Published on: Thursday 8th January, 2015 Solution implemented at 16 sites and cuts admin time by 32 hours per week

ABP Food Group, one of Europe's leading beef processors, has achieved annual cost savings of £150,000 by implementing an integrated HR and payroll solution from Advanced Business Solutions (Advanced) to comply with Pension Auto-Enrolment legislation.


Advanced's solutions, OpenHR and OpenPeople (payroll), have been rolled-out to 16 ABP UK sites situated in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and have significantly cut administrative processing time relating to its 2,000+ weekly and monthly paid employees.


ABP's previous HR and payroll infrastructure was no longer sustainable due to requiring high levels of manual intervention which led to processing errors and corrections. The organisation wanted to standardise its HR and payroll processes to eliminate paper-based administration and improve efficiency.


It also required a system that could ensure continuous compliance with changing UK tax and National Insurance regulations with Auto-Enrolment and Real Time Information functionality. Advanced was selected following a three stage tendering process involving ten suppliers.


Robin Irvine, CIO at ABP Food Group, explains, "Employees based at 16 sites were all using different versions of three disparate payroll systems which clearly wasn't acceptable for a business of our size which needed to run efficiently."


"Due to the aggressive timescales of the project, we needed to have total confidence in our nominated supplier. Advanced was chosen because of the strong functionality and integration capabilities of its solutions, as well as being a close company fit for ABP."


Advanced's solutions are now enabling ABP to electronically store and process HR and payroll information from a single, centralised system, providing timely access to comprehensive management information and full legislative compliance. By cutting excessive use of paper forms and manual processes it has also transformed organisation-wide efficiency, reduced payment errors and improved the accuracy of employee records.


Irvine comments, "We successfully completed the implementations in just two months which wouldn't have been possible without Advanced's highly structured project management approach. The return on investment has been immediate through combined efficiency savings of over £150,000 and reducing processing time by 32 hours each week."


"Moving to an integrated HR and payroll solution has transformed efficiency and we no longer have to worry about compliance. We can now focus on developing the business strategically and meeting our ambitious objectives."


Advanced Business Solutions is a division of Advanced Computer Software Group plc, a leading supplier of software and IT services to the health, care and business services sectors. In 2014, the Group won Tech Company of the Year in PwC's UK Tech Awards and ranked in the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50, which recognises the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the UK.

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