Interview with Jason De Mullich, Project Manager at First Choice Holidays plc 
First Choice Holidays plc recently selected the Hyperion EPM Suite and ReportSource as its implementation partner to address its performance management needs. In this interview, Jason tells us about the selection process and the rationale behind the selection decision. Jason also gives us some top tips for anyone currently undergoing a similar process.
A Business Problem
What is the business problem experienced at First Choice that prompted solutions search?
Like a lot of organisations, our management information, reporting and analysis processes are largely spreadsheet-based. We needed to shift the focus from the mechanics of data gathering to effective analysis enabling effective business decision making. Our Group Finance Director, Paul Bowtell, launched the financial reporting initiative to take the business to the next level - to improve efficiency, business processes and decision making. Any solution we came up with needed to be effective and robust from a Group perspective but also not stifle and burden our businesses units, many of which have been acquired and bring their entrepreneurial nature to First Choice.
In your view, is the business problem experienced of a technical nature or process orientated?
I see technology as the enabler; driven by a need for process precision - the need for business processes to be timely, accurate and effective.
So, tell us how did the financial reporting initiative evolved into an enterprise-wide Performance Management project?
We conducted an internal feasibility study. During this “discovery” initiative our vision evolved as we educated ourselves and gained insight into the solutions available. A full EPM solution soon became a viable option if we wanted to make a positive impact on all processes across the whole enterprise and gain the maximum ROI for all stakeholders.
20 Vendors Caught Our Eye
How did you go about initiating the vendor procurement process?
We used the internet and read the material provided by many of the independent research companies. This enabled us to educate ourselves about available solutions and at a top level how each of the vendors positioned themselves. Initially, around 20 solutions vendors caught our attention, of which 8 met a number of high-level functional criteria and qualified to be further evaluated for selection.
8 Vendors Short-Listed
What criteria did the solutions have to meet in order to be short listed to the final 8 vendors at that stage?
At first, the strength of the consolidation and financial reporting solution was a high priority but as our vision evolved we developed the need for more granularity and cohesion across the different EPM processes. This meant that the ability for the solution to address planning and analysis of financial and non-financial information grew. This required a more end-to-end Performance Management Solution including Consolidation, Budgeting, Forecasting, Financial Reporting, Strategic Planning, BI and Dashboards .
How did you gather detailed information from the 8 vendors to aid further short list decision making?
Before sending the RFP we held some initial sessions with each vendor we had identified as being suitable to make sure First Choice understood the vendors offerings and that the vendor was comfortable that they could deliver our broad requirements. This usually involved a demonstration by the vendor. We then created and sent a detailed RFP to which 6 of the 8 vendors responded. This was followed by a discovery meeting with each. We assessed the differentiating factors between the various solutions at this point.
How did you address the request for information on provision of services?
We ran a separate selection process with third party implementation partners, such as ReportSource. In the proposals we asked how each vendor would go about implementation with questions centred on structure, project sizing, indicative costs/resources, included and excluded activities and company culture. We also ran ½ day workshops with each to better understand their approach, capabilities and culture.
How did you assess each RFP and make informed decisions based on the information they contained?
To aid the decision making, we did a quantitative weighted scoring of the RFP responses back to our requirements. This was based around vendor profile, functionality, scalability, IT, product integration and commercial aspects. We also looked at qualitative factors such as the vendors approach to implementation , their experience in delivering full end-to-end performance management solutions and importantly whether we felt it was the right solution for First Choice – Strategically, Functionally, and Technically.
And then?
At this stage we had enough information to select 3 vendors to move to the next stage We also debriefed the unsuccessful vendors - we appreciate the work that goes into pre-sales activities and believe that concise feedback is good business practice.
Workshops with Senior Execs
Tell us about the workshops conducted with the 3 preferred vendors
At this stage one of the vendors dropped out. The remaining 2 were afforded the opportunity to conduct a 2-day session with the Senior Executives from all the Business Units at First Choice. The 2 days were split into sessions focussing on how the solution would work in First Choice and then specific sessions on a specific business problem such as consolidation, strategic planning or integration. These sessions were very instrumental because they achieved 2 necessary objectives: further evaluation of the Vendors' understanding of our business and buy-in from the senior stakeholders at an early stage.
Did you supply the Vendors with First Choice demo data?
No. Although at first glance it seems that would be a sensible thing to do, the reality is it is time and resource intensive - for you and the vendor (and is more than likely to be error prone). If you focus on your own process then the vendors were often better able to show their capability on their own data rather than ours. But be prepared to ask the vendor to demonstrate specifics of your business, even if their demo data isn’t setup to do it.
What did the results of the 2 separate workshops reveal?
The workshops were very effective in exposing the weaknesses of each solution. We debriefed the vendors and then conducted further half day sessions with each in which we concentrated on these areas of weakness.
Hyperion Selected
So First Choice selected Hyperion as its EPM Solution Vendor…
Yes. In our opinion, Hyperion met our needs more fully than its competitors.
Top Tips
Now that your selection is complete and implementation is underway – can you give us some advice and top tips for the EPM solution procurement process?
-
Stakeholders - Engage the stakeholders from the start. I believe that discovery sessions and workshops with the various levels of First Choice staff served well to ensure complete buy-in of the solution we eventually chose.
-
Continuous process – Throughout the selection process, try to keep the vendors continuously engaged. Respect their time as professional organisations and take the time to debrief them concisely after each stage.
-
The RFP - Remember that the RFP merely provides insight to the vendors and a starting point for discussion. The effort and level of engagement invested by each of the vendors also speaks volumes about how important your business is to the vendor. Refine your questions; ask the yes/no questions but try to include more “tell us how” questions. Always ask the vendors to articulate why they are better than their competitors.
-
Transparency - Allow each of the vendors adequate insight into your business processes so that they can demonstrate the capability of their solutions in the context of your organisation more accurately.
Implementation
The EPM implementation at First Choice Holidays plc has been kicked off with ReportSource driving the delivery. We look forward to the go-live of the first milestone at the end of October 2007 when approximately 100 business units will consolidate and report via HFM for the first time. Watch this space!
Read Other Interviews...
| 
