Meet Our Clients
The Client
Financial Services Firm
Financial services firms have broadly embraced Six Sigma as a methodology for improving customer service and organizational processes. Increasingly, though, firms want Six Sigma programs that are tailored to the needs of their specific organization and industry. The global markets and investment banking arm of a major financial services firm based in the United States turned to Acrinet for help in developing such a customized Six Sigma improvement program.
The Client
The University of Alabama at Huntsville
With a mission statement that includes having “a student-focused community…built upon a foundation of integrity, creativity, and openness to the exploration of new ideas,” The University of Alabama at Huntsville strives for continuous process improvement. One of the methods the university has chosen in an effort to improve its operations has been to partner with Acrinet. Acrinet has been supporting The University of Alabama at Huntsville for more than 5 years in several areas including cost recovery, research administration and information technology implementation.
According to Louis Katz, the university’s vice president and treasurer, “Our relationship with [Acrinet] has evolved over time; it is much more strategic now than it was in the beginning when we were working with them on a project basis.”
A Definitive Return on Investment
As chief information officer, Swartz says his experience with Acrinet has been focused on a particular project—implementation of the Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning system—but even that has been demonstrative of the strategic, teamlike nature of their association.
“[Acrinet] has been represented on virtually every aspect of the ERP implementation project, including the executive committee. Beyond staffing critical teams and finding talent for us, they have brought us the experience necessary to succeed on a project of this size and continue to provide us with advice. Even after going live with the Oracle system, we have had the benefit of [Acrinet]’s industry knowledge.
Strategic Approach
Swartz says that Acrinet’s “depth of experience—not just in higher education but in business as well—is helping us transform our business. One reason we’ve ramped up our relationship is because we decided we want to tap into their strategic thinking across the board, not just on specific projects. We want to rebuild our university to make it more efficient, friendly and productive. Doing so involves not just technology, but processes. Knowing the best practices and where technology plays a role, and tying it all together, is critical—that’s what they do. We want to be on the leading edge, and [Acrinet] is our strategic partner to get us there.”
The Benefits
Acrinet’s evolution from a contractor to a strategic partner has been a natural development, stemming from the company’s commitment to “understanding our needs as a university and understanding the higher education industry,” says Katz.
“We are now far ahead of many universities, doing things quicker and faster with their advice and expertise. These are the things that make this partnership pay for itself.”
If you would like to learn more how Acrinet can empower your organization
The Client
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare System is a not-for-profit business unit of Northwestern University that operates as an integrated health care system. The organization includes a full-service hospital system, ambulatory care and surgery clinics, primary care medical practice clinics, home health care services, HMO, continuing care providers, and other related facilities and services.
The Challenge
In 2004, Acrinet successfully completed an SAP/R3 system implementation for Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Health System. However, the new health system’s financial management was certain that new technology alone would not result in the world-class finance organization Northwestern needed to remain competitive. Northwestern’s financial managers knew they needed to revamp their entire finance organization. Their goal was to build a finance organization that would equal the reputation of Northwestern’s medical system.
The Solution
Northwestern engaged Acrinet to assist in designing and developing its new finance organization. To streamline processes for the client, Acrinet and Deloitte LLP worked together in order to create a solution specifically tailored to Northwestern’s needs.
In the design phase, the project team addressed the question of how Northwestern should be structured, including personnel and processes, roles and responsibilities, and technology.
Acrinet then implemented the organizational plan, which included establishing service level agreements, creating standardized policies and procedures, and developing an accounting closing schedule, calendar, and responsibilities matrix for each person within the Northwestern Finance organization. We also provided interim staffing assistance to help get the new finance organization up and running more rapidly. The result was the creation of an integrated, self-sufficient finance organization capable of supporting the financial needs of a $2 billion health system. As follow-on to this project, Northwestern engaged Acrinet to improve the standard transactional reports available through the SAP system.
The Benefits
Among the benefits realized by Northwestern’s new finance organization:
Refined standard and customized reports that provide decision makers with daily, weekly, and monthly statistical and financial information
Improved service levels for the processes being performed
Creation of an expertise center for the accounting, finance, and administration areas
Formation of enterprise-wide standardized policies, procedures, and processes
Organizational flexibility to ease assimilation during future acquisitions
Maximization of Web and other technologies to enable links with consumers, physicians, hospitals, payors, and others
Creation of meaningful performance indicators and measurements at all levels of personnel and departments