EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Santam faced several challenges in their treasury operations, including manual processes, lack of cash visibility, and the absence of a centralised treasury function. By leveraging TreasuryONE’s IT2 Treasury Management System solution, Santam successfully addressed these challenges and achieved significant improvements in their treasury operations.
CLIENT PROFILE:
-
- Company: Santam
- Headquarters: Cape Town, South Africa
- Founded: 1918
- Industry: Financial services
- Company Size: Listed on the JSE
- TreasuryONE services selected: IT2 Treasury Management System
CHALLENGES:
- Manual Processes: Santam relied heavily on manual processes, with treasury reports and position management being performed manually in spreadsheets. This resulted in inefficiencies, increased risk, and limited scalability.
- Lack of Centralised Treasury Function: Santam recognised the importance of establishing a centralised treasury function to streamline operations, enhance controls, and improve decision-making. However, they lacked the necessary tools and infrastructure to support this transformation.
- Limited Cash Visibility and Management: Santam faced difficulties in gaining real-time visibility into their cash positions and managing cash flows effectively. This hindered their ability to optimise liquidity and make informed financial decisions.
SOLUTION:
After a thorough evaluation, Santam selected TreasuryONE’s IT2 Treasury Management System as the ideal solution to address their treasury management challenges. TreasuryONE’s comprehensive TMS solution offered the following benefits:
- Implementation and Support: TreasuryONE ensured a seamless implementation of the IT2 TMS, relieving Santam’s internal IT resources and treasury staff from the burden of system management. TreasuryONE’s dedicated support desk addressed queries promptly within a strict service level agreement (SLA).
- Bank Connectivity Management: TreasuryONE managed and maintained the bank connectivity for Santam, simplifying and streamlining the communication between Santam and their banking partners.
- Enhanced Cash Visibility: With the IT2 TMS in place, Santam achieved 100% cash visibility. They gained real-time insights into their cash positions, enabling better cash forecasting, liquidity management, and financial decision-making.
- Automated Reporting and Web Portal: Santam’s finance teams benefited from automated reporting capabilities provided by the TMS. Additionally, TreasuryONE created a web portal where other finance teams could request cash, foreign exchange, and submit forecasts, fostering collaboration and improving operational efficiency.
- Access to TreasuryONE Operational Staff: Santam had access to TreasuryONE’s operational staff, leveraging their expertise for effective foreign exchange risk management and guidance on other treasury-related matters.
- Additional Products and Market Advice: As Santam’s trusted TMS Technology Service Provider, TreasuryONE offered access to a range of other treasury products and provided market advice to support Santam’s ongoing treasury operations and strategic decision-making.
RESULTS & BENEFITS:
By partnering with TreasuryONE and implementing the IT2 TMS, Santam achieved remarkable outcomes:
- Streamlined Operations: The TMS eliminated manual processes, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in treasury operations. Santam’s treasury staff could focus on value-added activities instead of manual data entry and reconciliation tasks.
- Centralised Treasury Function: Santam successfully established a centralised treasury function, enabling better control, standardisation, and coordination across the organisation’s treasury operations.
- Improved Cash Visibility and Management: With 100% cash visibility and automated reporting, Santam gained a holistic view of their cash positions, enabling proactive cash management and optimisation of liquidity.
- Enhanced Collaboration: The web portal provided by TreasuryONE facilitated seamless collaboration between Santam’s finance teams, promoting efficient cash requests, foreign exchange management, and accurate forecasting.
- Expert Support: Santam benefited from TreasuryONE’s local support desk and operational staff, ensuring timely resolution of queries and access to expert advice for effective risk management and strategic decision-making.
- Conclusion: Santam’s decision to appoint TreasuryONE as their TMS Technology Service Provider proved to be a pivotal step in transforming their treasury operations. By implementing the IT2 TMS solution, Santam overcame their manual processes, established a centralised treasury function, and achieved improved cash visibility and management.