Case Study
MERCHANTS
From Spreadsheet Chaos to Real‑Time Control: Merchants Transforms Budgeting with IDU
ABOUT MERCHANTS
Merchants, a Dimension Data company, is a leading customer management partner specialising in business process outsourcing (BPO) that delivers customer experience and customer interactions
Merchants has a 30 year track record of successfully delivering customers contact centre solutions for a variety of blue chip organisations, globally.
Merchants services and solutions are built on tried and trusted models, systems and processes that are based on best practice standards in the contact centre industry.
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Merchants relied on a basic application and fragmented spreadsheets to manage its budgeting process. This manual approach was time‑consuming, error‑prone, and made it difficult to consolidate budgets across multiple business units. Finance teams struggled to gain a clear, holistic view of the budget environment, while business unit managers lacked the tools to take ownership of their own budgets.
The absence of integration meant managers were disconnected from the process, reducing accountability and slowing decision‑making. The finance team carried the burden of aggregation and reporting, creating bottlenecks and limiting transparency across the organisation.
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THE SOLUTION
Merchants implemented IDU‑Concept Financial Budgeting and Reporting, which streamlined and automated the budgeting process. By writing budgets to a single database, IDU eliminated the pitfalls of spreadsheet‑based reporting and enabled real‑time aggregation at cost centre, regional, divisional, and executive levels.
The solution empowered business unit managers to own and manage their budgets, fostering accountability and accuracy. With bottom‑up budgeting and on‑demand reporting, non‑financial users gained visibility into general ledger transactions, enabling faster, more informed decisions. IDU provided Merchants with a flexible, agile platform that adapts to evolving business needs.
A PARTNER IN SUCCESS
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“Merchants embraced IDU to transform budgeting from a finance‑only exercise into a culture of ownership and accountability across the business.” - Mark Sayle, Account Manager, IDU
“The implementation of IDU‑Concept has resulted in a paradigm shift in our approach to budgeting. We now provide internal customers with the information they require thanks to a dependable on‑demand reporting solution.”
Financial Director, Merchants
THE RESULT
Radically reduced turnaround times: Budgets now consolidated in real time.
Single version of the truth: Eliminated spreadsheet chaos with one central database.
Empowered managers: Business unit leaders own and control their budgets.
On‑demand reporting: Non‑financial users access detailed transactions instantly for quick decisions.
