When finance teams need a new spend management platform, they don’t always have the luxury of long lead times and wider resources. They need something that works fast.
That was the reality for Orbico SportStyle, one of Europe’s leading sport and lifestyle platforms, managing brands including Champion Europe Group, Game7Athletics, and Dockers Europe.
For Lorenzo Colajacomo, Finance Director at Orbico SportStyle, the priority was clear: find a spend management platform that could be implemented quickly, without depending on extensive IT support.
Staying lean and agile at scale
Orbico SportStyle has significant reach, working with 2,500 wholesale partners across 60 countries, 160+ retail and concession stores, and three proprietary e-commerce platforms. Headquartered in Carpi, Italy, the brand also employs 1,700 people spread across 10 countries.
Despite the scale of the company, Orbico SportStyle still maintains a hands-on, brand-first approach. As a result of this hands-on approach, keeping operations lean and agile is a necessity.
That meant when looking for a new spend management platform, Lorenzo’s main priority was to find one that could be implemented quickly, without requiring IT involvement or complex technical system activities.
“That was an important goal for us, one we set for ourselves, and it kept the complexity and investment of implementing Pleo down,” explains Lorenzo. Keeping IT involvement to a minimum was a deliberate choice - it allowed the finance team to move at their own pace and keep the project timeline fully in their hands. “We needed a quick win, a simple solution to implement, and one that was capital expenditure free,” added Lorenzo.
It was also important that the finance and HR teams could manage any new platform themselves, rather than depending on IT for day-to-day platform management. And Pleo ticked all the boxes.
A straightforward, supportive onboarding experience
Even before the official onboarding began, Lorenzo said he found the experience simple and supportive.
“From the very beginning, even during the pre-sales process, the dynamic was refreshingly personal. Usually with a group of our size, the relationships are often very formal, and this doesn’t help efficiency,” he added.
With Pleo’s support, implementing the platform was simple. “When we needed support in the pre-sales phase and during onboarding, we sent an email and Pleo sprang into action,” said Lorenzo.
One aspect of the onboarding process that particularly stood out to Lorenzo was how organised everything was: “The structured process, the system mock-ups, the slides. Everything was ready and waiting for us.”
Pleo was there every step of the way, including when Lorenzo and his team encountered specific cases they weren’t sure how to handle. “Pleo gave us support, or told us how we could do it,” he said.
Boosting efficiency and transparency with Pleo
Once onboarding was complete, it was time to see what Pleo could do. And the results were impressive.
“We’ve significantly increased the efficiency of accounting for all travel and entertainment expenses processed through Pleo,” explained Lorenzo. “This gives the finance team much better visibility into how the company’s money is being spent,” he added. These improvements directly met the company’s objectives of efficiency and transparency.
Lorenzo also shared Pleo’s onboarding materials with employees, which meant that adoption was incredibly high across the company.
So much so that the CEO now wants part of the action. “Just last week, our CEO said he wants Pleo because he’s still using his bank card. He saw Pleo being used and wants it too, which is fantastic.”
An onboarding experience that makes all the difference
Now that Orbico SportStyle has seen how Pleo helps create efficient, transparent spend management processes, Lorenzo is quick to endorse it: “I would recommend Pleo. It’s easy to use and creates a stress-free experience,” he said.
But, he adds, the contrast between simply choosing a spend management platform and actually using it successfully comes down to one thing: the onboarding experience.
“Make the most of onboarding, because that’s what makes the difference between ‘I bought Pleo’ and ‘I’m using Pleo correctly,’” he advised.
By investing time and energy into the onboarding process, Orbico SportStyle showed that it’s possible to transform spend management, even as a lean and agile brand.
To learn more about how Pleo can streamline your company’s spend management processes, book a demo today.
