Stanley Black and Decker
After email, overnight mail, and document management software proved inefficient and unsecure for external document sharing, Stanley Black & Decker® turned to Intralinks® to manage its heavy workload. The results were dramatic: improved daily operations and streamlined transaction processes leading to 50% time savings and 15% cost reductions.
THE PAIN POINT
Stanley Black & Decker, best known for its Stanley® tools, reviews hundreds of potential acquisitions each year. Managing the complex pipeline requires sharing volumes of information with dozens of internal and external experts in multiple locations. The Corporate Development team needed a technology solution to streamline the exchange of transaction-related information and to support its daily operations.
THE IMPLICATIONS
The company tried to leverage its Microsoft SharePoint, but the application fell short for providing document-level access controls. Furthermore, Stanley’s IT department limited who could access the corporate network outside the company’s firewall. The team resorted to emailing, printing and mailing sensitive information to its experts.
THE SOLUTION
Stanley turned to Intralinks® to solve its access, security, and performance issues. Using a corporate subscription allowing for unlimited usage, Stanley created online repositories to support its daily workflow as well as individual ones for each active transaction. Beyond transactions, Intralinks served as a central repository for the Corporate Development team to keep track of their critical information, stay aligned, and streamline workflow.
The solution organizes and stores all documents the team uses — everything from board pitches, business unit reviews, integration reports, confidentiality agreements, and financial documents to meeting minutes, management presentations, and other key information. To manage activity and the due diligence process on individual transactions, Corporate Development permissions internal and external users to access information specifically relevant to their participation, setting rights for each document, controlling who can view, download, or print individual items.
THE RESULT
Now, instead of spending hours searching, photocopying, and mailing information, the department can point people to specific documents in well-organized, easily searchable exchanges. The improved process has created a 50% time savings and a 15% total cost savings on each transaction. The company also has slashed travel costs 45% by sharing information via Intralinks rather than flying advisors for in-person meetings.
THE BENEFIT
As a turnkey solution, Intralinks supports Stanley’s company-wide focus to control costs. Stanley’s IT team appreciates that they can conserve their budget and use staff time to support internal applications. Other departments are looking to create their own exchanges to improve their daily operations as well.
