A Conversation with Adidas: Scaling Global Finance with Trintech Automation

Before Trintech: Inconsistent Reconciliations Across a Global Shared Services Model

Q: Manfred, can you introduce yourself and describe the challenges Adidas faced before implementing Trintech?

A: My name is Manfred Freitag, and I’m the Global Process Owner for Record to Report at Adidas headquarters in Germany.

Before Trintech, our reconciliation environment was highly heterogeneous. Adidas operates with a shared service center model, with several centers across the globe. While we provided guidance on how reconciliations should be performed, each center still handled the work slightly differently. Most importantly, the process was largely Excel-based and not supported by a single, common platform. That made it very difficult to ensure consistency, transparency, and standardization across all regions.

The Need for Consistency, Visibility, and Compliance

Q: What were the primary goals driving the move to Trintech?

A: Our first and most important objective was to achieve global consistency in how reconciliations are performed. We wanted one standardized way of working across all accounting environments worldwide. Equally important was transparency and visibility. Corporate Accounting needed deeper insight into reconciliation activities to ensure the work was being done properly and consistently. This was critical not only for internal governance, but also for external auditor compliance.

Partnering with Trintech: A Strong Foundation for Continuous Improvement

Q: How has your financial transformation journey evolved since partnering with Trintech?

A: We are very happy with the partnership. Over the last five years, whenever we identified new needs or opportunities for improvement, Trintech has stood right next to us to support those initiatives. We’re currently running a pilot to explore further automation possibilities, with a strong focus on improving efficiency and reducing manual reconciliation work.

Driving Efficiency Through Automation and Line-Item Matching

Q: Where are you seeing the biggest opportunities for efficiency gains?

A: A major focus area for us is line-item matching, especially because we have a very high volume of e-commerce accounts to reconcile.

By increasing automation in this area, we can significantly reduce manual workloads for accountants across the globe and allow them to focus on higher-value activities. This push toward automation is a key part of our broader financial transformation strategy.

A Trusted Partnership Supporting Global Scale

Q: How would you describe your relationship with Trintech today?

A: We truly see Trintech as a strong partner. The level of support we receive is something we really appreciate. As we continue to evolve our processes and look for further efficiency gains, we’re confident Trintech will remain a key part of that journey.