The Bearing Man Group, Africa's leading distributor of dynamic engineering consumable products, has completed the first phase of its implementation of the Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI) suite with the assistance of Synergy Computing.
The initiative, driven by the need to improve reporting and provide the company with a more stable platform and accurate data, is already delivering considerable benefits.
Says Campbell Fuller, Divisional Manager: ICT at Bearing Man: "The primary driver behind this initiative was the unreliability of the reporting mechanism within our ERP system, as well as the inability of the reporting tool to produce complex reports. We thus took a strategic decision to implement the Cognos 8 BI solution within the organisation, taking a phased approach."
The initial scope of the project was to provide BI functionality at a head office level after which the same functionality is to be rolled out to Bearing Man's branch network of over 100 outlets nationally and in Africa.
This first phase of the implementation provides BI functionality for Bearing Man's most critical operations - sales and finance. The second phase will focus on stock and the supply chain.
Explains Fuller: "For the first phase we had two primary requirements: to replace existing management screens with Cognos Reports and to provide the company with a BI tool that gives it enhanced reporting capabilities, including the ability to 'slice and dice'.
"The sales system needed to emulate what was currently being produced in our ERP system but provide a more stable and accurate platform. Of primary importance was that the system produced consistent results regardless of the view that was presented. The finance system was required to cater for balances and not transaction details, which may be incorporated at a later date."
Synergy Computing, a corporate performance management and BI software solution provider, was appointed as project facilitator and consultant. Synergy has over three decades of experience in the scoping, design and delivery of data warehouses and BI solutions and counts Vodacom, Woolworths and Metropolitan Life among its clients. Says Chris Hewitt, Durban Branch Manager of Synergy Computing: "We were actively involved in the supply of the relevant software, the data warehouse and cube designs, as well as implementation and training."
Cognos 8 was selected following the presentation of a proof of concept to the company by Synergy Computing. Says David McWilliam, MD of Cognos SA: "Cognos is known as a BI product but its real value lies in the ability to enable business optimisation. It doesn't just deliver information, it delivers performance driven information that assists organisations to manage their business more effectively.
"Bearing Man's investment in Cognos 8 BI will deliver exponential returns as its BI strategy rolls out and the company begins to leverage the comprehensive BI functionality it offers. Synergy Computing, a long-time Cognos partner, is a proven performer in this arena, building value around its service and offerings that benefits its customers in the long term. The major challenge faced by the implementers was data cleansing and data transformation."
Says Hewitt: "As Bearing Man's ERP system did not use a relational database we had to do a significant amount of data cleansing and validation. However, this was a critical part of the operation as BI projects stand or fall based on the quality of the data the organisation uses."
A data warehouse was created and two data marts, for sales and finance, were populated with the relevant information. Says Fuller: "The warehouse, which comprises both sales and finance data, is now complete, although small modifications may be required. The management screens from Bearing Man's ERP system have been replicated.
Several benefits have resulted from this first phase of the implementation. Says Fuller: "The consistency and accuracy of financial and sales information has been improved. We also have increased flexibility with regards to report creation and, in addition, the solution is very easy to use. Furthermore, Analysis Studio allows senior management to better interrogate and understand their figures, while ad hoc sales figures can now be produced very quickly."
Cognos is seen as a strategic tool in assisting Bearing Man meet its long term business strategy of increased sales growth, increased profitability and decreased expenses. Concludes Fuller: "The challenge that lies ahead is to ensure the BI product is actively promoted within the business and is not seen as simply a powerful reporting tool. Time and resource constraints are going to be additional challenges but I am confident that we will succeed."
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