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Embridge leads on major finance transformation for Devon County Council with new digital ERP system
ArticleJuly 20253 min
Devon County Council has made significant strides towards hitting the goals set out in its strategic plan for digital transformation, all thanks to the successful implementation of a new digital finance system powered by Unit4 ERP. Digital transformation consultancy, Embridge Consulting, supported a smooth transition.
As one of the largest local authorities in South West England, the Council serves a population of over 825,000.
The outdated, on-premises IT systems it had been using for the past 30 years were not built to support the needs of such large settlements, hindering the Council’s efforts to support its people efficiently and effectively.
Back-office technology was disparate – and officers lacked the single source of data truth needed for effective decision making. Processes were likewise inefficient, often leading to extensive need for time-consuming manual intervention and reporting.
Devon County Council launched its strategic plan to resolve this, aiming, among other goals, to modernise its financial operations. This formed part of a wider transformation programme designed by Embridge Consulting to enhance the efficiency, transparency and delivery of Council services and operations.
Embridge Consulting is committed to helping organisations achieve faster time to value from digital transformation programmes, at lower cost and at lower risk. It achieves these goals by combining human ingenuity with propriety methodologies based on deep sector knowledge and best-in-class Enterprise Resource Planning technology (ERP).
Following a competitive tender process, Embridge was appointed to deliver the Council’s digital transformation in finance. The consultancy worked closely with Devon County Council to implement the integrated Unit4 ERP and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) platform – a leading solution for UK Local Government – using its Public Sector Model.
Finalised and pushed live at the beginning of April 2025, the Devon County Council, Finance and Service teams will be able to leverage the latest in ERP cloud technology, while benefitting from impactful automations and a clear, transparent, single source of truth, together with significantly improved user experience, constituent experience, and value for money.
“The team here at Embridge Consulting is extremely proud to have had the opportunity to support Devon County Council to successfully deliver its business-critical finance transformation programme. The Devon project team has been an absolute pleasure to work with throughout our engagement, and the collaboration between all parties has been an extremely positive experience. Capitalising on our experience and track record of supporting significant and successful business transformation programmes across UK Local Government meant we were able to bring industry expertise and insight to Devon with equal focus on the people, process and technology change that is essential in achieving such a successful outcome.”
Dan Chilton Chief Experience Officer at Embridge Consulting
James Arvin, Senior Director Public Sector at Unit4, added, “Unit4’s ongoing close partnership with Embridge continues to be a cornerstone of our success as a market leader in UK local government. This milestone reflects the strength of our collaboration – not just between our two organisations, but across all stakeholders – working together to ensure a smooth and successful go-live.”
“This is a major achievement for the County Council. Staff from across the Council worked together with our partners to implement the new system in only 20 months – a phenomenal achievement. I’m really proud of everyone and looking forward to realising the benefits the new system will bring.”
Angie Sinclair Director of Finance and S151 Officer for Devon County Council
Headquartered in Gravesham, Kent, Embridge Consulting operates to high industry standards, affirmed by its accreditations in ISO 9001, 27001 and 14001 and its recent acceptance onto the G-Cloud 14 public sector framework.
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