Case Study Collection for Finance Users. AB Vista, R.M.D. Kwikform & Carter Jonas

Transcription

1 Case Study Collection for Finance Users AB Vista, R.M.D. Kwikform & Carter Jonas

2 PrecisionPoint is the best way forward for us Nick Robinson, Financial Controller AB Vista Business Intelligence is a must-have for Dynamics. Mike Follett, Managing Director R.M.D Kwikform PrecisionPoint is a major part of our analytical capabilities Rod Meade, Finance Director Carter Jonas 2

3 Contents Page AB Vista - Summary Pg 4 Their Challenge Pg 6 The Benefits Pg 7 The Results Pg 9 R.M.D Kwikform - Summary Pg 11 Their Challenge Pg 13 The Benefits Pg 14 The Results Pg 15 Carter Jonas - Summary Pg 16 Their Challenge Pg 18 The Benefits Pg 20 The Results Pg 22 3

4 With personal previous experience of PrecisionPoint Software, Nick Robinson knew it could help with their Dynamics AX reporting and analytics issues. Company AB Vista is the feed ingredients division of AB Agri, the agricultural arm of Associated British Foods Ltd, which is one of the Europe's largest food companies employing 102,000 people in 46 countries. Project PrecisionPoint for AX PrecisionPoint Advanced Inventory XLPublisher, Excel add-in 4

5 Challenges Reporting based on user requirements, CEO or CFO Production of one-off reports without having to engage costly developers Flexibility to add to the cube whenever needed Key Benefits Unlocks the information held by its Dynamics AX. Detailed management reports provide invaluable overview Allows business to be split in different ways and sales analysed by product line, by region or by period Results Provides answers to the questions asked by the executive team in a way that suits the company Flexibility to add to the cube allows for changing needs Can rely on the accuracy of the information provided by the software 5

6 Their Challenge AB Vista's feed micro-ingredients are among the most advanced in the world and are sold across five continents. The company headquarters are in Marlborough, UK and there are international offices in Europe, India, North America, Latin America and Asia. It was proving difficult to retrieve the level of detailed information the Board needed from its Microsoft Dynamics AX system. Specific requirements in the brief included: 1. Reporting based on user requirements, CEO or CFO 2. Ability to split the business in different ways to see trends overtime 3. Production of one-off reports without having to engage costly developers 4. Flexibility to add to the cube whenever needed Nick Robinson, Financial Controller, was instrumental in persuading the board to implement PrecisionPoint as he had personal experience of the software at another ABF division. 6

7 The Benefits PrecisionPoint Software was initially implemented in March 2010 at the company's accounting headquarters in Peterborough and in 2012, AB Vista took the decision to replicate the existing and successful implementation in the UK and extend the software into newly opened facilities in USA, Brazil and Singapore. At the same time, PrecisionPoint Advanced Inventory module (PAI) was implemented for stock control. Because PrecisionPoint interrogates the underlying Dynamics ERP environment and automatically generates a complete replica of the entire environment and re-purposes it for multidimensional analysis and reporting, companies such as AB Vista benefit from unconstrained access to the specific information they need to drive their businesses forward. 7

8 Nick Robinson explains why PrecisionPoint plays such an important role: "It allows us to get information out of Dynamics AX - which can be difficult - without having to rely on developers every time we want to produce a one-off company report," Nick Robinson, Financial Controller AB Vista AB Vista uses PrecisionPoint for detailed management reports using the Excel addin/report writer to generate multidimensional views and to provide a valuable overview. "We rely on the reports as a guide to our progress as they allow us to see trends over time and to split the business in different ways; for example, we can analyse sales by region or by product line and over different periods of time." "Anyone with experience of Excel can use PrecisionPoint: advanced users of Excel have picked it up very quickly and even those with less experience, have soon got to grips with it. " Nick Robinson, Financial Controller AB Vista 8

9 The Results Once the decision was made to expand AB Vista's use of Dynamics AX to the new regions, Nick said, "It was pretty well a done deal for us to expand our use of PrecisionPoint. We already had our PrecisionPoint EMEA templates for management reports and it was just a case of copying them across with a few minor changes." Nick sees the fact that that he and his team can offer support to the new regions in the learning process as a huge advantage. PrecisionPoint provides the flexibility needed to remain agile in a changing environment. With responsibility for stock control transferred from a sister company across to AB Vista, the organisation implemented the PrecisionPoint Advanced Inventory Analysis module (PAI) which allows the integration of inventory movements, costing, reservations, and all product orders into a single view to enable powerful inventory analytics. 9

10 It makes inventory performance information accessible with pre-built analytics that provide instant visibility from day one of the rollout and delivers the answers to questions such as 'what are my best and worst performing inventory items from a cost, revenue, turnover and margin perspective' and analyses the inventory from numerous perspectives. "Dynamics AX has the information but cannot provide it in the way we want it. PrecisionPoint suits us; it provides us with flexibility so we can update the cube - it's the best way forward for us. " Nick Robinson, Financial Controller AB Vista 10

11 By the time requested information from Dynamics had been generated, the need for it had usually passed. RMD Kwikform knew business intelligence was a must-have. Company RMD Kwikform provides formwork, falsework and shoring solutions to the global construction industry. With projects ranging from the massive Yongdam Dam in Korea through to Wembley Stadium and Cardiff Arms Park in the UK, RMD sits at the heart of the construction industry supply chain. Project PrecisionPoint for Dynamics AX Reporting using XLPublisher, Excel add-in 11

