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Decision Inc. Implements Real-Time Financial Intelligence:

Discovery Bank’s Journey To Integrated Reporting And Planning In SAP Analytics Cloud

Solution overview

Industry

Banking

Solution

SAP Analytics Cloud integrates seamlessly with SAP S4HANA

Location

South Africa

Client

Discovery Bank, launched in 2019, is a South African digital retail bank known for its behavioural banking model. With over 1 million active accounts, it offers fully digital transactional, savings, credit, and loan products tailored through advanced analytics and customer behaviour insights.

Requirement

Discovery Bank faced several critical challenges in its finance planning environment. Their existing processes were heavily reliant on manual Excel-based workflows, leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies.

Client Overview

Discovery Bank, launched as part of Discovery Limited in 2019, is a full-service digital retail bank headquartered in South Africa. Since its inception, the bank has positioned itself as a pioneer in behavioral banking, integrating advanced analytics with personalized financial products designed to improve customers’ financial health and well-being. Within just 5 years of its launch, Discovery Bank attracted over 1 million clients, establishing itself as a significant player in the South African banking landscape.
As a subsidiary of Discovery Limited, a well-established financial services group, Discovery Bank offers a comprehensive range of banking products, including transactional accounts, personal and home loans, savings, and credit cards, all delivered through a seamless digital platform. The bank’s innovative approach leverages customer behavior insights to tailor financial services and reward customers, making it a preferred choice for digitally savvy and financially conscious consumers.

the challenge

Discovery Bank faced several critical challenges in its finance planning environment. Their existing processes were heavily reliant on manual Excel-based workflows, leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies. The key issues included:

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Limited integration between financial systems causing isolated data silos

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Latency in data reporting, resulting in delays of up to two days and backwards-looking analysis

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Lack of driver-based planning and scenario analysis capabilities, restricting financial agility

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High manual effort with dependency on key personnel for data validation and report preparation

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Cumbersome data quality checks and slow calculation processes.

To overcome these challenges, the bank required a real-time or near real-time reporting solution integrated with their SAP S4HANA system. Their goals included implementing driver-based budgeting and forecasting, enabling daily granularity for income tracking, and enhancing predictive and scenario-based planning within a unified platform.

THE SOLUTION

Decision Inc. responded by designing and delivering a comprehensive Daily Tracker Dashboard Reporting Solution leveraging SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) that integrated seamlessly with SAP S4HANA to transform the bank’s finance planning and reporting landscape comprehensively.

 

 

The Solution Delivered the Following to Discovery Bank

INTEGRATION

Centralised financial data into a single model supporting income statement and balance sheet reporting seamlessly integrated with SAP S4HANA.

CONNECTIVITY

Used SAP Cloud Connector and SAC Agent for secure, scheduled integration, ensuring data alignment and consistency.

AUTOMATION

Implemented planning-enabled SAC models, replacing manual Excel sheets with automated driver-based budgeting and forecasting.

GRANULARITY

Enabled daily disaggregation of forecast data, allowing granular, near real-time scenario analysis and performance tracking.

ACCESSIBILITY

Delivered dynamic, interactive SAC Stories with flexibility to access reports directly in SAP Analytics Cloud.
This approach was executed in phased stages including analysis, design, development, testing, user acceptance, training, and post-go-live support. Rigorous quality assurance and strong project governance guaranteed delivery of a fit-for-purpose, high-quality solution.

Overall, Decision Inc.’s solution delivered a robust, scalable finance planning platform integrated tightly with SAP S4HANA’s powerful data foundation, positioning Discovery Bank for ongoing financial excellence through data-driven decision making, agility, and reporting transparency.

This integration and automation will ultimately free up finance resources to focus more on strategic activities rather than time-consuming data consolidation and error correction tasks.

Decision Inc. proposed a clear, seamless solution that fully leveraged our existing technology stack. The implementation was effortless, with an emphasis on adding value at each stage. As a result, we now have significantly enhanced reporting and planning capabilities, with exciting opportunities to expand the scope as we advance toward the Finance of the Future.
Greg Murphy

Head of Capital and Commercial Management , Discovery Bank

The outcome

This SAP Analytics Cloud solution not only transformed Discovery Bank’s finance planning but also positioned them for ongoing innovation and growth through data-driven decision making.

The project delivered significant, measurable benefits to Discovery Bank’s finance function:

Replaced manual, error-prone Excel workflows with a robust, automated planning platform, improving efficiency and scalability.

Reduced reliance on key personnel by automating data consolidation and validation processes, lowering operational risk.

Enabled near real-time data availability and daily tracking of income and key performance indicators, enhancing decision agility.

Increased confidence in budgeting and forecasting through integrated driver-based planning and predictive analytics.

Strengthened transparency and drill-through capabilities, empowering finance teams with actionable insights.

Accelerated financial planning cycle times, allowing rapid response to market changes and improved operational performance.

About Decision Inc.

Decision Inc. is a global digital partner that enables businesses to reinvent themselves to realise their full potential.

We deliver agility, resilience, and intelligence to any enterprise, enabling them to adapt quickly and thrive through innovation and opportunity. Our teams have engaged with more than 400 clients globally over the past 15 years, providing them with the expertise to build, operate, and optimise their digital businesses. We achieve this by leveraging the world’s best technology to drive our client’s business ambitions forward into tomorrow’s reality.

Our success is ultimately driven by our entrepreneurial culture, industry exposure, and the passion of our people. We have three key cross- functional teams – Functional and Specialist Consulting, Development, and Engineering teams. Based in four global offices, our exceptional consultants focus on delivering value to clients by keeping them at the centre of our service delivery.