Introduction
Part of the global Xerox corporation, Xerox Financial Services (XFS) is a $2bn business operating across 16 countries. After returning to the leasing market and growing quickly, XFS needed faster, more consistent reporting and a dependable enterprise data warehouse foundation to support analytics, risk management, and scale.
Pre-WhereScape Challenges
- No single view: Data spanned 16 countries with different accounting practices and compliance requirements.
- Inconsistent rules: Different software versions and business rules drove conflicting metrics and definitions.
- Slow reporting cadence: Reporting was infrequent and rigid (once every 30 days) with limited detail.
- Hard-to-scale stack: Existing systems could not keep up with anticipated growth and new demands.
- Manual consolidation: Collating data into a central repository was a persistent coding and effort burden.
- False starts: Multiple attempted solutions failed to deliver agility, governance, or reliable performance.
“As soon as I saw the demo, I knew that automation was the key to delivering the fast, agile data warehouse which XFS required.”
– Ramesh Panakkal, Decision Support Manager, Xerox Financial Service
Why WhereScape?
Xerox Financial Services (XFS) needed a practical way to deliver an enterprise data warehouse quickly, without waiting years for broader enterprise programs. WhereScape RED stood out because it automated the data warehouse lifecycle end to end: design, build, change control, operation, and documentation. That meant faster delivery, better governance, and less dependence on scarce specialist skills.
The Solution
Proof Of Concept First
XFS asked WhereScape to prove value on the hardest reporting requirement, using the least standardized market (Italy) as the test case. The goal was a consolidated partner view that could track performance, deal types, and profitability.
A Fully Documented Warehouse In Days
Within two days, WhereScape delivered a fully documented data warehouse and OLAP cube, enabling a consolidated partner view for the first time and creating internal momentum to proceed.
LeaseCube Data Warehouse Environment
WhereScape helped build a production data warehouse environment, later called LeaseCube, integrating multiple source tables per system and enabling cross-region reporting across the leasing portfolio.
Automation For Credit Exposure
With centralized, queryable data, XFS could automate scorecard ratings and small ticket credit approvals to reduce analyst effort and improve consistency in decisioning.
“That is if it had come in on time and in budget.” said Panakkal, “So, this made the IM team agree to let us use WhereScape.”
– Ramesh Panakkal, Decision Support Manager, Xerox Financial Service
Results
🚀 Faster, More Frequent Reporting
- Daily snapshot reporting replaced monthly-only visibility.
- Reporting latency dropped to 24 hours instead of 30 days.
- Tailor-made reporting timelines moved from months to days.
🚀 Better Data Quality And Consistency
- Discrepancies became visible across regions, improving trust in reporting.
- Source issues could be examined and evidenced using snapshots.
- Consistent definitions supported cross-country performance comparisons.
🚀 Reduced Risk Through Portfolio Visibility
- Risk teams could evaluate multinational exposure across regions.
- Decisions no longer relied on manual, error-prone cross-region collation.
- Greater confidence before offering additional financing.
🚀 More Automation, Less Analyst Load
- Credit approval workflows became automatable once data was centralized.
- Auto-accept and auto-denial rates rose to 47.8% after implementation.
- A dynamic dashboard exposed scorecard status and performance metrics.
“Requests are already coming from Finance, Marketing, Sales, Operations and Risk, but we filter by how business critical each report is.”
– Ramesh Panakkal, Decision Support Manager, Xerox Financial Service
Why The ‘Interim’ Platform Stuck Long Term
WhereScape was initially positioned as a short-term solution while longer-term enterprise programs progressed. In practice, once LeaseCube reached critical mass (within six months), it became the natural system of record for decision support and enterprise reporting because it could evolve with changing requirements.
Portfolio And Volume Activation Reporting
LeaseCube enabled management reporting such as the Volume Activation Report, giving leadership an up-to-date daily view of sales performance. Previously, leadership only saw performance after month end, limiting corrective action and forecasting accuracy.
OPEX, CAPEX and Leasing Context
XFS leasing supports customers who want a periodic payment model that aligns to OPEX rather than CAPEX. That commercial reality increased pressure on reporting accuracy, profitability analysis, and risk controls as the leasing portfolio expanded across countries and partner channels.
Moving From Disparate To Integrated
“WhereScape has helped us move from disparate, disconnected data management to a fully integrated and accurate system based on a WhereScape RED data warehouse automation solution. It’s completely agile, so the data warehouse can keep evolving to meet the changes in the business.”
– Ramesh Panakkal, Decision Support Manager, Xerox Financial Service
