Mail.ru Group replaced 1C with SAP

Mail.ru Group after successful implementation and start in January, 2012 of the ERP system of SAP, thinks of final transition from the systems of 1C to products of SAP, this TAdvier was announced by the deputy finance director of Mail.ru Group Ruslan Aksyaitov on October 12, 2012 at a forum of SAP.

Project Tasks

Aksyaitov was recognized as TAdviser that at some point after consolidation of several companies in big holding it became clear that it is necessary to lead IT systems to a uniform denominator. "The fact that in the systems of 1C it became quite difficult to process that number of data that we used was still imposed, and there was also an opaque scheme of change of these or those data", - Aksyaitov told. - It was not pleasant to us that any accountant could come into wiring, to delete something or to rewrite and we could not trace it. Therefore in 2010 the decision to test several ERP systems was made".

According to him, in the company there were no specialists in implementation or development of this sort of systems therefore the decision on involvement of consultants was made. "As the consultant and the main integrator IBS was attracted", - Aksyaitov told. - As we counted then, from integrator 17 people, from our party - 6 employees were involved in the project".

Project Progress

In the first half of 2010 the company looked narrowly in the existing ERP to vendors and their products. "We selected SAP as the smallest evil. So we accept not everything, but the fact that it suited us, was much more, than at analogs", - Aksyaitov told.

• From November, 2010 to March, 2011 the tender for supply of equipment and final the choice of a system and integrator was held.
• Design lasted from March to June, 2011.
• Implementation on implementation took place from June to September, 2011.
• Preparation for operation - September-October, 2011.
• Test operation took place from October to December, 2011.
• In commercial operation a system was introduced in January, 2012.

Results

In a project deliverable the following SAP products were implemented: BPC, BOFC and ERP, - in four main Russian legal entities and also in 10 foreign companies which are owned by Mail.ru group.

As a result the holding completely refused use of tables of Exel and practically does not use the program of 1C. "All documentation is formed and is carried out in electronic form", - Aksyatov continued.

Mail.Ru Group and an IBS system created by a team of specialists covers all basic processes of the financial and economic block of the company and consists of three full-function solutions: "Operational accounting", Budgeting and Reporting. The first solution supports processes of operational accounting of economic transactions, control of purchases, implementation of outgoing payments. At the same time its transaction part is closely integrated with the technology Mail.Ru Group systems, such as system of accounting of sales of online games and management system for advertizing sale. The budgeting subsystem allows to create annual plans by business units, and then to control their execution on the basis of data of operational accounting. The subsystem of the reporting is responsible for preparation of different management and financial statements. A system allows to keep account and to create accounting records in Russian accounting standards and IFRS, tax statements, the consolidated statements according to IFRS and the consolidated management reporting.

In a single system of operational financial management of Mail.Ru Group six Russian legal entities of group, in particular, Mail.Ru, Odnoklassniki, divisions of on-line of games already work. Also the circuit of a system includes about 10 foreign companies Mail.Ru Group for which control of budget limits and management of cash flows are implemented. Collecting and consolidation of the reporting based on the SAP solutions BPC, SAP BO FC are implemented for all companies.

Despite a wide scope of the project, a system it was succeeded to bring into operation in only 7 months.

Implementation of a new system of financial management based on SAP solutions allowed Mail.Ru Group to pass to uniform operational accounting for the solution of all accounting tasks (management accounting, accounting under RAS, financial accounting according to IFRS, tax accounting). The unified account policy, a unified plan of accounts is entered into the companies. Significantly the budget discipline thanks to introduction of budget control improved. Automation allowed to refuse use of the tables MS Excel and other accounting software almost completely. By estimates of the company, reduction by 3 times of a set-up time of the consolidated statements (from 3 to 1 month) became the major project deliverable that is especially important, considering strict requirements of regulators and the London exchange (LSE) where shares of group, to submission due dates and quality of the reporting are traded.

Efficiency

"Efficiency of the implemented system it is possible to trace, for example, on a set-up time of the reporting under IFRS: it was reduced since three months to one. The company during implementation and after commissioning grew in two, and the number of workers did not increase. Even on the contrary, a third of all our accountants went on maternity leave, and the remained employees normally cope with loading. I want to note what during this time mass reductions was not made", - Aksyaitov told.

Aksyaitov considers one more performance indicator of the project growth of an indicator of EBITDA of the company which increased by 4%. "From them 0.1-0.2% are the deposit ERP", - he told.

Objectives

Ruslan Aksyaitov reported to TAdviser that in 2013 the company is going to bring the HRM and CRM systems into operation. "Until the end of the year we should decide on the choice of vendor, integrator and to set everything to begin work in new year with these systems. Whether there will be it SAP or some other vendor - will show the tender. We are not afraid of a zoo, the speed and quality of work is important for us", - Aksyaitov concluded.

According to unofficial data, the choice will be behind the systems of SAP.