Opening up new BI service stream through creative data analytics

Background

In the modern information age, data should be considered a precious corporate resource. However, it is only beneficial when coupled with the ability to derive deep insights from the available information by using analytics to provide focused details around business areas such as sales, stock and financial performance. With a strong background in enterprise resource planning (ERP), IT Dynamics (a subsidiary of Kwaden) has long understood the value of data, having provided a hosted ERP solution tailored for small to medium-sized manufacturers or importers. In providing these customers with a world-class ERP solution at a fraction of the cost, IT Dynamics uses the power of information technology to transform the world of work. The company’s successful outsourced solution provides its customers with a managed infrastructure and flexible deployment of services, as well as access to highly skilled IT and financial business professionals.

Challenge

Given IT Dynamics successful outsourced solution, the company still faced challenges, notably the timely deployment of BI data cubes to end-customers. The cube volumes impacted the customer’s ability to download the cube before having the ‘latest data at their fingertips’. The customer still needed to ‘massage’ the data into their format, before analysing it, which often proved frustrating and time-consuming. Therefore the company required assistance to support the complex design and development of various applications that included Sales, Stock, Financial Management and Customer Profitability for multiple end-customers across all industries and regions.

Approach

Keyrus, thanks to the vast experience of their experts in business and data analytics, helped the company to resolve these challenges with the implementation of a QlikView original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solution. This solution provides the QlikView Access Portal for easy access and ‘anytime/anywhere’ analytics. QlikView enables the business to embed analytical applications as part of its end-customers solutions. These applications are designed to provide deep analytics on their sales, stock and financial performance, resulting in a significant BI service contribution by IT Dynamics.

Key results

Benefits

Something unique is that these solutions, while standard at the outset, are built to automatically customise each embedded application according to end-customer, based on their individual, organisational data. Furthermore, the sales application tracks sales and looks at comparative trends, offering comprehensive reporting. Also, there is a ‘sandbox’ available for the user to create ad-hoc reports ‘on the fly’. Meanwhile, the stock application offers a clear view of the current stock situation, along with an idea of the future, thanks to predictive analysis based on historical trends. Additionally, there is a financial application which provides a detailed analysis of the income statement and balance sheet, while the customer profitability application details the income statement by customer and by product. Budgets are also available within the sales, financial and customer profitability applications.

What our clients say

“Our end-customers are thrilled at having access to intuitive data and great visualisations. The solution addresses our own core competencies – which are to standardise, automate & simplify"

Kwaden Services, Senior BI Consultant, IT Dynamics

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