Rotterdam World Gateway transitioned from Excel-based construction budgets to cloud-based Anaplan for operational finance planning.
One platform for budgets, forecasts, and actuals—no more version control issues
Automated reporting enabled RWG to hire one controller less than planned
Direct access to detailed data increased accountability across the organization
Cloud solution reduced IT dependency while delivering strong performance
Rotterdam World Gateway handles the storage and transshipment of containers at its fully automated container terminal on Maasvlakte 2. When the terminal was inaugurated, the organization faced a critical transition—from a start-up in construction mode to a fully operational business with complex reporting needs.
As Enrico Douwens, Finance Director at RWG, explains:
"With the inauguration of the container terminal we transitioned from a start-up into an operational organization. Previously, planning and budgeting wasn't very complicated; during the building phase a budget is agreed upon beforehand. We only had to monitor and control the budget, something we were able to do in Excel. This was fine for the construction budget, but not for the regular reporting needs."
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RWG needed a single, unified, and user-friendly solution that could serve multiple purposes: setting up budgets and forecasts, reporting actual financial results, and enabling budget holders to analyze their own performance data. The goal was to move beyond traditional monthly reviews and give stakeholders continuous access to their figures, fostering ownership and accountability.
Security was another critical factor.
"Security is vital in our organization. It is in our DNA that we want to ensure nobody behaves unsafely. This includes that nobody acts in a financially unsafe manner. After all, we are responsible for the return on investment," Enrico notes.
RWG selected Anaplan, with the look and feel being a decisive factor. "We wanted to stay away from front-ends based on spreadsheets, because there is a lot of aversion among non-financials towards Excel," Enrico explains. The 100% cloud-based platform also addressed IT bandwidth constraints, allowing the IT department to focus on optimizing terminal operations while reducing finance's dependence on IT resources.
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The implementation, supported by consultant Enno van Kampen from Finext Performance Management, focused on making models as user-friendly as possible. The team created harmonized budget models with consistent interfaces—"if you have seen one, you have seen them all"—helping budget holders efficiently manage revenues and expenses.
Staff planning was simplified significantly. The system maintains all current employees and ensures job openings correspond with the organizational chart. Budget holders simply indicate when openings will be filled and when salary increases are expected, while the model handles all detailed calculations in the background. Future plans include expanding human resource planning to cover items like lease cars and training costs, providing insight into total position costs for outsourcing decisions.
The results have exceeded expectations. "Anaplan helps to keep the finance team lean and mean," Enrico says. Every month, RWG supplies numerous customized reports to banks and shareholders, each with their own specifications. These are all modeled in Anaplan, eliminating manual work. "With all information in one place, it turned out we could hire one controller less than we initially planned. The new solution enhances efficiency and reliability."
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Beyond container loading and unloading, RWG offers storage and related services like prescanning for customs and providing electricity for cold storage containers. The new system makes sales data and revenue mix truly transparent, allowing the team to understand margins across all additional services.
Both finance and budget holders have embraced the new process. Budget holders appreciate being able to view actuals and budgets at a detailed level, which increases insight and facilitates their work. The platform's performance, load times, and reliability have met expectations, and the cloud security model provides confidence that data is thoroughly protected.
Access the full details of this customer story and see the results up close, available as a PDF.
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Access the full details of this customer story and see the results up close, available as a PDF and a video.
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