Customer Use Case
Utility capital spending is surging. Davey rebuilt planning to keep pace with it.
The Davey Tree Expert Company plans the engineers, crews and field production behind a once‑in‑a‑generation grid build‑out. Their SAP EPM utility planning now runs from one repository, built on the PlaniFi Planning application on SAP Analytics Cloud.
- Headquartered
- Kent, OH
- Industry
- Tree care and utility infrastructure
- Employees
- 12,000 +
- Revenue
- $1.95 billion (2025)
- Ownership
- Employee‑owned since 1979
- Live
- January 2026
The problem
Flat demand for fifteen years, then the curve went vertical
US electricity consumption barely moved between 2005 and 2020. That period is over. Data centers are landing concentrated new loads on the grid. Electrification and onshoring are changing consumption patterns underneath them. Utilities have responded with a multi‑billion dollar surge in capital spending running through 2029, covering grid modernization, renewable integration, and raw transmission and distribution capacity.
Davey is on the delivery end of that spending. Its utility asset management business supplies the engineering, construction, reliability, field services and transmission work the build‑out depends on. So planning that work is not a back‑office exercise. It decides how much of the surge the company can actually take on.
The planning process was not built for that. Production planning and financial planning lived apart, they were assembled by hand, and forecasting and reporting were compiled manually every cycle.
What was built
SAP EPM utility planning in one repository
Davey moved both into a single unified repository. Their SAP EPM utility planning is built on the PlaniFi Planning application on SAP Analytics Cloud, and SimpleFi delivered it with SAP. Forecasting and reporting are now automated rather than compiled. The scope covered dimension and model build, report and driver creation, and full user acceptance testing before anyone went near a live cycle.
- PlanningProduction and financial planning unified in one model
- ForecastingAutomated and driver‑based, replacing manual compilation
- ReportingBuilt on a single repository rather than assembled each cycle
- PlatformPlaniFi Planning on SAP Analytics Cloud
How it was delivered
Three phases, eight months, live on the January cycle
The SAP EPM utility planning build ran in three phases across eight months. Each one had to finish before the next began.
-
May to Sep 2025
Design and build
Dimension and model build, report and driver creation, and user acceptance testing.
-
Oct to Dec 2025
Training and rollout
Results reviewed with stakeholders, launch guide issued, and mandatory training run.
-
Jan 2026 onward
Go‑live and support
Dual operation in sheets and PlaniFi while defects were worked, then scoping for the next phase.
Lessons learned
What Davey would do differently
Continuous feedback from early stakeholder reviews and training sessions turned out to be the thing that kept projections accurate. Three items are on the list for next time. Start crossover testing earlier. Put more weight on user validation. Communicate more with senior executives along the way. Top‑down planning capability is also queued for the next phase.
In his own words
The full presentation, recorded live in Chicago
Davey presented this build at The Autonomous Enterprise, a finance executive summit hosted by SimpleFi and SAP in Chicago on 19 August 2026. The recording runs about twenty minutes and covers the market context, the rollout and the numbers.
Trouble with the player? Open the recording on YouTube.
What comes next
On‑demand reporting, predictive forecasting, resource planning
Davey’s roadmap runs three ways from here. First, interactive on‑demand reporting that removes manual compilation entirely and gives every stakeholder instant visibility. Second, predictive forecasting that uses historical trends and algorithmic projections to build multi‑year revenue and spend scenarios. Third, resource planning that connects field production and strategic hiring directly to the financial plan.
Planning against a demand curve you cannot slow down?
Tell us what your planning cycle looks like today and we will tell you honestly whether this applies to you.
Customer Testimonials
I am very pleased with the results of the SAP Analytics Cloud project. It's nice to be able to dynamically view real time key business transformation in an easy to read format. The consultants from SimpleFi did an outstanding job on this project. Thanks to all!
Retail operations across 14 states, running integrated business, workforce and liquidity planning.
Four business units with almost nothing in common, now planning the full three statements on one platform.
Partnering with SimpleFi has been a success; thank you for making accounting magical again.
I am very pleased with how the project went overall … our first consolidation has gone very smoothly. SimpleFi's accounting background and expertise were the perfect fit to help us implement significant process improvements and we are already seeing benefits from the automation of intercompany elimination processes.
Planning and coordination time down 25 to 35 percent, with production and financial planning in one repository.
From Excel to SAP Analytics Cloud for monthly financial consolidations, reporting and data management.
[We are] way ahead of schedule on our budgeting process as compared to past years... the department is running smooth.
Over 60 distinct ERP systems brought into one consolidations and FP&A process after years of acquisitions.
[SimpleFi] delivered consolidations on time and under budget.
