are always things that keep coming out that further improve the product. So, I am quite a fan of UniFi.

UniFi Key Features

No-code Application Builder

Business Process Management

Automation

Accounting Automation

Middleware & Integration

Excel Add-in

Work OS

Workflow Creator

Business Intelligence

Document Management

Pre-installed Foundation Apps

Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence

OCR

UniFi Use Cases

With UniFi, there are no limits on the workflows you can create. Our software offers one system to manage an ever-growing number of use cases.

Purchasing (P2P)

Sales (O2C)

Financial Accounting

Reporting and Analytics

Human Resources

Integration

Compliance and Audit

Optical Character Recognition

  • Why UniFi Stands Out
  • 25+ years of experience in implementing in finance and business technology
  • Enterprise-grade software without the cost - make significant savings by having one costeffective system that can be used for everything
  • Free pre-installed foundation apps
  • Designed to be fully configured and customised for any requirement
  • Access to all features and future releases at no additional costs
  • Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface for building and customising apps
  • Real-time collaboration and comments
  • Paperless approvals and workflows
  • Role-based security and permissions
  • Detailed reporting and analytics
  • Integration with your finance, accounting, HR, or ERP system
  • Open API for connecting to a wide range of data sources
  • Scalability to support any number of users and use cases
  • Comprehensive help, training and support provided at no extra cost

What are your next steps?

  1. Get in touch with us to schedule a call
  2. We will listen to your requirements and discuss how UniFi can help
  3. We will then present you with a tailored demonstration and quotation
  • Contact us today on +44 (0) 207 456 9833 or sales@unifiplatform.com

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