iHerb, a global e-commerce company shipping over 30,000 SKUs to 185 countries, faced significant inefficiencies in its financial close process. The company operated on a cumbersome 10-to-15-day close cycle, limiting visibility and creating operational bottlenecks. Minh Mac, Assistant Controller and Transformation Leader at iHerb, explained the core challenges. “As someone that's going to be leading the transformation efforts, the business requirements were clear: increased visibility and a reduced close.”

The lengthy process also hindered team collaboration, as employees often needed to chase down updates or follow-ups. With a directive from the C-Suite to streamline operations and improve insights, iHerb began its search for a solution that would transform its financial close process.

iHerb selected BlackLine for its seamless integration with SAP, ease of implementation, and ability to deliver on the company’s key requirements. Mac highlighted how quickly the platform met their needs. “The technology enablement—it was just out-of-the-box ready to go. The API connector was very easy to set up. That was amazing.”

Beyond the technical advantages, BlackLine’s robust dashboards and reporting tools addressed the company’s need for real-time visibility into the financial close process. “That first goal from our C-Suite was to give me immediate visibility into the close status,” Mac said. “It’s as easy as sharing the dashboard view and running out a report every month that can be shared with our CFO and CEO.”

The platform also transformed team collaboration, enabling employees to view task progress and offer real-time assistance without delays. “Everybody sees what everybody else is doing, and they're able to hop in to help in real time, rather than waiting and having to chase someone down,” Mac noted.