Building a Finance Transformation and ERP Roadmap for Growth
Journey Beyond engaged SMC to understand how its finance function could better support a growing national portfolio and reduce the risks created by ageing, disparate systems and inconsistent processes.
Rather than moving directly into a major systems investment, SMC helped Journey Beyond assess its current finance environment, define future-state processes and requirements, and establish a clearer pathway for transformation.
The engagement later extended into Select & Negotiate, with SMC independently evaluating Payroll and Workforce Management (WFM) solutions and supporting commercial negotiations.
This engagement was originally delivered under SMC’s previous Analyse & Blueprint terminology. The equivalent work is now represented within Strategy & Roadmap in SMC’s current Digital Transformation Model.
Impact at a glance
- 65 Future-State Processes Defined across finance and related functions
- 775 Business Requirements Validated to inform future technology decisions
- Payroll & WFM Solution Selected Best-fit solution identified through independent evaluation
- Commercial Terms Optimised Negotiated through a competitive selection process
- Stronger Governance Structured reporting and independent advisory support
- Transformation Roadmap Clearer pathway established for future delivery
Project Snapshot
Client: Journey Beyond
Industry: Tourism & Hospitality
Engagement: Finance Transformation, Payroll & Workforce Management
Services: Digital Transformation Consulting, ERP & Enterprise Systems Consulting
SMC Model: Strategy & Roadmap, Select & Negotiate
Next Phase: Plan & Implement
Led by SMC’s Perth team, the engagement provided Journey Beyond with independent, client-side advice across finance transformation, system requirements and technology selection.
About Journey Beyond
Journey Beyond is one of Australia’s most recognised experiential tourism groups, operating a national portfolio of iconic rail, cruise, accommodation, and adventure brands. The organisation welcomes guests from around the world and manages a diverse, multi-brand operating model.
Rapid growth and operational diversity place significant demands on finance, reporting, and integration, requiring systems and processes that can scale with the business.
A Finance Function Under Pressure
As Journey Beyond expanded, the finance function was managing increasing complexity across multiple brands and business units. Existing systems and ways of working were no longer sufficient to support the organisation’s scale or ambition.
Key challenges included:
- Siloed information and inconsistent finance processes
- Heavy reliance on spreadsheets and manual workarounds
- Manual reconciliation effort across entities
- Limited visibility of financial performance across the group
Leadership recognised the need to stabilise and modernise finance operations before embarking on any major systems investment. Organisations experiencing similar challenges can use the SMC Digital Transformation Model to understand where they are in the transformation journey and what should be addressed before major technology decisions are made.
SMC's Finance Transformation Approach
SMC partnered with Journey Beyond as an independent, client-side advisor, initially helping the organisation understand its current finance environment, define future-state processes and establish the business requirements needed to guide future transformation.
With this foundation in place, SMC supported Journey Beyond through Select & Negotiate, independently evaluating Payroll and Workforce Management solutions and providing structured commercial and risk advice throughout the selection process.
The work included:
Strategy & Roadmap
- Review current finance processes and system usage
- Define future-state finance operations
- Facilitate stakeholder workshops
- Capture and validate business requirements
- Identify opportunities for automation, standardisation and integration
- Establish governance and executive reporting
Select & Negotiate
- Identify suitable Payroll and WFM solutions
- Shortlist vendors against agreed requirements
- Facilitate demonstrations and reference checks
- Conduct due diligence and assess functional fit
- Evaluate commercial proposals
- Negotiate commercial terms
- Provide governance and risk oversight throughout selection
This approach created a shared understanding of how the finance function should operate across Journey Beyond’s national portfolio and the solution and partner to help achieve this vision.
A Structured Approach:From Finance Strategy to Technology Selection
SMC applied a disciplined approach aligned to its current transformation delivery model. The work commenced as an Analyse & Blueprint engagement, followed by a Select and Negotiate engagement.
1. Strategy & Roadmap – Current State Understanding
SMC analysed the existing finance landscape to understand how the function operated across brands and business units. This was followed by a detailed Selection and Negotiation phase of work.
This included:
- As-is analysis of finance processes and system usage
- Identification of pain points, inefficiencies, and risks
- Assessment of data challenges and digital maturity
- Clear articulation of constraints affecting performance and visibility
- Defining critical business requirements and future-state processes
- Evaluating vendor proposals using SMC’s structured methodology
- Facilitating tailored demonstrations and reference checks
- Delivering a data-driven recommendation and final evaluation report
This phase established a robust baseline for improvement.
2. Future-State Definition – “Could-Be” Finance Operations
SMC worked closely with Journey Beyond stakeholders to define how the finance function could operate more effectively.
Key activities included:
- Development and validation of 65 future-state (“could-be”) finance processes
- Identification of opportunities for automation, standardisation, and integration
- Definition of 775 business requirements to inform a future ERP landscape
The result was a practical, achievable vision for a more efficient and consistent finance function.
3. Transformation Leadership – Governance and Decision Support
Throughout the engagement, SMC provided independent transformation leadership to support confident decision-making.
This included:
- Weekly dashboards providing transparency across progress, risk, scope, and dependencies
- Ongoing advisory support to guide leadership decisions
- Clear governance to keep the engagement aligned and outcomes-focused
This ensured the work remained structured, efficient, and grounded in business priorities.
4. Preparing for Next Phases
The outputs from this engagement provide a strong foundation for subsequent phases of transformation, such as Plan & Prepare. While these phases had not commenced at the time, the documentation and insights position Journey Beyond to proceed with confidence when ready.
The Outcome: Greater Finance Clarity and Confidence for Transformation
- 65 future-state finance processes defined
- 775 validated business requirements established
- Best-fit Payroll and WFM solution selected
- Commercial terms optimised through structured negotiation
- Stronger governance and executive visibility
- Reduced implementation risk through due diligence and clear requirements
- Clearer pathway into Plan & Implement
Organisations facing similar enterprise technology decisions can use SMC’s ERP & Enterprise Systems Consulting expertise to move from requirements and strategy through independent system selection and delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Analyse & Blueprint and Select & Negotiate were SMC’s earlier terms for early-stage transformation engagements. Today, this work is framed as Strategy & Roadmap and Select & Negotiate. The terminology has evolved, but the rigour and outcomes remain consistent.
This work ensures finance processes, requirements, and operating models are clearly defined before engaging vendors, reducing risk and improving the quality of system selection decisions.
Organisations experiencing growth, complexity, or system limitations benefit from gaining clarity on current operations and defining a practical future-state before making major investment decisions.
Planning a Finance or Workforce Technology Transformation?
Whether you’re defining future-state requirements, evaluating Payroll or Workforce Management solutions, or preparing for implementation, SMC provides independent, client-side advice to help you make informed technology decisions.
Reviewing Your Payroll or Workforce Management Environment?
Explore the key considerations for assessing your current environment, defining requirements and evaluating future Payroll and Workforce Management options.
About the Author
Mile Dimkovski is Executive Director at SMC. With over 18 years’ experience in ERP, enterprise platforms, and digital transformation, he supports organisations to make confident, evidence-based decisions and translate strategy into practical outcomes. Mile works closely with executive teams to bring structure, clarity, and control to complex technology programs.