TMF Group deploys Enate for its global digital strategy

Overview

TMF Group is a leading provider of critical administrative services, helping clients invest and operate safely around the world. Its 9,100 experts and 120 offices in more than 80 countries worldwide serve corporates, financial institutions, asset managers, private clients and family offices, providing the combination of accounting, tax, payroll, fund administration, compliance and entity management services essential to global business success.

"TMF Group is a complicated business. We operate in more than 80 countries and have grown extensively through acquisition. The heart of our value proposition, global reach and local knowledge, is the provision of the local expertise to manage complex regulation."
<div class="case-study_inline-quote-name">Russell Sheldon, Chief Operations & Technology Officer</div>

Context and challenge

Following an acquisition by leading private equity firm CVC, TMF Group’s new leadership team were tasked with developing a new strategy and growth agenda for the firm. Key to this was the integrated operational and digital strategy developed by chief operations & technology officer, Russell Sheldon, who explained, “TMF Group is a complicated business. We operate in more than 80 countries and have grown extensively through acquisition. The heart of our value proposition, global reach and local knowledge, is the provision of the local expertise to manage complex regulation.

The aim of our digital transformation programme was threefold:

1. To give clients a choice between a “local first” or “global first” journey
2. To enhance consistency and efficiency of service and delivery
3. To create a platform for digital access, data analytics, automation and other features”

The core objectives outlined by TMF Group were to:

• Redefine global operating models and process blueprints
• Embed and localise process blueprints into the future Business Process Management (BPM) solution and deploy alongside lean management tools
• Define and deploy an intelligent automation toolkit
• Increase visibility and use of operational delivery metrics to drive continuous improvement
• Integrate the BPM solution as a key component of TMF Group’s digital client platform

Market evaluation and decision

A range of workflow and BPM solution vendors were evaluated alongside Enate with specific needs in mind:

• Consistency vs standardisation
• The ability to handle localisation in over 80 countries
• Vendor flexibility, responsiveness and alignment with senior leadership

We chose Enate because their leadership understood the journey we were on and demonstrated the flexibility and responsiveness we considered vital for success.

Piloting the relationship and solution

Enate helped TMF Group to select an implementation partner to bring the necessary people, process and expertise to support pilots in Costa Rica, Brazil and the Netherlands. This helped to establish the foundation for global deployment in the future.The project team, including specialists from Enate, built close relationships with the delivery leads in the pilot countries to ensure the models could be scaled and rolled out globally. This included design workshops, tests and refinements to reach the final models.By the end of 2019 TMF Group had successfully piloted new models for each service, onboarding over 200 users in three languages, and training management teams along the way.“As we moved through the pilot it became clear we needed to make things practical for users. We evolved our approach to build workflows directly in the system so users could see the new way of working ahead of the rollout. This approach improved our design and increased engagement with key stakeholders,” said James Bertioli, global head of digital operations.Enate suggested the “Pilot to Pathfinder to Global” approach to ensure lessons learned in the pilot were embedded in deployment.

By the end of 2019 TMF Group had successfully piloted new models for each service.

Piloting the relationship and solution

Leveraging TMF Group’s Centre of Excellence (COE), which focussed on design governance, support and training for end users, a further 900 users were onboarded to Enate in 2020 across 22 countries and 4,000 client entities. The increased user base gave rise to a wealth of data and insight to better manage service delivery.The partnership between TMF and Enate continues to evolve, bringing better levels of knowledge to the business.“Enate is the heart of how we manage service delivery for our clients. Communication, requests and deliverables are tracked through the system, giving us real time insight in to our operation. Our clients receive a consistent, controlled, timely service globally, and our people can manage workload and build insight.In 2021 we will look to double our user base, onboard new services, and use Enate to drive continuous improvement,” said James Bertioli.

"We look forward to continuing our partnership with Enate through the next phases of our operational and digital transformation."
<div class="case-study_inline-quote-name">James Bertioli, COO</div>