NOVEM - Nuremberg in the digital transformation
DiALOG Award Winner 2017: Introduction of NÜRNBERGER OnlineVertragsManagement
Marius Stumpf, Compliance and Governance Specialist at NÜRNBERGER Insurance.
Published in: DiALOG - DAS MAGAZIN FÜR ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT | MÄRZ 2018
In order to remain attractive and competitive as one of Germany's major insurers and to continue to offer customers "Simply the Right Protection," we regularly review all of our work processes. One of these processes is the contract review process as well as its administration. The Board of Management wanted this to be improved and transparent for the entire company, across all divisions. With NÜRNBERGER OnlineVertragsManagement - NOVEM for short - we introduced a uniform IT application for creating, reviewing, archiving and managing contractual relationships.
A core team designed the application in dialog with users. From outsourcing managers to buyers to marketing. From math to compliance to accounting. Both board members and numerous employees use the new process and archive. Some less often, some more often. But all in the same way. In total, we currently have about 450 active users, or about 18% of our entire workforce.
Before NOVEM, contract review took place in a laborious paper or email process that was difficult to track. In addition, there was no standardized filing of results. Each division had its own "archive" (paper, drive, software, etc.).
Through NOVEM, there is now a digital, group-wide and uniform system for contract management and review. This significantly reduces the administrative effort, including employee training. A uniform entry point to contract review saves time-consuming searches for the "right" form. Clear, transparent process steps speed up the review process. The user can see in real time ("tracking") where the contract is currently in the review loop. In NOVEM, all contracts are reviewed by subject matter experts (esp. purchasing, accounting, legal, risk management, tax). Inquiries of all kinds for management, authorities, auditors, internal departments, etc. can be processed thanks to evaluation options and reports in secondary processing.
Even at the project kick-off, more than 15 departments were involved. Motivators and skeptics all sat around the same table. Together, they tried to develop a cost-efficient and suitable solution for a new contract management at NÜRNBERGER. On July 22, 2016, the time had finally come, and we handed over NOVEM to the users. But that's when the work with the system really began. Since then, NOVEM has been continuously expanded, an application that lives and grows step by step. This can be seen in the constant increase in the number of users and contracts.
NOVEM has been well received by employees, so new innovative ideas are constantly coming from colleagues. This allows us to continuously improve the system and make it more user-friendly. We also want to win over the still skeptical employees for NOVEM through direct and personal support, a realistic goal from the point of view of the project management. This year, we will also continue to drive forward the technical expansion. For example, the substitute regulation was introduced at the beginning of 2018; in the case of vacation and illness, this automatically ensures that tasks do not get stuck in the system and the processing flow is slowed down.
We have recognized how important holistic - and thus also internal - digitization is for a company's competitiveness. It is important to us that our efforts are sustainable among our colleagues. The users should also have their say in the concept, but necessary decisions should still not be "talked down". Our focus is not only on the NOVEM technological platform. It is much more important to bring this technology in line with the employees, i.e. the people. We therefore live a permanent process of communication, motivation, technology, recognition of new potentials as well as continuous improvement.
The great efforts to implement a sustainable contract review process as well as its management in the company were rounded off by the receipt of the DiALOG award "Excellence with Enterprise Information Management" on May 11, 2017 in Hamburg.
NÜRNBERGER has been offering its customers protection and security since 1884. It is independent and can thus pursue an independent business policy - with success. It is a solid, reliable and powerful partner with outstanding financial strength. With sales of around 4 billion euros and more than 4,200 salaried employees, NÜRNBERGER is one of Germany's major primary insurers. It operates life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, and pension business. It also promotes sports, culture and education. The Group is listed on the stock exchange through its holding company NÜRNBERGER Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft.
www.nuernberger.de
