SaaS+ breathes new life into Metro Memorial Parks


Suzanne Prescott
Contributor

In a significant move to enhance community engagement, Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP) has established a new Community Engagement Committee — an initiative that aims to foster stronger connections with the diverse communities served by the organisation, ensuring they make informed and balanced decisions that meet community needs and expectations.

Simultaneously, MMP has achieved a technological transformation by consolidating outdated financial systems into a unified, cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. The modernisation, which began with MMP’s establishment by the NSW government in 2023, has streamlined operations, reduced costs and empowered staff with mobile accessibility, marking a substantial advancement in service delivery and availability to Sydney’s historically and culturally significant green spaces.

However, this path to modernisation wasn’t without challenges. MMP inherited a tangled web of outdated finance systems, inefficient manual processes and fragmented workflows. The solution? A leap into the future with TechnologyOne’s modern, cloud-based ERP system.

A fragmented legacy

MMP manages eight cemeteries, Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Field of Mars, Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery, Gore Hill, Macquarie Park, Rookwood, Sandgate and Woronora Memorial, spanning hundreds of hectares and serving diverse communities. Under the existing management of three land managers, the amalgamation of these major sites brought with it not only history and heritage, but also three separate financial management systems that simply did not play well together.

Simon Officer, MMP’s chief financial officer (CFO), faced the daunting task of untangling this technological knot.

Metropolitan Memorial Parks chief financial officer Simon Officer

“They were all operating on different platforms, none of which were current technology platforms,” Mr Officer recalls. “I also inherited three different teams using three different systems in three different ways.”

The inefficiencies were palpable. Manual processes like stamping paper invoices and managing purchase orders slowed operations and increased costs. Transparency was limited and scalability was an elusive goal.

“The path forward was clear. I needed to go through the process of making a move to a single best-practice finance system,” Mr Officer said.

One system, one solution

Drawing on his extensive experience at organisations like Mission Australia and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, Mr Officer led MMP’s transition to TechnologyOne’s unified finance system. The goal was clear: simplify processes, reduce costs and eliminate inefficiencies with a pre-configured cloud-based ERP platform.

“I was very insistent that we adopted basically no configuration changes unless they were absolutely critical,” Mr Officer said. “We wanted to lift it straight out of the box and use it as configured.”

TechnologyOne’s SaaS+ model allowed for a streamlined implementation, minimising complexity and risk. Work began in January 2024 and wrapped up in June — a lightning-fast six months that minimised disruption and delivered immediate benefits.

Streamlining and savings

With TechnologyOne in place, MMP consolidated its financial, procurement and budgeting processes. This not only streamlined operations but also delivered tangible cost savings.

“We’ve gone from having three different finance system licences, two procurement licences and two budgeting licences, to having one agreement in place, which is a SaaS service,” Mr Officer said. “Overall, we are saving well in excess of the investment we made with TechnologyOne.”

The benefits extended beyond licensing costs. Automating manual processes like invoice approvals freed up staff to focus on higher-value tasks. Purchase orders are now created at the time of procurement, reducing errors and delays.

“Most of their purchase orders were previously made after the fact,” Officer explained. “In many situations, invoices would simply arrive and literally be stamped, coded, and dated by someone the old-fashioned way.”

With automated workflows and scanning technologies in place, supplier invoices are digitally processed and matched to purchase orders. No more paper trails, no more delays.

Empowering field staff

One of the standout features of TechnologyOne’s ERP system is its mobile accessibility. Field staff can now manage procurement and financial tasks on the go, making life easier and operations smoother.

“I literally have employees walk up and tell me how much they love it,” Mr Officer said. “Whether it’s the financial team or grounds staff who need to raise purchase orders, they can do it quickly and efficiently on their mobile phone.”

The intuitive system has been enthusiastically adopted across the board, empowering staff and improving overall satisfaction.

Building a future-ready platform

With Phase 1 complete, MMP’s focus is now on integrating cemetery and cremation management systems with TechnologyOne’s ERP solution. This will create a single source of truth for all financial functions, further streamlining operations.

“We need to revisit the functionality of the applications to ensure duplication is eliminated,” Mr Officer said. “Going forward, the cemetery management systems will focus on the management of cemeteries, not the management of finance functions.”

A model for modernisation

Metropolitan Memorial Parks’ journey demonstrates the power of a unified, cloud-based solution in transforming legacy operations. By consolidating systems, automating workflows, and empowering staff, MMP has positioned itself to serve the community more efficiently and sustainably.

TechnologyOne’s SaaS+ model offers an adaptable solution for organisations looking to modernise quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively – without the hassle of excessive configuration.

As MMP continues its mission to preserve and enhance Sydney’s cherished green spaces, one thing is clear: the future is streamlined, digital and built on a solid foundation of smart technology.

This article was produced by InnovationAus.com in partnership with TechnologyOne.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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