Manual processes and disjointed systems

The company relied on a data analyst to extract figures from the e-commerce database, consolidate spreadsheets from multiple teams and platforms, and manually enter all of this into the finance system. This took up a significant amount of time and resources.

Delayed reporting

Due to the resource-intensive nature of the process, financial reporting was only possible once a month. This slow turnover left the leadership team operating on outdated information and reacting too slowly to changes in performance.

High error risk

The use of multiple spreadsheets, covering everything from refunds to goodwill gestures, resulted in inconsistencies. Mistakes were easily made and common, damaging trust in the numbers and wasting hours in extra work to fix the issues.

Strain on internal teams

The teams involved were under pressure. Time that could have been spent on analysis or improvement was lost to a repetitive, manual task. It was particularly difficult for the analyst, as, while undoubtedly doing their best, they knew what was being delivered wasn’t fit for purpose.