About Western Digital
Based in San Jose, California, Western Digital Corporation is a leading American manufacturer of computer drives and data storage solutions. Founded on April 23, 1970, the company has grown into a major industry player with a $12.3 billion revenue, operating globally.
Situation
Western Digital Corporation, a leading American manufacturer of computer drives and data storage solutions, faced significant hurdles in its financial reconciliation processes. Operating on a global scale, the company needed a robust solution and strategic partner to streamline their reconciliation efforts.
The challenges included the consolidation of legacy entities into a single ERP system, the replacement of BlackLine and Box.com with Oracle Account Reconciliation Cloud, executive leadership burdened with global reconciliation requirements, and an immensely manual and error-prone reconciliation process posing audit risks.
Action
In response to these challenges, Western Digital engaged Centroid for a strategic digital transformation initiative that spanned four months. Key actions included implementing Oracle Account Reconciliation to streamline and standardize financial processes, conducting comprehensive education sessions to seamlessly align business and IT requirements, deploying 150 licenses initially, and integrating 250 global users during the migration from BlackLine. They executed a smooth transition from BlackLine and Box.com to Oracle Cloud, leveraging Centroid’s strategic roadmap.
Impact
The implementation significantly improved Western Digital’s financial reconciliation operations, delivering transformative results. By standardizing reconciliation formats and templates across all entities, the company enhanced consistency and accuracy, consolidating disparate reconciliation processes into a unified global platform spanning operations across the US, APAC, and EMEA regions.
A major milestone was achieving a 50% auto-reconciliation rate after one close period, substantially increasing workflow efficiency and reducing manual efforts. Additionally, migrating a business unit from SAP/BlackLine to Oracle Cloud set the stage for transitioning all global units, mitigating audit risks and freeing up resources for strategic growth initiatives. As the Accounting Manager noted, “The process to check the completeness was easier and faster compared to Audit Board. We have completed the August recons in ARCS two hours ahead of the deadline.”