Transcript Developing a Project Charter - The Accounts Payable Network

© 2012 Financial Operations Networks LLC
Merck Shared Business Services:
Ask PtP Community Board —
Utilizing Social Media as a
Service Channel
About Your Presenter
Larry Brang, CPA, APM
Director, Commercial Services – Americas, Merck & Company, Inc.
Larry leads the Charlotte Commercial Services Team, with responsibility for providing
centralized transactional processing services in the areas of Procure-to-Pay, Record-toReport, and the Billing and Accounts Receivable components of Order-to-Cash. The
countries serviced are the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The Procure-to-Pay
team located in Mexico, also reports to Larry.
Previously, Larry led the legacy Schering-Plough Financial Shared Services Center in
Memphis. Larry was responsible for providing back-office financial services support
(procure-to-pay and close-to-report) in a cost-effective and compliant manner. Major
initiatives in this role included: Leveraging the U.S. shared service capability to effectively
and efficiently integrate recent acquisitions; implementing an e-invoicing strategy to
eliminate 60% of paper invoices in a six-month period; leading a multi-year initiative to
transform the procure-to-pay process in the U.S., with the objective of achieving
significant cost savings through procurement strategies, policy changes and process
efficiencies; and participating as a subject matter expert on a global process
harmonization effort to standardize and streamline procure-to-pay processes across
functions and geographies, resulting in a preliminary design to be used for blueprinting a
global ERP initiative. Prior to this role, Larry was director, North American Shared
Services, for Pfizer.
Larry holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from LaSalle University in
Pennsylvania.
Today’s Merck
Merck is a global healthcare leader working to
help the world “be well.”
 We provide innovative medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and
consumer and animal health products to help improve health and
well-being.
 We work with customers in 140 countries to deliver broad-based
healthcare solutions.
 We demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare
through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships to help
people around the world lead healthier lives.
A Quick Look at Merck
 Second largest pharma company
 $46B in sales*
 91,000 employees**
* Combined Legacy Merck and Schering-Plough revenue as of December 31, 2010
** As of June 30, 2011
Merck’s Organizational Structure
Research
Laboratories
Supply &
Manufacturing
Global Human
Health
Consumer
Care
Animal
Health
Human Resources
Finance
Legal
Strategy
Global Services




Organized into strategic divisions and global support functions (GSFs)
Centralized GSFs in 2006 to improve accountability and reduce cost structure
Strategic division and GSF leaders are members of the Executive Committee
Standardizing business processes, data and information systems globally
How do we define “Ask PtP”?
An innovative approach to customer service using social
media to provide a 24/7 multi-user, interactive service
channel that includes a self-building repository of
knowledge and can be leveraged enterprise-wide at no
additional cost.
Introduction to “Ask PtP” Service Channel
 PtP stands for “Procure-To-Pay” which is Merck’s Shared Services
organization responsible for the processing of transactions from time of
order to payment for merchandise/services rendered
 In April 2010 Merck launched the SAP platform for US markets
 During the 90-day post-launch “hypercare” phase, a series of Q&A calls, hosted
by the PtP Charlotte Merck team, were implemented to assist end users with the
transition
 Once “hypercare” was completed, the need was identified to continue this
service offering for Merck employees
 A weekly “Ask PtP” call was established in October 2010 for US employees
and hosted by representation from the Charlotte Merck PtP team
 In December 2010, the next phase of “Ask PtP” support was implemented
with the launch of the “Ask PtP” Community Board for the US market to
provide on-line customer service support
What is the “Ask PtP Community Board”?
“Ask PtP” Community Board launched December 1, 2010
 A social media-based service channel that is available 24/7 for each Procure-to-Pay Workstream
with an additional “General Discussion” and “Site Feedback” board for continuous improvement
 Tier II Analysts are assigned, as part of their current role/responsibility, to monitor and respond to
postings within the board that corresponds to their respective Workstream
 Non-English language support is provided for Puerto Rico/Mexico (Spanish) and Canada (French)
 Provides an alternative service channel for employees to ask a PtP-related question outside of the
hours of operation of the PtP Support Desk or weekly “Ask PtP” call
 SLA for each response is same-business day from time of posting
 Alerts are sent immediately to notify Analyst of a posting to their assigned board
 A daily summary of all postings is sent to the Site Steward
 Anyone within Merck can join the community to utilize posting functionality
 All “Ask PtP” call attendees are sent an invitation to join immediately following each weekly
session
 FAQ and key Procure-to-Pay related reference documents are posted on the site for use by
members
 Upcoming events, training requirements and announcements are posted as a method of
communication with Merck employees from the PtP team
“Ask PtP” Community Strategy
 Enhance the overall PtP experience for our Merck employee base with the
goal of consistently exceeding their expectations for world-class customer
service support
 Offer an additional 24/7 menu option for support via a structured, consistent
venue for live person-to-person knowledge sharing that was not previously
available
 Provide variety in daily responsibilities for an Analyst with the opportunity for
customer-facing interaction aside from primary transactional role
 Use of current staff adds no additional resource costs to the program
 Achieve annualized cost savings and increased end-user productivity due to
call volume reduction into PtP Support Desk
Globalization and Cross-Functional Benefits
 Support for North America markets with bi-lingual coverage (Spanish and French)
 Expansion into Asian markets with the launch of “Ask PtP Asia-Pacific” and
European markets with “Ask PtP EMEA”
 Support and management of these community boards would be owned by Stewards located locally
within one of the primary markets/countries
 Leverage best practices with Human Resources partners via launch of “Ask HtR”
calls and Community Board earlier in 2011
 Sensitivity of HR information strict monitoring of board by HtR Steward and proactive
messaging on the homepage to prevent the posting of private and/or confidential
information
 Discussions with Information Technology and Travel divisions for potential launch
of “Ask IT” and “Ask Travel” initiatives mirroring the “Ask PtP” structure
Introductions
 Located within Merck’s Shared Service Center (Charlotte, NC)
 Responsible for operational and quality performance for both Supplier and
Employee PtP Support Desks
 Oversees a team of Tier II Customer Service Analysts supporting
escalated Accounts Payable, Order Management and Employee Expense
inquiries
 Managing Steward of Merck’s “Ask PtP” initiative
Ask PtP Community Board Homepage
Ask PtP Invitation List (weekly Q&A calls)
Ask PtP Reference Library
14
Ask PtP Discussion Boards
15
Discussion Board Postings (sample)
16
Posting a Question to Ask PtP Board
17
Instant Alert to Analyst for Response
(sample)
18
Usage Trending - Ask PtP Community Board
(through March 1, 2012)
 1,000+ active members (Merck/LSP employees)
 400+ new posts with 950+ replies since 12/2010
 Average response time is < 30 minutes
 11 Analysts within Merck’s Charlotte Shared Service
Center monitor board for Merck and LSP inquiries as
part of current role
 65% of posted questions regarding Purchasing and
Order Management or Expense Report Management
Summary
 Utilizing a social networking site as a service channel offers an
innovative approach to internal customer support at no
additional cost.
 The ability to establish one consolidated venue for questions as
well as reference materials/FAQs simplifies the user experience
and combines a “virtual support desk” model with a employee
self-service offering.
 Standardization capabilities allow for a consistent multi-user
experience that can be replicated enterprise-wide and include
language support as well as other globalization options.
Questions
© 2012 Financial Operations Networks LLC
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