Flexibility and dynamism instead of rigid processes: How Zurich Versicherung Schweiz found the right planning and forecasting software

About Zurich Versicherung Schweiz

Zurich Versicherung Schweiz is a leading insurance company, focused on delivering high-quality services to its clients. With a complex and heterogenous data landscape, the company sought to enhance its Planning & Performance Management (PPM) through a structured software selection process for planning and forecasting tools. BARC was engaged to guide Zurich through the process, offering valuable market insights and organizing a Request for Information (RFI) process to shortlist suitable software vendors.

The project in detail

The Challenge

Zurich Versicherung faced significant challenges with its data and analytics landscape, which is critical for its operations. The company’s data was dispersed across various systems serving different purposes. This heterogeneity impacted the planning and forecasting processes, essential for meeting financial and strategic goals. Processes were inflexible, siloed, slow, and relied on manual steps. This made dynamic planning impossible.

The aim

The primary goal was to select a planning and forecasting software that could address these process inefficiencies. The project involved organizing and executing an RFI process, developing a criteria catalog for evaluating software vendors, and documenting the selection process.

BARC’s role was to:

Offer a market overview and bring extensive experience in managing software selection processes.
Create a structured RFI process, including shortlisting vendors and establishing evaluation criteria.

Project phase 1

In collaboration with Zurich Versicherung, BARC structured the software selection process as follows:

Market Overview: BARC provided Zurich with insights into the available planning and forecasting tools on the market, drawing on its in-depth research and experience.
RFI Process: A comprehensive RFI process was executed, including vendor presentations, to shortlist potential software solutions. BARC played a pivotal role in documenting and structuring this process to ensure clarity and consistency.

Project phase 2

Evaluation Criteria: BARC helped develop a criteria catalog to systematically evaluate and document the strengths and weaknesses of each software solution presented.

The result

Key Takeaways:

BARC’s expertise in managing software selection processes provided Zurich with the necessary structure and market insights to make informed decisions.
The project highlighted BARC’s strength in documenting and organizing complex software evaluation processes.
Zurich Versicherung benefited from a clearer understanding of the available tools and a structured path forward for improving its planning and forecasting processes.

Results:

Though the software implementation has yet to take place, Zurich Versicherung has already benefited from BARC’s structured approach to software selection. The clear documentation and professional guidance provided by BARC have set Zurich on a clear path toward addressing its PPM process challenges. The next phase of the project will focus on software implementation, which is expected to drive measurable improvements in process efficiency.

Looking ahead:

While Zurich Versicherung’s engagement with BARC was highly specific, there are opportunities for further collaboration in the future, particularly in other areas of Zurich’s global operations. The knowledge and insights gained from this project have laid the foundation for potential similar projects across other divisions.

BARC’s clear and structured approach helped us efficiently navigate the complexities of selecting a planning and forecasting tool. Their market expertise and process management skills were invaluable.

Martin Dolezyk

Head of Systems and Transformation and Deputy Planning and Performance Management, Finance, Zurich Versicherung

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Success Story

Zurich Versicherung Schweiz