Recovering millions of reais and automating at scale: Natura’s reconciliation transformation in Latin America
About Natura
With more than five decades of experience and an established presence in Latin America and Europe, Natura is one of the world’s largest cosmetics and direct-selling companies, recognized for its omnichannel operation and integrated regional structure.
With operations across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and other Latin American markets, the company faced a structural challenge in accounts receivable: reconciling large financial volumes from multiple banks and collection partners while working with different ERPs and local rules, without compromising governance, traceability or efficiency.
Implementing Dattos marked the transition from a manual, fragmented model to a standardized, scalable and auditable architecture.
Context
Starting in 2020, Natura Brazil also began incorporating international operations, including Hispana (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Peru), as well as the integration of the Avon brand.
This move increased operational complexity:
Operations distributed across Brazil and Hispana
Two primary ERPs (SAP in Brazil and Gera in other countries)
Up to 12 collection partners in certain markets, such as Colombia
Non-standardized data structures across ERPs and banks
The lack of direct correspondence between identifiers — such as the consultant’s code in the system and the document reference on the bank statement — made simple automated matching impossible. Reconciliations were performed manually, with intensive use of spreadsheets, multiple tabs and macros.
Operational impact
The transformation delivered direct efficiency gains:
Processing time for certain reconciliations fell from 4 hours to 5 minutes. In Mexico, the Avon operation saved 660 hours per month.
Capacity gain equivalent to 5 FTEs in the Mexico operation alone
One analyst can manage operations across multiple countries
Significant reduction in exposure to human error
The team moved away from transaction-heavy execution and began focusing its efforts on analysis and control.
“Our reconciliation process is now much easier and more productive. We optimized reconciliation: what used to take hours is now completed in minutes, allowing the team to focus on strategic initiatives. With operations fully standardized, we can identify gaps much faster and more accurately.”
Cristiana Carvalho
Accounts Receivable Coordinator at Natura
Audit and financial recovery
The speed delivered by Dattos created capacity for strategic review initiatives and stronger controls.
In one project, an analyst used the platform to process prior-year liabilities, reapplying reconciliation rules to complete historical datasets that had previously been handled manually.
Through this structured revalidation, Natura identified significant amounts — in the millions — that financial institutions had not transferred, revealing discrepancies that remained invisible under the previous spreadsheet-based model.
The case demonstrated Dattos’s ability to process large volumes of historical data quickly and reinforced automation’s role in mitigating financial risk.
Governance and standardization
Beyond the operational gains, the company made structural progress in governance:
Standardized rules across markets
Consolidated audit evidence
End-to-end process traceability
Preserved files, eliminating the risk of manual manipulation
According to Cristiana:
“Today, we have a standard. Every market receives the same information in the same way.”
Conclusion
- Scalable automation
- Rules that can be replicated across countries
- Reduced operational workload
- Stronger financial governance
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“Our reconciliation process is now much easier and more productive. We optimized reconciliation: what used to take hours is now completed in minutes, allowing the team to focus on strategic initiatives. With operations fully standardized, we can identify gaps much faster and more accurately.”