Neapco's Journey Streamlining Plex and Workday Adaptive Planning

Introduction

Neapco is the leading supplier of innovative driveline solutions to original equipment manufacturers and the global automotive industry. Neapco designs, manufactures, and distributes high-quality, cost-effective OEM and aftermarket driveline products for automotive, light truck, heavy truck, off-road, off-highway, agriculture, and industrial applications.

Neapco's rich history of excellence, diverse product lines, engineering expertise, and integrated manufacturing capabilities define the company's competitive advantage. All Neapco products are precision-engineered and manufactured to exacting tolerances in state-of-the-art plants in North America, Europe, and Asia to deliver premium performance—even in the world's most demanding environments.

Situation

Neapco used Plex as its ERP; however, the finance team struggled with integrating Plex's operational data into Workday Adaptive Planning for budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting. "We sought a solution to automate the transfer of data from Plex to Workday Adaptive Planning," said Jason Weber, Corporate Controller at Neapco.

Challenge

Neapco's manual data transfer process was time-consuming and error-prone, leading to delays in decision-making. "Our process involved the finance team logging into one system and extracting data into Excel using a variety of formulas, VLOOKUPs, and other manipulations. After cleaning and arranging the data as needed, they would transfer it to another file and import it into the final location. This manual data transfer process was time-consuming and error-prone. This process took 45 minutes to an hour to complete."

Solution

Consultants introduced Neapco to DataBlend. After an evaluation, they implemented DataBlend to bridge the gap between Plex and Workday Adaptive Planning. DataBlend's connector allowed seamless integration of real-time data from Plex into Adaptive Planning, automating critical financial and operational data flow.

"Once we decided to start the project, everything moved quickly. As soon as we signed the agreement to move forward, everything seemed to kick off the next day. We were up and running within one to two weeks."

Results:

Improved Efficiency: By automating data integration, Neapco significantly reduced the time spent on manual data handling. "What used to take 45 minutes to an hour now takes only 30 seconds with just a click of a button! The team now can focus the saved three to four hours a week on analyzing month-end."
Enhanced Decision-Making: With real-time data flow between Plex and Adaptive Planning, Neapco achieved greater visibility into its financial performance, enabling more informed and timely business decisions.
Reduced Errors: Automating data transfer significantly reduced the risk of errors, leading to more reliable financial reporting and increased stakeholder confidence. "Thanks to DataBlend handling all the mapping and data manipulation, we no longer encounter errors that arose from our previous manual process. As long as we maintain our mappings and keep our software up to date, everything is accurate and reliable."
Scalability: DataBlend's solution provided flexibility to scale as the company grew, supporting additional data sources and expanding the scope of financial planning. "We recently went through a small acquisition and had to integrate a couple of new companies. We also introduced DataBlend to these new companies. The new team was impressed with how user-friendly it is."

"Neapco provides a unique scenario for DataBlend due to its distinct entities based on different geo-locations. These entities are managed independently. For example, if the books in Bangladesh are closed, you can load and refresh them as required without needing a Workday Adaptive Planning rollup mirror. DataBlend is designed to give you the flexibility to load and refresh data by location without negatively affecting other location data. It also allows you to create financial report rollups as needed," said Zachary Griggs, VP of Customer and Partner Experiences at DataBlend.

Conclusion

Implementing DataBlend to connect Plex with Workday Adaptive Planning transformed the Neapco financial planning process. The seamless integration provided by DataBlend not only improved operational efficiency and empowered Neapco to make data-driven decisions confidently. As a result, they are now better equipped to navigate the complexities of the automotive industry and continue its legacy of innovation and excellence.

"DataBlend gives us peace of mind, knowing that the data is being transferred accurately and that the teams find it useful. This is especially important in our corporate environment, where new software and requirements often create extra work for our divisions," said Jason Weber, Corporate Controller at Neapco.

Neapco's Journey Streamlining Plex and Workday Adaptive Planning

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