We spoke with Project Manager Gitte Møberg and Payroll Specialist Annelie Rönnerfjäll about bringing five countries with different systems, processes and local requirements into the same expense management solution. They also shared how combining Scandic’s knowledge with Skovik’s experience helped them find better solutions along the way.

A shared approach across countries

In recent years, Scandic has increasingly moved from working country by country towards working as “One Scandic” across all markets.

Bringing their different expense management solutions into one system was therefore about more than replacing existing tools. Scandic wanted a shared approach to expense management that aligned with its “One Scandic” ambition, while still accommodating local requirements.

When evaluating solutions, Scandic prioritised support for managing different rules and requirements across countries, as well as easy integration with Dynamics 365 and Workday.

I think Skovik manages the differences between countries really, really well. It’s really valuable that we can manage all our countries in the same place while still supporting the differences between them. Overall, we have the same structure, and then we can have different rules where we need them, Annelie says.

Gitte adds:

“We’re also planning to collaborate cross-country, so it supports that project as well”

Building on each other’s expertise

Scandic entered the implementation with a clear direction, while remaining open to different ways of achieving it. Representatives from the five countries worked together to determine how they wanted expense management to work across the organisation, bringing their knowledge of local requirements and internal processes to the discussions.

Monika, Scandic’s Customer Success Manager at Skovik, joined many of those discussions. She could help translate what Scandic needed into the system, explain what was possible and suggest different approaches based on Skovik’s experience.

We’ve been very impressed. I feel very safe with Monika and her support, Annelie says.

She continues:

“There were things we initially thought we wouldn’t be able to unify, and Monika would tell us: ‘Yes, you can’”.

Exploring what was possible in Skovik led Scandic to consider different approaches, including how employees would be reimbursed.

In some of Scandic’s previous processes, expenses were reimbursed together with employees’ salaries. Initially, Scandic considered continuing with a similar approach.

Skovik instead suggested separating expense reimbursements from payroll and making payments directly to employees’ bank accounts.

We had several options, and the Skovik team made a very clear recommendation about which way they thought we should go. I really appreciated how clear Monika was about what she believed would be best for us. You were never in doubt about what she thought, Gitte says.

Scandic ultimately chose direct reimbursement, with employees across all five countries now receiving payouts twice a week. This created a shared approach across markets while also allowing employees to be reimbursed more quickly, something they have particularly appreciated.

Easy to use, with less to manage

As recommended by Skovik, Scandic launched the system without formal training for regular employees. Instead, employees received information about the change of expense management solution through the company intranet and were encouraged to get in touch if they had questions.

Skovik is so self-explanatory and easy to use, you almost can’t do it wrong. The questions we’ve received have been about our internal policies and our new way of getting reimbursed, not the system itself, Annelie says.

With almost 20,000 employees, having a system that requires almost no explanation has been particularly valuable for Scandic. Their employees have responded positively to the new reimbursement process as well, Gitte says:

“The feedback we’ve received has all been positive”.

Annelie continues: Employees are really happy with how easy it is and how quickly they receive their money. It’s what we were longing for.

While Skovik is straightforward for employees to use, Scandic’s own policy rules and accounting requirements are built into the system behind the scenes. Built-in guidance helps employees follow these requirements as they register expenses, without having to understand the details behind them.

Reviewers receive guidance too, Annelie explains:

“The review process is so much easier now. The warnings help us see what needs our attention, so we don’t have to do as much of the checking manually”.

Looking back at the project, Gitte points to both the everyday ease of Skovik and the support Scandic received during implementation:

I would recommend Skovik because of the simplicity. It’s self-explanatory for employees, and the warnings make things easier for everyone. But I would also highlight the implementation process. We felt very secure, and Skovik held our hand along the way. I think we ended up with a better system because we explored possibilities during the project that we hadn’t initially considered.