Cathay Pacific moves to SAP S/4HANA to streamline its Finance and Procurement function

Modern tools for the flagship carrier  

Cathay Pacific is working with Capgemini to implement the SAP S/4HANA solution in a bid to modernize its existing Finance and Procurement functions. The solution is customized for the aviation industry and will help Cathay Pacific to manage a global business.   With routes spanning 190 countries (including remote areas like Alaska with its codeshare partners), Cathay Pacific runs a tight ship. However, rising fuel prices, an uncertain business environment, and competition mean that the company needs to get the maximum return from every dollar invested.    In the dynamic environment of the aviation business, Cathay Pacific wanted to modernize its existing Finance and Procurement functions by replacing legacy systems with advanced technologies.   The technology landscape will give the company a better view of its operational costs. It will also support strategic sourcing, better negotiation with suppliers, and extensive business analytics for decision-making.  

Horizon8 – Boosting processes

To revamp the existing Finance and Procurement functions globally, Cathay Pacific started a new program titled ‘Horizon8’. With Capgemini as the System Integrator, Cathay Pacific is implementing large suite of SAP modules across four tracks:

• Source-to-Pay
• Flight-to-Settle  
• Finance-to-Manage
• Budget-to-Monitor

  Flight-to-Settle incorporates a new application from SAP, Flight Order that will help Cathay Pacific in cost collection and flight profitability analysis.   Further, Budget-to-Monitor enables Driver based planning and budgeting, as well as allocation of indirect operating costs   This suite of integrated solutions will help Cathay Pacific to drive transparent information, automate transaction processing, and provide real-time information for making decisions.   

Matching the figures

With SAP S/4HANA, Cathay Pacific will get a better view of its direct and indirect spends, helping it to reduce its operational costs. The company can also manage the differences in procurement across direct operating costs and various categories of indirect costs.    Results Count: SAP drives efficient cost accounting globally    Cathay Pacific’s decision to migrate to SAP S/4HANA resulted in various benefits including:

• Revamped Finance and Procurement processes
• Enable Driver based planning and budgeting
• Timely cost collection of direct operating costs and implementation of indirect operating costs to enable route profitability reporting 
• Managing procurement complexities across engineering, fuel, catering and other categories