12 Challenges Limited reporting via SSRS from Dynamics IT specialist input required to create bespoke reports Too great a time lapse between request for information and delivery Key Benefits Brings all information together so it is comparable One version of the facts directly from AX journals. Helps to improve the management of the business through the availability of quality information Results RMD has outperformed its competitors year on year Plays an important part in in providing valuable information Allows access to information quickly 12

13 Their Challenge Prior to PrecisionPoint, RMD Kwikform had no access to real BI and could only access limited information from SSRS reports. Whenever a bespoke report was required, an IT specialist would have to be called in to help. According to Mike Follett, managing director, RMD Kwikform UK, by the time the information had been generated, the need for it had usually passed. A firm believer in the value of Business Intelligence, he said: Business Intelligence is a must-have. Too many businesses still make gut-based decisions rather than decisions based on fact." Mike Follett, Managing Director R.M.D Kwikform 13

14 The Benefits PrecisionPoint software was installed in the UK in June 2009 and over the last three years; Mike Follett believes it has helped the executive team to better manage the business. He is an enthusiastic user. "I personally use a lot of the reports and I consider it a daily tool. PrecisionPoint speeds up the process of interrogation and allows us to access a common version of the truth so that we can make decisions based on fact. Too many businesses still base their decisions on edited versions of information." "The software allows us to get to information quickly. The biggest benefit is that it allows you to go back and ask second and third questions at speed to really understand what is happening without the need for an IT specialist to produce bespoke reports." Mike Follett, Managing Director R.M.D Kwikform 14

15 The Results Following a successful pilot implementation in the UK, RMD is to roll-out the software to operations in 26 countries so it can leverage information on a global basis. The number of users is set to increase from 15 to 85 and the company now plans to introduce web reporting for 70 users. "By extending the use of PrecisionPoint, we will be easily able to carry out reporting and analysis of our companies at a global level with all information brought together so it is comparable. PrecisionPoint takes the data directly from Dynamics AX, so we can be sure we are dealing with one version of the truth, without facts being massaged at a local level," Mike Follett commented. "PrecisionPoint plays an important part in providing valuable information that helps the company outperform all our competitors, year on year." Mike Follett, Managing Director R.M.D Kwikform 15

16 One of the strongest names in the property business is using PrecisionPoint to provide the financial analysis it needs to head off its competitors in challenging economic conditions Company Carter Jonas has a national presence and teams specialising in estate agency, commercial property and rural land and business. Carter Jonas has a network of 26 offices in the UK and employs over 600 staff. Project Drill down directly into the figures and therefore pick up on simple errors Compare budgets against actual in a single report. Can flag up potential issues 16

17 Challenges Too much time spent on production of management accounts Not enough time spent on analysis Time consuming to drill down in Dynamics NAV if something looked 'odd' Results Drill down directly into the figures and therefore pick up on simple errors Compare budgets against actual in a single report. Can flag up potential issues 17

18 Their Challenge Carter Jonas has a network of 26 offices in the UK and employs over 600 staff. "The last few years have been testing for anyone involved in property," comments Finance Director, Rod Meade. "The market is unlikely to show a marked improvement for several years to come, and like our competitors, one cannot rely solely on economic growth to compete in such a challenging environment. This is where financial analysis becomes really important." Rod Meade estimates that prior to the implementation of PrecisionPoint, the finance team was spending 70% of their time producing management accounts and only 30% analysing the information held within them. This presented a real challenge to switch the emphasis away from the production of reports to analysis and in doing so, assist the team to become more of a partner to the business. 18

19 "It is the tracking that takes such a lot of time." Meade added. "With such a diverse and complex business, we require a system that allows us to produce management accounts that enable us to drill down quickly to the underlying data directly from the reports." Rod Meade, Finance Director Carter Jonas 19

20 The Benefits The organisation enlisted the help of Cambridge Online Systems, their Microsoft reseller, and looked at a number of tools before deciding on PrecisionPoint. "We fully supported Rod and his team in going with PrecisionPoint, and endorsed the decision which has now proved to be highly beneficial to Carter Jonas." Ray Olds, CEO Cambridge Online 20

21 One of the main attractions of PrecisionPoint was that it did not require a lot of input from the Carter Jonas finance team... "They were able to provide a tailored solution and they did all the reconciliations and ensured everything added up." Rod Meade, Finance Director Carter Jonas The key benefit was the building of the management accounts and a projections report to Carter Jonas' specification. If further reports are required in the future, the organisation can choose to build their own or to enlist the help of the PrecisionPoint team. Following the implementation, Rod Meade feels that he and his team are in a stronger position to achieve their goals. 21

22 The Results Carter Jonas is now beginning to reap the benefits of implementing PrecisionPoint and the organisation is using it to produce management accounts. Rod Meade is impressed with the speed and ease with which theteam took the solution on board. Within a three months window the team have switched from using excel spreadsheets for management accounts to PrecisionPoint. Rod Meade champions the solution and says it has made a 'big difference personally'. "When I look at the monthly accounts, if I think that one month seems high, I am able to drill down and see what is really happening within minutes." Rod Meade, Finance Director Carter Jonas 22

23 Rod also praised the PrecisionPoint support desk. "We rank the way they provide support on the help-desk and the video bites for training are extremely useful." Rod Meade, Finance Director Carter Jonas Carter Jonas is confident that the deployment of PrecisionPoint will help to make their financial analysis more accurate and impact on decision making as a result. "All in all it is a cracking tool developed by people who are enthusiastic about their software and committed to make it work for their clients." Rod Meade, Finance Director Carter Jonas 23

24 Contact PrecisionPoint UK Office Abbey House Grenville Place Bracknell Berkshire RG12 1BP US Office 105 S. Broadway Suite 705 Wichita Kansas KS