Multinational fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) enterprises need robust reporting on areas such as management, financial, and incurred cost to effectively manage their complex, geographically dispersed businesses.
Here is how Mindtree helped one of the world’s largest FMCG enterprises improve the functioning of its corporate consolidation system through a high-performance testing solution.
The challenge
The customer's corporate consolidation system gathers data from around the globe to prepare approximately 180 reports to help stakeholder’s effectively guide the business. However regular change requests can significantly modify the underlying data, which necessitates robust testing to ensure accurate reports. In addition, the customer regularly needs to validate master data across different systems and verify the system configuration. Further, data generation is a task that can take 10-15 days if done manually, a step that is necessary for load testing. Beyond data verification, the customer must also verify the calculations that feed into its reports to ensure accuracy.
Faced by significant reporting challenges, the FMCG major decided to speed up its test execution while reducing cost, leveraging automation wherever possible. Mindtree was brought on board to help the customer achieve its objectives.
Our solution
Mindtree developed and implemented a solution based on the right tools, frameworks and knowledge management practices. Key components of the solution were:
- Use of Mindtree-HTAF (Hybrid Test Automation Framework) customizable framework to reduce test automation life cycle and easy maintenance
- Automation of regression testing to complete tasks 80% faster
- Implementation of existing SAP tools for automation
- Integration of Microsoft Excel macros with other functions to enable reuse of the customized reports
- Automation of data generation from the input tool
- Automation of signoff reports
- Use of macros and reusable scenarios to reduce test development and execution time
- Building a knowledge base to enhance sustainable capability development of customer personnel going forward.
Business impact
- 75% return on investment on test execution effort after three regression cycles
- Up to 70% reduction in “time-to-test” through automation
- Reduced automation development and maintenance effort thanks to Mindtree-HTAF
- Reduced signoff report validation time from days to approximately three hours
- Reduced effort for master data development and testing by 40%
- Reduced effort required for regression testing
