Transforming F&A for a Leading Manufacturer, Driving 40% TCO Reduction and 38% Productivity Gains

Industry: Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods | Services: Digital Operations, Intelligent Automation

Client Overview

The client, a private equity-owned, US-based printing and distribution company, employes 20,000 employees and has an annual revenue of $3.3 billion. As a high-growth enterprise focused on tuck-in and strategic acquisitions, it operates 20+ plants across locations and relies on efficient F&A processes to support expansion, integration and potential divestitures.

The Challenge

Need for a Scalable F&A Platform to Support M&A and Cost Optimization Goals

The client faced mounting pressure to integrate finance operations across its growing portfolio of acquired entities while maintaining the ability to rapidly “untangle” operations during divestments. Fragmented systems, varying processes and high SG&A costs made this complex.

With ambitions to modernize F&A, the client needed a digital BPO partner to create a scalable, right-shored platform to support end-to-end process standardization, fast-track transformation initiatives, and deliver measurable cost and productivity benefits. Flexibility, speed and digital maturity were paramount.

Sutherland Solution

Digital-First F&A Transformation Across 22 Plants with Golden Processes and Multi-Tower Governance

Sutherland partnered with the client to build a future-ready Global Business Services platform with the following transformation pillars:

1. Digital Fabric Integration: Standardized P2P, O2C and R2R (including FP&A) processes layered on client-specific ERPs via API integration—enabling rapid integration and decoupling as needed.
2. Lift-Shift-Transform & Transform-Shift Strategy: Tailored approach based on role and process maturity across plants.
3. Golden Process Design: Defined target outcomes, benchmarks and process maps to standardize operations across entities.
4. Hyperautomation Track: Fast-tracked productivity gains through intelligent automation across finance towers.
5. Innovation Council & Value Creation Office: A multidisciplinary unit driving consulting, Lean Six Sigma, analytics, automation and F&A best practices.
6. Comprehensive Governance Model: End-to-end ownership covering policy, performance, documentation, contract, and change management.
7. Right-Shoring Strategy: Built Centers of Excellence in India and Jamaica, optimizing operations for scale and efficiency.
8. Transformation Pipeline: Identified and implemented over 100 projects to deliver early and sustained cost savings.

The Outcome

Digitally Enabled Finance Transformation at Scale

Sutherland partnered with the client to drive a strategic finance transformation across over 20 plant locations. By digitizing and streamlining finance and accounting processes, we achieved a significant reduction in SG&A costs, accelerated critical financial cycles, and established a scalable foundation for the seamless integration of future acquisitions or carve-outs.

The engagement delivered tangible business outcomes: accounts payable cycle time was reduced from 60 to 20 hours, with over 75% of transactions processed touchlessly; days sales outstanding (DSO) improved through a 2.4-day reduction and an 18% increase in average monthly collections; and the period close cycle was shortened by an average of two days. In addition, more than 85% of finance operations were transitioned to right-shored Centers of Excellence. At the same time, a comprehensive CFO dashboard with over 75 outcome-centric reports was deployed to support data-driven decision-making. The optimized delivery model also enabled a 40% reduction in expansion costs. Collectively, these initiatives drove an underwritten productivity uplift of 38% across finance operations, reinforcing Sutherland’s commitment to delivering intelligent, scalable solutions that drive enterprise agility, operational excellence, and sustained performance.

That’s digital outcomes delivered!
Following the successful implementation, Sutherland solidified its role as the client’s long-term transformation partner, supporting the operationalization of a global, digital-first finance platform that enables both growth and exit strategies.