Power Automate Desktop for a Shoe Manufacturing Industry

10 July 2023

The Client

The client is a US-based global leader in the fashion industry and shoe manufacturing.

The Business needs

The client’s extensive network of brick-and-mortar stores and online eCommerce platforms led to complex merchant statement reconciliation processes. They needed a solution to streamline these processes and ensure accurate and efficient weekly reporting of sales, inventory, and cash flow from each platform and outlet.

The Challenge

The client required weekly reporting of sales, inventory, and store data, along with cash flow from each platform and outlet. The manual reconciliation process through Excel extractions was laborious and error-prone, necessitating an update in their SAP Business One system to improve accuracy and efficiency.

The Solution

A comprehensive Power Automate Desktop solution was crafted to streamline the reconciliation process. The solution included several key components:

1. Weekly Automation: The solution was configured to process weekly Excel reports from each outlet and store, ensuring timely data processing.
2. Attended Automation: It operated as an attended process through a designated folder path on a shared drive, facilitating data reconciliation, normalization, and grouping by merchant.
3. Data Normalization: The solution normalized and grouped data by merchant, including inventory, cash flow, and sales data, ensuring consistency across all records.
4. Report Generation: Reconciled statements were compiled into a summary PDF in a specified reporting format for stakeholder distribution, enhancing communication and transparency.
5. SAP Business One Integration: The reconciled data was seamlessly fed into the on-premise SAP Business One system, improving tracking, reporting, and operations management.

Technical Aspects

• Automation Software: Power Automate Desktop
• Process Type: Attended automation through a shared drive folder path
• Data Processing: Reconciliation, normalization, and grouping of merchant data
• Reporting: Automated summary PDF generation
• System Integration: On-premise SAP Business One

The Benefits

The deployment of this solution delivered substantial advantages:

• Efficiency: Automation significantly reduced the time spent on manual reconciliation, allowing staff to focus on more strategic tasks.
• Accuracy: Minimized manual intervention led to fewer errors and more accurate financial statements.
• Consistency: Standardized reports improved the consistency of data presented to stakeholders, enhancing decision-making.
• Integration: Direct integration with SAP Business One streamlines operations management, providing a more cohesive workflow.

Conclusion

This case study illustrates the efficacy of Power Automate Desktop in transforming the merchant statement reconciliation process for a leading fashion and shoe manufacturing company. By automating weekly data reporting and integrating with SAP Business One, the client achieved greater operational efficiency, accuracy, and consistency in their financial management. The solution not only resolved current challenges but also provided a scalable framework for future growth, positioning the client for continued success.