EuroFinance

In 2021, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, an industry stalwart in the realm of wind energy, set sail on an ambitious digital transformation journey. As if facing two tidal waves simultaneously, the company grappled with the complexities of a carve-out from Siemens Wind Power and a merger with Gamesa Eolica, a Spanish company. The challenge was great: unite two contrasting system maturity stages under the umbrella of one harmonious and efficient system landscape.

Uniting two contrasting system landscapes

The treasury team at Siemens Gamesa faced significant challenges as two different systems collided during the merger. The legacy Siemens side utilised a highly mature and powerful system for payments, inhouse banking, while Gamesa’s legacy systems were less mature and characterised by a scattered, fragmented system landscape. This lack of harmonisation and automation, coupled with a complex system landscape, led to a decrease in visibility and insights, and a lack of compliant and secure processes.

The company couldn’t simply bring the two worlds together using existing solutions. Not only would implementing the current payments system across all entities require a large workforce of developers and IT staff, but this option was also explicitly ruled out in the merger contract. In addition to unifying the system landscape globally, Siemens Gamesa simultaneously aimed to build an innovative In-house Bank. All of these projects needed to be realised within a tight timeline to avoid breaching the merger contract and incurring penalty fees.

Against this backdrop, Siemens Gamesa, in collaboration with their technology partner, managed to successfully pivot and morph into a digitally-transformed entity. The legacy systems were harmonised, and a state-of-the-art In-house Bank was established. It boasted real-time reporting and automated processes that were driven by AI algorithms, a unified front that the EuroFinance judges feel is setting a new industry benchmark for process automation.

Enhanced visibility and efficiency

A treasury management solutions provider was instrumental in transforming Siemens Gamesa’s system landscape by dismantling its isolated structures and establishing an innovative In-house bank. This new bank supports real-time reporting and automated processes unmatched by other In-house banks. Both outflows and inflows are now processed automatically, with inflows utilising AI algorithms.

As a result, Siemens Gamesa enjoys harmonised and stable processes across its 235 entities in 85 countries, reducing complexity and setting a new benchmark in process automation. The treasury team achieved 100% visibility into cash flows and payments, created a single connectivity hub for all payment and cash management needs, and streamlined data exchange.

Furthermore, the treasury team established clear transaction overviews from ERP-systems in real-time and automated reversal processes for rejected payments. Process efficiencies led to significant time and cost savings, including the closure of 600 bank accounts within two years. By adhering to the standards of the ERP software and treasury solutions provider, the company ensured audit & compliance proven governance processes and reduced complexity. The efficient setup, completed within 2.5 years, allows for connecting ancillary systems, successfully avoiding penalty fees.

Going forward

A best-of-breed approach proved to be the right strategy for a project of this magnitude, scope, and complexity, considering the tight time frame. “The In-house Bank we built has set a new benchmark in terms of automation and visibility of cash flows and payments. It allowed Siemens Gamesa to close down approximately 600 bank accounts.” said Michael Faschang, Head of Treasury Management Systems at Siemens Gamesa.

Siemens Gamesa’s transformative project showcases how companies can overcome complex challenges, harmonise systems, and achieve real-time reporting and automated processes, even when faced with a merger and a carve-out happening simultaneously. The treasury team now benefits from stable and strong processes across all 235 entities worldwide in 85 countries.

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