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Securing budget construction and analysis
The IBM Planning Analytics (new name of TM1) solution - implemented by Next Decision teams - has allowed Asten Santé to automate its budget construction and the generation of its analysis reports.
A subsidiary of the La Poste Group, Asten Santé sought an advanced budgeting tool to enhance operational efficiency. The company chose IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM Planning Analytics (new name of TM1) to develop several key modules for the teams, a project that took over 3 years to complete.
Asten Santé is a prominent home healthcare service provider, catering to nearly 120,000 patients daily across France. Originally a non-profit organization, it is now a subsidiary of the La Poste Group and affiliated with the La Poste Santé & Autonomie branch.
Over three years ago, Asten Santé initiated discussions on implementing a tool to automate budget construction and facilitate its analysis. "We were looking for a decision-making and steering tool for our management and operational teams." explains Laurence Paquereau, Group Control Manager, Asten Santé.
The diversity of the company's activities makes the process of generating sales increasingly complex... as does its affiliation with the La Poste Group. "Being part of the La Poste Group means going through 5 budgetary steps per year: 1 budget and 4 estimates. In other words, the budget construction and development phases are carried out five times a year, which represents a significant workload. Having a budgeting tool has therefore enabled us to speed up these operations, while ensuring that they are more reliable and secure.”
Asten Santé rapidly turned to Next Decision, a partner with which it had already collaborated on Business Intelligence projects, as well as IBM Cognos TM1 and IBM Planning Analytics solutions. "In a previous position, one of the team's management controllers had worked with these IBM solutions: he was familiar with the effectiveness of the tools and the benefits we could derive from them." notes Laurence Paquereau.
Results
Transformation: Building solutions module by module
Asten Santé decided to start with an initial accounting module on analytical income statements.
"Our goal was to connect IBM Planning Analytics to SAGE, in order to extract actual data and create a budget construction module dedicated to income statements. This first module is an essential stepping stone to more technical and enriching subjects." explains Laurence Paquereau, Group Control Manager, Asten Santé.
Since then, several other modules have been developed:
Business activity and sales: this module connects to business tool Isadom in order to extract key data (patients, treatments, etc.) and hence obtain a budget projection for the year.
Patient consumption: healthcare providers require a significant number of consumables. This module, which helps evaluate these needs and calculate margins, is used most often by operational teams to optimize their consumption.
Assets: the company has implemented a module for CAPEX forecasts, based on activity projections. This tool is mainly used by the management control department.
Additional initiatives have been undertaken, such as the production of income statements per agency.
For each module, the development method is the same: "our Next Decision expert begins with a blank page and jots down our needs during workshop sessions. This allows for the module to be created over the course of our discussions. We actually see the module come to life on paper, even before the tool exists!”
Related solutions
With the development of new modules, Asten Santé has moved away from simple budget construction to creating a genuine financial management tool. The solution is robust and includes daily updates of both accounting and operational data.
"We currently use IBM Planning Analytics in several ways." explains Laurence Paquereau, Group Control Manager, Asten Santé. "In addition to budget forecasting, we produce monthly reports for management, regional directors, branch managers and various support service managers (sales, marketing, etc.). Once a month, we produce more detailed analyses, particularly focused on margins, for operational teams. We use this solution daily in our management control department, for both control and analysis tasks."
The Asten Santé and Next Decision teams are currently working on an FTE (full-time equivalent) module that will assess the human resources required to carry out the activities planned in the budget projection. Asten Santé hopes to finalize this solution in the first quarter of 2024. Another project we are working on is to provide income statements by activity, which would give management a more accurate picture of the company's performance, activity by activity. Again, this project is scheduled for 2024.
Finally, changes in the management control team will necessitate the training of new controllers, facilitating the transfer of skills. "2024 will be the year of consolidating our EPM." concludes Laurence Paquereau.
A key player in the home healthcare sector, Asten Santé assists patients throughout their entire healthcare journey, addressing acute and chronic conditions, as well as tackling issues related to autonomy loss due to aging or disability.
Asten Santé's origins as an association and its affiliation with the La Poste Group make it a unique player in the home healthcare sector, with a fully committed and hands-on approach to patients and healthcare teams alike.
Asten Santé offers a wide range of at-home medico-technical services for patients: Sleep Apnea, Chronic Respiratory Insufficiency, Infusion, Nutrition, Insulin Therapy, Parkinson's Disease...
For 50 years, our multidisciplinary teams of experts have been working alongside healthcare professionals to ensure comprehensive, personalized patient care and guarantee treatment adherence.
At Asten Santé, we view each patient as unique, with his or her own story, specific needs and concerns, and therefore always prioritize the human dimension of our profession.