Colas Rail Integrates Cadena with SAP SuccessFactors for multi-country payroll compliance.
As a global leader in rail infrastructure, Colas Rail designs, builds, and maintains transport networks that connect societies. From high-speed lines to light rail and tramways, their operations require a highly mobile, technically skilled workforce capable of delivering complex engineering projects under rigorous safety and regulatory standards.
Before this regional transformation, Colas Rail faced a fragmented administrative landscape where each country operated in a silo; payroll and HR tasks were managed through a disconnected mix of Excel spreadsheets and various local HR software across the Southeast Asian region.
Moving away from a fragmented system of local software and Excel sheets to an integrated Cadena-SuccessFactors ecosystem has transformed our regional operations. By choosing a single partner for the region, we saved significant time and cost compared to managing multiple vendors, while achieving 100% digital compliance in five countries.
Results at a glance
Scale
Comprehensive HR and Payroll support for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Cost-Effective
Avoided the high cost and time-drain of managing multiple local vendor integrations.
Compliance
100% digital extraction for government social insurance and tax reporting across five jurisdictions.
Efficiency
Unified digital portal for Leave, Attendance, and Expense Claims, replacing legacy Excel-based tracking.
The challenge
Engineering a bridge between global HCM and local reality
For a multinational infrastructure giant, maintaining a unified global view of human capital is vital for project steering. However, the Southeast Asian rail sector presents a landscape of diverse labor regulations and statutory requirements.
A primary obstacle was the sheer logistical and financial burden of integration. Attempting to integrate SAP SuccessFactors with multiple different local vendors across five countries would have been a massive challenge from both a time and cost perspective. Managing five separate implementation projects, varying technical standards, and multiple support contracts would have drained resources and delayed regional visibility.
Colas Rail needed a single, robust partner to bridge the gap between SAP SuccessFactors and the high-precision payroll and time-tracking needs of their regional project sites through a unified interface.
The scope
A comprehensive, integrated regional ecosystem
The project focused on creating a seamless, automated flow of data between SAP SuccessFactors and Cadena HRM Series 5. The objective was to ensure that global employee profiles and contractual data remained in perfect sync with local operational modules, automating the most labor-intensive aspects of regional HR management.
SAP SuccessFactors Integration:
All employee profiles and contractual information are received directly from SuccessFactors, serving as the master data input for the regional payroll engine.
Phase 1 (2021):
The initial rollout established a synchronized payroll and HR framework for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Functionality:
Beyond core payroll, the implementation included:
• Time Attendance: To manage project-based rosters and site-specific hours.
• Employee Self-Service (ESS): A digital portal for Leave, Profile Management, and Expense Claims, providing a unified experience for office and site staff alike.
Phase 2 (2022):
The regional footprint was expanded to include Colas Rail Vietnam, integrating localized social insurance and PIT logic into the existing ecosystem.
Phase 3 (2023):
Completion of the regional loop with the addition of Colas Rail Singapore, automating CPF and IRAS statutory requirements.
The benefits
Precision compliance for a mobile workforce
1
Seamless global-to-local data flow
By using SAP SuccessFactors as the master "Source of Truth," Colas Rail eliminated the risks associated with manual data entry. New hires, transfers, and contract changes initiated at the global level are automatically reflected in Cadena, ensuring that project teams are paid accurately from day one.
2
Regional operational control
With the integration of Time Attendance and Expense Claims, Colas Rail gained granular visibility into site operations. Managers can validate hours and expenses against project timelines in real-time, ensuring that operational costs are tracked with the same precision as their engineering projects.
3
Automated multi-country compliance
The implementation solved for the intricate statutory requirements of five Southeast Asian nations.
• Digital Government Reporting: All statutory tax and insurance reports (such as CPF in Singapore, EPF/SOCSO in Malaysia, and Social Insurance in Vietnam) are extracted directly from the system in the exact formats required by local authorities.
• Localized Logic: Cadena handles the specific labor law nuances of each territory, from the Philippines' 13th-month pay to Indonesia's BPJS requirements.
4
Empowered employee experience
Through the Employee Self-Service (ESS) module, Colas Rail’s workforce can manage their own leave and claims digitally. This reduces administrative overhead for HR and provides engineers and technicians with transparent access to their data, regardless of their project location.