Lookers PLC has selected OutlookSoft to enhance company-wide performance management including group financial reporting, consolidation, operational reporting, budgeting, planning, forecasting, and scorecarding.
With over 100 dealerships across the United Kingdom and an annual turnover of over £1.2 billion, Lookers' extensive franchise ranges from volume models like Vauxhall and Renault to prestigious marques such as Bentley, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Jaguar. The Group also has two motorcycle outlets in Northern Ireland , a used car ‘supermarket' in Bristol , and a successful national parts operation, FPS Distribution.
Lookers will implement OutlookSoft for group and statutory reporting and to manage all financial planning. As a FTSE-listed company, it is required to comply with IFRS and is aware of the impact the new reporting standards will have on its key performance indicators (KPIs).
“We primarily needed a software solution that could handle group and statutory reporting for IFRS compliance,” said Stuart MacDonald, Financial Controller for Lookers PLC. “At the same time, we wanted a solution that could support other process areas such as budgeting, forecasting and operational reporting. OutlookSoft has all this, plus the ability to track, manage and measure performance through the linking of strategic goals and objectives to focused and relevant KPIs.”
Lookers closely evaluated four vendors, all of which had to run detailed workshops. “Evaluating the products through workshops allowed us to get a feel for what the vendors could really offer,” said MacDonald.
Other contributing factors to OutlookSoft winning the deal were the software's ease of use and its tight integration with the Microsoft BI platform and Office suite. The software will be used in the Manchester head office for the preparation of monthly management accounts, in addition to interim and final statutory accounts. The next step will be a roll-out across the whole group, delivering a single solution for management information.
