案例研究

A collaborative approach to Frontline's business transformation

How a deep understanding of the tech industry allowed for tailored solutions

2022年4月20日

教育技术公司Frontline必须为业务的显著增长准备他们的系统.

这样做, the company embarked on a large-scale digital transformation, which required significant business changes and technology optimization.

The project involved several unique nuances, 考虑到Frontline的客户是K-12学区,这些机构通常习惯于提交采购订单,而不是签订合同, 例如, and payment enforcement is also atypical in the education space.

RSM对科技行业的深刻理解——包括其广泛的行业和商业模式——使其团队能够迅速跟上进度,并了解这些差异如何影响项目.

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数字转换 业务转型
科技行业 Salesforce 管理咨询 NetSuite

10,000+

The number of clients Frontline provides with back-office solutions

50

通过Frontline和RSM共同参与这个项目的专业人员的数量

10个月

The implementation period for four major software platforms and other add-ons

Following their acquisition by a leading private equity firm in 2017, 教育技术公司frontline专门为K-12的领导者开发管理软件,该公司必须为业务规模扩大两倍而准备系统. 为了适应这种增长, the company embarked on a large-scale digital transformation, which required significant business changes and technology optimization projects. That work included moving the company’s renewals process from NetSuite to CPQ, integrating Salesforce’s configure, price and quote software; implementing Avalara tax software; optimizing the use of Workday Adaptive Planning; and implementing a business intelligence strategy and data warehouse.

Being on the cusp of so much acceleration was an exciting time for Frontline. But the company—a leader in 北美’s K-12 ed-tech space, 提供超过10个,000 clients with back-office solutions that help school leaders with recruitment, 招聘, 跟踪缺勤和时间, 专业发展也必须vwin娱乐场官方一个值得信赖的顾问,帮助企业应对这种快速变化.

Frontline originally selected RSM to assist with the NetSuite scope of the project. During the initial NetSuite assessment phase, Frontline认为,RSM的团队深刻理解业务,并为公司提供了领导整个端到端业务和数字化转型的机会, 这涉及到通过各种企业平台实现业务模型的操作.

This business transformation project in late 2019 and 2020 involved:

  • 五个主要工作流程和前线和RSM的50多名专业人员紧密合作
  • 在10个月内实施四个主要软件平台和几个附加平台
  • Developing cross-functional teams at Frontline, 包括销售, 销售业务, 金融, IT, professional services and customer success
  • 召集一个跨职能的领导团队为企业做出关键决策

工作结束后, Frontline在没有第三方帮助的情况下进行了几次无缝收购, 马丁·萨克斯说, director of Frontline’s project management office and enterprise applications. The company is now processing far more revenue through their new systems, 在转型之前,如果没有显著增加员工人数,哪些是不可能的.

RSM团队的合作精神让前线“掌握了自己的命运”,马丁·萨克斯说。, Director of Frontline’s project management office and enterprise applications.

有凝聚力的团队

Frontline的产品使学区能够更有效地跟踪教师缺勤和代课教师的信息, and enable professional development, 招聘和雇用, enterprise resource planning and more. 大流行对各地学区造成的巨大破坏,只是强调了学区拥有此类有效管理系统的重要性.

The company’s business transformation project involved several unique nuances, 考虑到Frontline的客户是K-12学区,这些机构通常习惯于提交采购订单,而不是签订合同, 例如, and payment enforcement is also atypical in the education space.

RSM对技术行业及其广泛的行业和商业模式的深刻理解使其团队能够迅速跟上速度, 了解这些差异如何影响项目,并开发适合业务的解决方案. 这项工作包括:

  • Putting infrastructure in place to allow for scalability
  • Determining the appropriate way to bundle and operationalize products
  • Designing an effective renewal process
  • Developing a method for better forecasting renewals, allowing Frontline to manage annual recurring revenue growth with more precision
  • 重新构建围绕Salesforce和NetSuite的架构,以优化用户体验并适当利用投资
  • 了解关键绩效指标和业务绩效度量,并开发业务智能基础设施,以支持改进的自助服务报告,并推动对业务洞察力的更快访问
  • Redesigning certain business processes, such as Frontline’s approach to presenting quotes and orders to customers, to provide greater transparency to customers and avoid billing concerns
  • 提供一个项目管理办公室功能,为执行领导团队和董事会在项目资金部署方面创造可见性

在整个项目中,最让萨克斯产生共鸣的是RSM团队的合作精神, which ultimately allowed Frontline to “control its own destiny,他说.

“I've done several of these projects, 你和供应商每周开一次会,他们回来告诉你某件事是不可能的还是可能的, and you kind of just accept what they’re saying,萨克斯说. “But you aren’t involved in it, and so you’re running a little bit blind. And many vendors object to co-development.”

But that wasn’t the case with this project, he adds. Frontline received direct communication, 可见性和参与性不仅仅是关于RSM的团队如何执行实现工作的各个方面, but also why team members chose the approaches they did.

"All vendors sell change management from a training perspective, but RSM was just very accommodating, and we didn’t even have to ask,萨克斯说。. 结果是, 这个项目感觉像是由一个有凝聚力的团队来运营的,而不是一个有外部顾问的企业.

“I would have 100% trusted RSM alone in a room,萨克斯说。.

解决方案和结果

Frontline wasn’t just navigating a business transformation project during this time; four weeks before their new systems deployed, the company acquired a holding company with five entities underneath it. 因为到目前为止,RSM所做的工作涉及到对Frontline业务和客户基础的深刻理解, RSM teams were able to help with that transaction as well.

The Friday before the company’s new systems were set to go live, 前线给几个业务部门的员工放了一天假,这样他们的团队和RSM的团队就可以在最后36小时的冲刺中共同努力. That required navigating last-minute questions and curveballs, all of which got worked out so the systems could deploy smoothly at 8 a.m. 下星期一.

After that successful deployment, 公司在几个领域扩展了他们的工作或启动了RSM的新项目, including services related to the PMO function and data warehouse support. Since the business transformation work finished, Sachs说, Frontline的规模几乎翻了一番,并且在没有外部供应商帮助的情况下完成了另外七次收购——没有任何问题. 

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