Case study: Fonterra achieves efficient, compliant, and standardised expense management on a global scale

Fonterra is a multinational dairy co-operative based in New Zealand, and is one of the world’s largest exporters of dairy products. As well as being a global dairy products powerhouse, Fonterra is also a world leader in dairy science and innovation, and a partner to many of the world’s leading food companies. Fonterra provides premium milk products to international markets through the company’s ingredients, food service and consumer brands.

With a workforce of 20,000 across 40 countries, Fonterra faces the considerable challenge of managing travel and expenses efficiently. Recognising the importance of streamlining this aspect of operations, the company set out to find a scalable solution to optimise its expense management processes.

Why Fonterra choose SAP Concur?

• Easy integration with existing ERP systems
• Global standardisation with local flexibility
• Improved compliance and financial oversight
• Significantly faster and more accurate approval workflows

Fonterra case study

Fonterra’s average approval time is now 2.8 days compared with 30–35 days previously.

“The daily automated integration into our ERP system has not only streamlined our month-end reporting, but has also significantly reduced the need for accruals, enhancing our financial governance and control,” says Angela. “This shift has fundamentally transformed how we manage spending across Fonterra — ensuring timely, accurate, and efficient financial management.” - Angela Dowman, GM Account Services, Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd

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Undertaking a thorough audit and risk management review

Fonterra’s existing T&E solution provider announced plans to discontinue its service, presenting Fonterra with an opportunity to reassess and upgrade its expense management systems.

“When we learned our previous provider was changing direction, we saw it as a chance to find a solution that better fit our evolving needs,” said Angela Dowman, GM of Account Services at Fonterra. “We immediately began exploring options that could be implemented quickly while meeting our immediate requirements.”

During this exploration phase, Fonterra conducted an internal audit of its credit card and employee expense claim processes. The review revealed areas for improvement and provided valuable insights into potential risks. As Angela explained, “The audit’s timing was ideal. It gave us a clear picture of our vulnerabilities and allowed us to build those insights directly into our business requirements for a new solution.”

Standardising expense management across global operations

With operations in 20 countries, Fonterra had an initial rollout across 14 countries and 20 separate entities. The large-scale implementation required careful execution to support 4,500 cardholders and 15,000 expense claim users. The team faced the task of navigating different time zones, multiple languages, and diverse reporting and coding requirements for each business unit. As with any introduction of a new system, employees needed to adapt to new ways of working and understanding the upgraded expense process.

SAP Concur’s expense management platform introduced expense types instead of individual coding and shifted to a claim submission model rather than processing each expense individually. This was a large change compared to processing each expense individually.

“Change management was one of our biggest challenges,” Angela noted. “We weren’t just implementing new software, we were transforming how our employees across the globe interact with our expense management system. It required a significant shift in mindset and processes.”

SAP Concur has been an incredible asset to our business, providing us with a minimum viable product that was quickly improved with little or no additional configuration.” Angela Dowman, GM Account Services, Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd “

Implementing a comprehensive solution within a tight time frame

Fonterra aimed to find a solution that would integrate smoothly with its existing ERP systems, unifying and automating expense handling across its worldwide operations.

“We faced a tight timeline,” Angela explained. “When we began the implementation, we had just eight months before our previous system would be discontinued. The urgency helped us focus and move swiftly.”

Despite the pressing deadline, the team saw this as an opportunity to create a more efficient, standardised approach to expense management that could adapt to local needs while maintaining global consistency.

"SAP Concur Expense has revolutionised our financial processes, offering us unparalleled efficiency and accuracy in handling transactions.” Angela Dowman, GM Account Services, Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd.

The implementation of SAP Concur Expense to streamline its global processes offered Fonterra several key benefits:

• Effortless ERP integration: Concur Expense integrated with Fonterra’s existing ERP systems, automating data transfer and eliminating manual maintenance of employee information and financial posting. It aligned closely with Fonterra’s IT landscape and long-term roadmap.
• Global standardisation with local flexibility: The system standardised expense reporting and approval processes across Fonterra’s operations, while accommodating local rules, regulations, and tax configurations.
• Enhanced automation and user experience: Automated approval workflows and intuitive features like optical character recognition (OCR) for receipt processing and Google Maps integration for mileage claims improved efficiency and user adoption. Within a year of implementation, the SAP Concur mobile app achieved a 25% adoption rate.
• Improved compliance and accuracy: The transition from manual coding to expense type selection resulted in more accurate and consistent financial postings across Fonterra’s four ERP systems. Additional compliance rules, such as automatic approval escalation, were implemented to address internal audit concerns. “In addition to improving the overall efficiency of our Expense management, SAP Concur has also been instrumental in addressing several of our internal audit issues,” Angela noted.

Streamlining operations, improving efficiency, and better serving Fonterra’s global workforce

Fonterra has seen a positive change in overall compliance, with key metrics such as uncoded and unapproved items being addressed in a shorter time period.

Fonterra’s average approval time is now 2.8 days, compared with 30 – 35 days previously.

“As Fonterra’s adoption of SAP Concur continues to gain traction, the business has benefitted from much greater visibility of spend,” Angela said. “The introduction of monthly ‘burst’ reports has led to productive conversations between managers and employees, and significantly improved our overall expense policy compliance.”

The implementation has delivered significant measurable improvements across Fonterra’s operations. By enforcing timely coding and approval of transactions within monthly timeframes, the system has dramatically improved expense handling, minimising delays and strengthening compliance with company policies.

There has been remarkable progress in the speed and accuracy of approvals, with a 35% improvement in expense approval rates. Mileage accuracy has also improved, with 95% of employees now using Google Maps for their claims.

The new system has strengthened the company’s ability to monitor unauthorised spending. Managers and compliance leads can now review expenditure with greater ease and accessibility, effectively reducing the risk of inappropriate spending. This enhanced oversight promotes consistent compliance with company policy on purchase card use.

With SAP Concur, Fonterra has achieved a standardised expense reporting and approval process across its global operations. This maintains the flexibility to accommodate local rules and regulations while ensuring consistency in core processes — which is crucial for any large global company.

“The daily automated integration into our ERP system has not only streamlined our month-end reporting, but has also significantly reduced the need for accruals, enhancing our financial governance and control,” says Angela. “This shift has fundamentally transformed how we manage spending across Fonterra — ensuring timely, accurate, and efficient financial management.”

Future-proofing expense management

With the new solution in place across its global operations, Fonterra is expanding its processes, and starting to see better compliance to its Purchase Card (P-card) policy. The internal audit team is now able to revisit how they audit corporate card and employee expense claims spend with a view to improve its overall rating.

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