CASE STUDY
As the arms procurement agency of the South African Department of Defence , ARMSCOR is responsible for the research and acquisition of solutions to ensure protection and security of South Africa and its citizens . Originally founded in 1968 as a weapons manufacturer , its focus has switched to procurement , foreign trade , product development and testing and evaluation . It currently has a workforce of around 1,500 employees . pay ; delays in our finance function can cause delays across the entire public sector .”
Solution for modernisation
In 2021 , ARMSCOR realised that its disparate environment of legacy finance systems was preventing it from delivering on its responsibilities with the efficiency it wanted .
While the provision of state-of-the art defence equipment and services is a critical responsibility , ARMSCOR is also keenly aware that it acts as an important hub in public sector transactions and cashflow . Its finance department handles both accounts payable and receivable and understands its role in ensuring the sector ’ s financial liquidity .
“ Finance acts as a vital pillar in understanding how ARMSCOR is performing ,” explains Zimasa Fayo , Business Intelligence Manager at ARMSCOR . “ It is not just about who owes us money and who we need to
“ We had dirty data and undocumented business rules that led to inaccuracies , inconsistencies , misinterpretation and lack of trust in the numbers ,” says Fayo .
The analysis was basically ineffective and it also meant considerable delays . ARMSCOR would close its books at the end of the month but the numbers and insights would not get to executive level until two weeks later .
ARMSCOR knew there had to be a better way . It issued a tender outlining some basic criteria , which
WE HAD DIRTY DATA AND UNDOCUMENTED BUSINESS RULES THAT LED TO INACCURACIES ,
INCONSISTENCIES , MISINTERPRETATION AND LACK OF TRUST
IN THE NUMBERS .
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