What this story is about
Komatsu Europe transformed its financial planning and consolidation processes by Board The Enterprise Planning Platform, replacing fragmented Excel-based workflows with a centralized, and unified solution. Facing challenges such as inconsistent data formats, limited analytical capabilities, and time-consuming manual tasks, Komatsu empowered local entities to manage their own data in Board, enabling real-time collaboration across regions. As a result, forecasting cycles accelerated by 10–15%, while manual data preparation for consolidation was reduced by up to 80%, eliminating 2–3 days of effort per reporting cycle. With Board, Komatsu achieved faster forecasting, improved data quality, and deeper business insights—fostering a culture of innovation, ownership, and continuous improvement across its finance organization—and beyond.
Why this story matters:
Read this story to learn how Komatsu Europe achieved the following, using the Board Enterprise Planning Platform:
- Faster forecasting and reduced manual effort
- Improved data quality through local ownership
- Real-time insights for quicker decisions
- Greater collaboration across regions
- Lower costs via internal development
- Stronger engagement and innovation culture
Komatsu is a top global manufacturer of construction, mining, forestry, and industrial heavy equipment, with over 65,000 employees and 208 consolidated subsidiaries worldwide. Komatsu Europe, headquartered in Belgium, plays a central role in consolidating financial data from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, delivering insights and forecasts to its global headquarters in Japan. While digitalization is a global priority at Komatsu, Komatsu Europe leaders drove the initiative to modernize financial planning and analysis, placing Board at the heart of the transformation.
The more we use Board, the more our teams come to us with ideas. It’s no longer just a tool—it’s a platform for innovation.
Marc Cuypers
Challenges Before Board
Before implementing Board, Komatsu Europe faced several critical challenges:
- Fragmented Data Landscape: Financial data was scattered across hundreds Excel files and local systems, making consolidation slow and error-prone.
- Inconsistent Data Standards: Differences in data formats (e.g., decimal points vs. commas) across countries created additional complexity.
- Limited Analytical Capabilities: The previous tools (mainly MS Excel and an outdated version of IBM Cognos for data storage) lacked drill-down functionality and flexibility, hindering in-depth analysis and comparison of multi-level data.
- Manual Workload: The consolidation team spent significant time collecting, validating, and reworking data from various entities. Each reporting cycle required 2–3 full days to receive data, correct formatting inconsistencies, upload files into storage systems, and consolidate them into reporting views—across 3–4 cycles per year.
- Lack of Collaboration: Local entities had limited involvement in the data process, reducing ownership and insight quality.
- Lack of Flexibility: Legacy planning tools offered limited functionality, restricting the ability to tailor data granularity to the business needs.
Marc Cuypers
With Board, we’ve moved from collecting data to truly understanding it. That shift has transformed how we support the business.
From Fragmented to Unified Planning with Board
When evaluating the best solutions for reporting and consolidation, Komatsu Europe selected Board especially due to
- granular drilldown functions with forecasts,
- strong dynamic display for data analysis,
- the ability to drill dynamically into various levels of detail such as country or region.
The journey began at a local level, with Komatsu Italy first adopting Board for FP&A. Building on this initial success, Komatsu Europe expanded the platform to support planning and consolidation, while additional business units developed their own applications, including Sales Planning, Control & Accounting, ICT, and Finance.
Over time, other local entities followed, with Komatsu UK and Komatsu France implementing Board for financial reporting, and Komatsu Germany currently assessing the resources required to join the platform.
Today, Board is used across many areas of Komatsu, especially in finance, where it is fully integrated into Komatsu’s financial ecosystem, transforming both daily operations and strategic planning:
- Centralized Platform: Board serves as a single source of truth for financial data across all Komatsu’s entities in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. This shared and trusted data foundation supports decision-making across critical processes including CAPEX planning, cash flow management, cost allocation, IFRS consolidation, order management, invoicing, and pricing. With all departments working on the same real-time data, Komatsu accelerates analysis cycles and strengthens alignment between finance and operations.
- Smart Data Management: Local teams (mainly Finance, but also Sales Planning, Cost Control, Service) use Board’s Smart Import Object to upload large datasets (e.g., 5,000+ rows) and the Data Entry module for manual adjustments – streamlining data handling.
- Collaborative Model: Local departments are empowered to manage and validate their own data, improving accuracy and engagement across the organization.
- Unified Planning: Planning, forecasting and analysis across finance, sales and operations support faster decision-making across 25 business units on a unified platform, ensuring that capital allocation, commercial decisions, and financial reporting are based on consistent, validated data.
- Center of Excellence: Internal teams have been trained to build and maintain Board applications, reducing reliance on external consultants and promoting self-sufficiency.
Moreover, Board’s feature-rich capabilities have allowed Komatsu to replace several legacy systems. For instance, users can now access their financial information directly through the Board platform, simplifying project financing without the need for third-party tools. Board is not only used by Komatsu’s internal teams but also include their customers: Invoice data can be uploaded directly into the Board system, allowing customers to easily view and select invoices for processing. This shows the ease of connecting different parties to the ecosystem.
I love how easy it is to upload and manage large datasets. The Smart Import Object is a game changer for our daily operations.
Daan Van Damme
Benefits: Unlocking Efficiency, Insight, and Innovation
The impact of Board has been profound across Komatsu’s operations:
Efficiency Gains
- Forecasting processes are now 10–15% faster, saving up to 6–7 hours per week.
- Manual data collection and preparation time for consolidation cycles has been reduced by up to 80%, eliminating 2–3 days of manual effort per reporting cycle (3–4 cycles annually).
- Automation and self-service data entry reduce manual workload – especially for the consolidation team.
Board helps me work more efficiently. What used to take hours in Excel now happens in seconds—with better results.
Daan Van Damme
Improved Data Quality
- Local teams work with the most up-to-date data and validate it at the source.
- Standardized processes eliminate inconsistencies and errors.
Deeper Insights
- Drill-down capabilities and multi-layered analysis enable better decision-making.
- Shared, real-time visibility across departments ensures that strategic decisions—from CAPEX and cash flow to pricing and order management—are based on one consistent version of the truth.
- Local business knowledge is now integrated into HQ-level analysis.
Cultural Shift
- A positive mindset has emerged around data ownership and innovation.
- Teams proactively request new applications and features in Board.
Cost Optimization
- Internal developer training reduced consultancy costs by around 75% for in-house developments, while selectively using external consultants where needed.
- Third-party software tools replacement
- Resources were reallocated to strategic development and innovation.
Marc Cuypers
We’ve built a strong internal developer community around Board. It’s not just about saving costs—it’s about owning our solutions.
Looking Ahead: Cultivating a Culture of Innovation
Komatsu Europe continues to expand its use of Board, developing new applications both for internal use and to benefit external stakeholders. Regular workshops and cross-functional collaboration have nurtured a strong learning culture and a high level of team spirit, driving continuous improvement and innovation across the organization.
