Rectangles at a Roundtable??
Highlights from Automotive Roundtable & Women’s Dinner
We had a wonderful day! Thank you to everyone who attended and helped to make it fun and insightful.
Yes, we even had to roll out the rectangular tables – our attendance was that good. But that didn’t take away from the learning, conversation and human connection that shaped this magnificent September day! What happened you ask?
1. 50+ Automotive Finance Professional Gathered!
We were at the OneStream HQ office. A beautiful location (once you get past the construction out front) with warm people and a bright meeting space. We had finance professionals from a dozen tier one automotive suppliers, along with Strategic IQ teammates and an extra helping of OneStream folks as Wednesday’s means in office lunch day. It was wonderful to see Tracey Glaser, Cindy Pahl, Kathy Horton, Martha, Danielle Crane and other special visitors. Thank you all for coming!
2. OneStream shared their “3 Pillar” point of view on Enterprise Finance
Steve Meabius lead the charge with a concise analysis of OneStream’s point of view. Their “Three Pillars,” in a nutshell:
Core Finance – where you MANAGE the essential functions of the business
Operational Analytics – where you STEER the business
Finance AI – where you PREDICT your business
Steve Meabius lead the charge with a concise analysis of OneStream’s point of view. Their “Three Pillars,” in a nutshell:
- Core Finance – where you MANAGE the essential functions of the business
- Operational Analytics – where you STEER the business
- Finance AI – where you PREDICT your business
3. Alyssa Boers shared her amazing transformation story; A real life Art of the Possible.
Alyssa Boers is one of my favorite OneStream storytellers. She has lived in trenches but does not get lost in the weeds. Concise, bright and eye opening – her story includes crazy levels of organizational complexity. Data from over 150 ERPs, 1500 Users, 650+ GLs, 80+ COAs, 46,000 entities, 1M ERP maps! And yet – out the other end came Finance Maturity: From Core to Beyond. Thank you Alyssa!
5. Grant & Jeff from Shape Corporation crushed it while covering S&OP and Part Level Profitability
Grant Veurink (Director of Global Finance) & Jeff Widener (Commercial Finance Manager) shared the Shape story from bar stools (but the beer didn’t show up til a bit later. Manual updates were littering the team with inaccurate data, which then led to skewed forecasts and a lack of confidence in their reporting and data. Enter Strategic iQ’s Planning Factory; actual (as opposed to standard) material costs are now being pulled into OneStream monthly, and are being allocated to the many parts on Shape’s manufacturing lines. From Excel edits and misleading numbers, to true actuals and verified forecasts – all at the click of a button in their OneStream application!
6. Ken shared his passion & wisdom for Unified Business Planning
Ken Schrock has been there and done that on the operations side of life. Now he continues to help bridge the gap between operations and finance teams. Both are looking to strategize, optimize and contribute to the bottom line. Ken demonstrated how Integrated Business Planning is a framework to get there.
7. Matt shared OneStream AI POV and Use Cases specific to Automotive Manufacturers
Matt Delise had the slot no one wants … the last before cocktails! That said, he cruised through the opportunities AI is bringing to manufacturing today. With over 100 successful AI projects, things are getting real – it is no longer hype. Finance AI includes Forecast, Studio, and Agents all trusted and unified on the OneStream platform. Matt shared a story about a $10B automotive supplier that saw a 37% reduction in forecast error while reducing freight, inventory and overtime pay. That was the fun part; hearing how AI is driving real measurable value with operational relevance, profit and cash impacts, procurement optimization. Thank you Matt.
8. The Women in Finance Dinner was a hit. The guys did well too!
As the women headed over to Hyde Park’s Prime Steakhouse, the guys – with a few moments to spare – headed over to the Sidecar Cafe and then to Flanders. More conversation & commodore.
The Big Lesson Learned?
A wonderful day happens when good people get together – in bright places, with good food and shared curiosities. That was the case this last September 17th! Fun to hear about innovations, real world stories and simply have face to face conversations with peers who are on similar journeys.
Hope to see you all again soon!
A Special thank you for all your help & support: Megan Rogers, Andrea Pavlov, Brian Biggs, Brett Schnieder, Kevin Castine, Chrystal Holmes, Danielle Wheat, Nick (IT guy), Michell from Beyond Juicery, Julie Hines from Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, the Sidecar Cafe, and Flanders Steakhouse.
Written by: Tim Keelan and Nick Menke