Initial Situation
A large logistics multinational with 12 distribution centers (DCs) has a separate ordering system per DC. Each DC has different cost center structures – no central rules. DC employees receive order summaries but must manually assign cost centers. Error rate: 18% of all orders have incorrect cost assignment. Consequence: Month-end closing is delayed by 5 days because Finance reworks 2,000+ errors. Cost center managers receive incorrect reports – confidence in data declines. Audit criticizes: "No traceability of cost assignment decisions".
Your Solution with simple system
- Analysis of current cost allocation practices across all 12 DCs
- Central definition of allocation rules such as:
- DC01 (Hamburg) → Cost centers 4100-4199
- DC02 (Leipzig) → Cost centers 4200-4299
- etc. for all 12 DCs
- Additional mapping per product category by S2Class:
- Office Supplies → GL 6100 (General Administration)
- Consumables → GL 6200 (Operations)
- Specialty Parts → GL 6300 (Maintenance)
- Cost Assignment and GL Account Mapping for External Systems: Automatic allocation at order placement
- Optional: No order execution without cost assignment and GL account
- Monitoring: Reports show orders and spending by allocation
- Audit trail: traceable order and approval processes
Result: • Allocation error rate drops from 18% to <1%
- Month-end closing: 5 days saved through eliminated rework
- Finance team can focus on analysis instead of error correction
- Cost center reports are 99%+ accurate
- Audit finding on "missing traceability" is resolved
- Cost center managers trust the data again
Your Benefit
- Time savings: Month-end closing 5 days shorter + 2,000 errors/month eliminated
- EBIT impact: +€244,800/year (rework) + €45,000/year (faster closing) + €1-1.5M/year (better budgeting) = +€1.4M/year
