Driving digital mileage: How CarDekho built a scalable finance backbone with Oracle

When Aditya Changoiwala took over as Group Financial Controller at CarDekho, a major ERP transformation was already underway. The decision to adopt Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite had been made, and Aditya’s mandate was clear: lead the implementation and ensure it delivered scale, agility, and strategic value across CarDekho’s massive financial operations.

CarDekho is a digital-first enterprise with over 30 entities and operations across multiple countries. It was previously using another leading ERP on-prem. But the system was increasingly inadequate for the group’s growing ambitions. "We wanted to ensure that whatever we built could scale and pivot our financial operations."

The problem statement

As one of India’s leading auto-tech platforms, CarDekho has seen exponential growth over the last decade. However, with scale comes complexity. Disparate financial systems, manual processes, and limited visibility across business units were slowing down decision-making and introducing inefficiencies.

Solving with Oracle: Getting the numbers right

Looking at the evaluation process, it spanned six months with leading vendors in the fray. Ultimately, Oracle won both in terms of functionality and cost. Says Aditya, "The interlinked modules, the holistic cloud-native architecture, and the overall deal structure tilted the scale in favour of Oracle." The company also felt that for a digital services company like CarDekho, Oracle offered a more integrated, service-oriented suite compared to others traditionally preferred by manufacturing firms.

The journey so far: ERP, EPM, and HCM

CarDekho opted for a spectrum of Oracle deployment: ERP, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), and Human Capital Management (HCM). While ERP went live first, and is currently in stabilisation, EPM is expected to go live soon, while HCM is in early planning stages. "We initially thought we could go live with all modules in 9 to 12 months. But we soon realised a phased rollout made more sense for a group of our complexity," says Aditya.

Taming the challenges: Managing transition and change management

An enterprise deployment of this scale is rarely friction free. In this case, the biggest hurdle was change management. CarDekho has multiple autonomous business units, each with legacy processes. Quips Aditya, “It was difficult to align everyone on the same page with the new unified system. Many teams had their own ways of doing things and were reluctant to change, but we overcame all these issues.”

Data migration was another major pain point. “With multiple entities and high data volume, migrating clean, accurate data was essential. One mistake and the outputs would be flawed.”

From month-end rush to real-time results

With ERP in place, Aditya now has a bold goal: closing monthly books by workday 7, down from 15+ days pre-Oracle. Eventually, he wants to hit a day 3 or day 4 closing window. "We’re targeting day 6 for leadership MIS distribution. It’s ambitious but achievable with the right tooling," he says.

Beyond speed, CarDekho wants Oracle to become the digital engine for data-driven decision-making and producing actionable dashboards and forecasts with agility. Faster invoicing and real-time receivables also top the agenda.

A strategic approach: Finance first, then ops

While operational systems are managed independently by each business unit, Oracle’s primary role is to streamline finance. "ERP’s focus is largely financial. Operational gains will follow as better finance data improves decision-making," Aditya says.

Riding on a multi-stakeholder play

CarDekho’s transformation was guided by a governance structure that included monthly Steering Committee meetings chaired by CEO Amit Jain, with all CFOs and CTOs in attendance. Weekly cadence meetings with controllers and daily standups with the core team ensured tight execution discipline.

The playbook for success: Key learnings for CIOs and CFOs

Aditya’s playbook for a successful ERP transformation includes:

A clear definition of success metrics: Don’t start without knowing what success looks like. Misalignment leads to mismatched expectations.

Top down approach: Final system design decisions must be made at the top. It sets the foundation.

Plan data migration early: Get your data strategy right. It’s critical.

Prioritise training: Pre and post-go-live training is vital and ensures seamless adoption and unlocks value.

Looking ahead: GenAI on the horizon

CarDekho is already exploring Generative AI, and focusing on building AI-powered conversational interfaces for car discovery. The finance team, however, is still evaluating GenAI’s applicability. “It's too early for finance-specific use cases, but we’re keeping an eye,” Aditya says.

Driving to the future

CarDekho spends a massive amount annually on technology, including business and finance systems, infrastructure, and tech teams. "As a tech-first company, our spend reflects our DNA," Aditya remarks.

For CarDekho, the Oracle implementation is not just a systems upgrade, it’s a strategic realignment of finance to garner business acumen and achieve velocity as they scale. With governance rigour, leadership buy-in, and a clear roadmap, the company is scripting a cloud-powered transformation that many digital-first enterprises can learn from.

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