Hennecke Group saves more than 1,200 hours of work annually by switching to Agicap for daily & weekly cash management.
Yves Souguenet, Group CFO of Hennecke Group, explains how the implementation of Agicap significantly improved the efficiency of the finance team.
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Key takeaways
Hennecke Group is a PE-backed 160M€ manufacturing company in polyurethane processing with more than 700 employees worldwide.
Hennecke Group operates five production sites and several sales and service units serving customers in over 100 countries, maintaining the liquidity of each site is essential to business continuity in a context of growth.
Previously, cash management relied on a weekly Excel-based process, requiring the finance team to maintain high security buffers and operate with uncertainty due to limited visibility between updates.
Transitioning to Agicap provided daily cash updates in addition to reducing the workload from four people working a full day each week to just two hours, thus freeing up more than 1,200 hours annually for higher-value, strategic initiatives.
Real-time cash visibility and scenario analysis features now support more agile and informed financial management.
" The introduction of Agicap has brought a new level of efficiency and reliability to our cash management. We have saved more than 1,200 hours a year, minimized errors, and now have real-time information at our fingertips. I am very satisfied with the outcome and can openly say I like the tool very much "
+€160M
of turnover
700
employees
1200h of work
of the finance department spared
Customer’s history
Hennecke Group is a renowned German Mittelstand company specializing in polyurethane machinery manufacturing with €160M of turnover. With a seventy-year legacy, Hennecke has established itself as a champion in its sector, with more than 85% of its revenue generated through exports to its multinational clients spread across more than 100 countries. The group operates five production sites—two in Germany, one each in Italy, the US, and China—and employs approx. 700 people worldwide. Acquired by PE firm Capvis in 2016, the company then consolidated its position as leader by acquiring competitor OMS Group in 2017.
Customer’s needs
Upon joining Hennecke Group as Group CFO in 2023, Yves Souguenet identified several critical challenges in the company’s cash management processes:
Excessive manual workload: Four finance team members spent a full day each week preparing cash forecasting files in Excel.
Frequent errors and lack of timely detection: Manual data gathering from disparate systems led to mistakes that were often discovered only by coincidence.
Outdated data: Cash positions were updated only weekly, leaving management with stale information between reports.
Limited analytical capabilities: The existing process allowed for only basic analysis, with no scenario planning or sensitivity analysis.
Fragmented systems and processes: Multiple accounting softwares (SAP R/3, SAP Business One,Navision , Galileo) across the different entities hindered harmonization and efficient data consolidation.
Solution
Hennecke Group partnered with Agicap to overhaul its cash management and planning processes. The implementation was structured in three key phases so as to centralize all key data on Agicap:
Bank Integration: Automated connection of bank statements and transactions into Agicap, enabling real-time cash visibility. For European entities, this was achieved via the EBICS protocol; for China, a secure SharePoint process was established to retrieve information via AFT (Automated File Transfer).
Accounting Software Integration: Data from four different accounting systems was consolidated into Agicap. The project team worked closely to define reporting formats and ensure seamless data flow.
Project Planning Integration: Future project data, such as large-scale bids, was incorporated into cash forecasts, allowing management to steer the business with up-to-date, scenario-based insights.
Key benefits achieved:
Significant efficiency gains: The finance team reduced time spent on cash planning from 32 hours per week to just 2 hours, saving over 1,200 hours annually.
Error minimization: Direct interfaces between accounting sofwares/CRM systems and Agicap eliminated manual data manipulation, significantly reducing errors.
Real-time information: Daily cash positions and significant movements are now accessible via Agicap’s mobile app, supporting proactive management.
Advanced analysis: Multiple scenarios (best case, worst case, realistic) can be modeled and adjusted as needed.
" Every morning, I take my smartphone, open the Agicap app, and check the balances and significant cash movements. If something is unclear, I can immediately reach out to my controllers. This level of real-time insight is invaluable "
Conclusion
The digital transformation of Hennecke Group’s cash management with Agicap has delivered substantial operational and strategic benefits. By automating manual processes, integrating disparate systems, and enabling real-time, scenario-based cash planning, Hennecke’s finance team has shifted its focus from time-consuming routine data preparation to high-value analysis and decision support. The result is a more agile, collaborative, and data-driven treasury function—one that is well-equipped to support the group’s continued growth and success.
Yves Souguenet concludes, "The support and passion from the Agicap team were outstanding, and the service came without any extra cost."
