Merck

Merck has the ambition to become the global science and technology pioneer of the 21st century in order to truly shape the future of its clients. To achieve this goal, the company had to rethink its financial performance management. In doing so, it wanted to act in a more impact-oriented manner and focus on genuine value contribution.  

In this context, LEAP was launched as a best-practice initiative to enable a high-impact culture (HIC) in financial management. This provides company managers with new management processes and tools that enable them to assert themselves on the market and flexibly allocate resources as required.

The Horváth approach initially involved a change in mindset: In the future, a top-down target agreement will be implemented, the fixed allocation of resources will be abolished and a culture of "constantly raising the bar" will be established. This is achieved through continuous change management and constant communication with stakeholders – from senior management to company management, with managers acting as multipliers and role models. Agile management processes were also introduced. Agile operational management practices were introduced by abolishing budgeting, introducing an unbiased rolling 18-month forecast and top-down target setting, including revised incentives and closing potential management gaps. A forecasting tool was developed for this purpose, starting as an MVP with Group- and business-specific modules that are continuously improved on the basis of user needs and experience gained. 

The company is geared towards future success through agile resource allocation. Purposeful processes and unbiased forecasting enable the organization to outperform the external market. The responsibility and freedom of employees are strengthened as they have access to relevant data that complements their intuition. This promotes a culture of personal responsibility. Important allocation decisions are now made jointly, eliminating upward delegation. The company's focus today is on relevant business projects and initiatives rather than detailed financial data.