Product Pricing made easy for Stena Line using Anaplan

Result: Improved bottom line with pricing always based on up-to-date costs.

Stena Line is one of the largest ferry operators in the world. Founded in 1962 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Stena Line services today on many routes across Europe, connecting countries like Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Stena Line relies on efficient handling at its 26 ports to provide first-rate ferry services and on time departures. Each port requires a dedicated workforce that handles the on- and offloading of vehicles and passengers and reliable equipment including check-in facilities, tug master, and much more.

50 tabs of spreadsheet pain with outdated information

The tracking is extremely complex. They have shipping and travel guests. The cargo is divided into different types of freight units: trucks, trailers, trade cars, containers, and railway wagons. Additionally, they have different cost types in different ports because some ports they own, as well as internal and external staff.

Until recently, the company’s financial planning for Product Pricing for Port Operations was executed in a complex spreadsheet model. With almost 50 tabs, the process required more than 2-3 months’ work divided over a year to update with the latest information, new assumptions, and the current organisational structure (such as new ports).

This process was almost impossible to execute more frequently than once a year, causing a ongoing lack of insights to support management decisions.

Now, continuous information supports pro-active decisions

Bedford Consulting implemented a connected planning model for Stena Line’s financial port operations, enabling the company to manage revenue and cost development for shipping and travelers. The model forms part of Stena Line’s existing Reporting & Analytics suite, containing all necessary data.

“Now, with Anaplan, we can see how the drop in passengers during the pandemic affected our product cost in ports month by month. Everything is now bound together in the new model and then drawn down to our different unit types and compared with the volumes. This gives us an overview of what the units cost in different ports. The new model enables the company to see the big picture.” Micael Jarméus, Business Controller for Port Operations.

Key changes have enabled accurate cost and revenue modeling.

• New transactions are automatically loaded every 2 hours, updating the product cost model with the latest information.
• Connected calculations, applying to all ports.
• Little to no effort is required to update new assumptions and organisational changes.
• A responsive user interface that empowers analysis and focuses on steering the business.
• Reliable information to take pro-active decisions.

“Now we have a dynamic model where we can see that it costs so much for a passenger and a car, and so much to drive a truck and to load on a container. We’re able to respond if volumes or costs fluctuate and respond quickly. It is a tool to be able to see whether we have the right pricing for our customers, for our trucks, for our containers and the like.”

The investment in the model paid off immediately.

The total effort of designing the process, creating the model, and testing took less than 40 working hours, equivalent to the amount of time it took Jarméus to keep the Excel model updated (just once).

“I am very impressed with the new cost model that Bedford Consulting has built. The implementation was carried out over 2-3 weeks. Then we further developed and tailored the model to fit my additional needs. The product costing model is an integrative part of the already existing Reporting & Analytics model. This model uses Stena Lines ERP system transactions to calculate a consolidated group result in multiple currencies, including elimination and allocation logic. The same data is also the basis of the product costing model.” Jarméus continues

Anaplan is also a good analysis tool for future investments. We start with historical data such as spend, volumes, and pricing. If we want to make a large investment, for example renovating a completely new terminal area, we can connect historical and real-time data and immediately see the impact on costs and volumes.

“I am pleased with the cooperation and the model that Bedford has designed. It helps us take more proactive decisions and respond faster to market change.” Micael Jarméus, Business Controller for Port Operations