When Joseph T. Koch first arrived at office equipment supplier Fellowes Inc. a decade ago, the company was your typical family-owned middle market operation, particularly when it came to finance and treasury.

With $300 million or so in annual revenues, Fellowes took advantage of very few of the tools and services banks were offering even then. It didn't have an ERP or a treasury workstation.

And while it already had seven foreign subsidiaries, all of them were doing their own thing when it came to reporting and cash management. "We weren't leveraging best practices," Koch recalls. "We were doing business in global markets, but we weren't an effective global organization. We needed the ability to establish standards and practices to ensure consistency around the world. That included the ability to monitor and leverage our global cash position and cash flow. It was also important that our subsidiaries remain responsible for their day-to-day business and treasury requirements."