Case Study
Reporting, Analytics and Planning Solution
Automated reporting and self-serve analytics to repurpose the Finance Team to be insight-leaders rather than report-generators at ASX-listed firm Cleanseas
The Challenge
How to implement an all-in-one reporting, analytics and planning solution into a supply chain business?
RAMCAR is involved in manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, retail and the recycling of lead acid batteries. It faces challenges due to its multiple subsidiaries, IT being offshore, and a growing data footprint due to its robust acquisition schedule. There were three main pain areas that needed addressing:
- Sales reporting with in-built analytics
- Profit and loss with embedded workflows and financial scorecards of profit-centres
- Planning that could factor in overseas markets and a complex supply chain
After a rigorous and highly competitive proof of concept, SpiralData was selected as the implementation partner of BOARD International’s corporate performance management (CPM) solution.
Technology
SAP Business Warehouse, BOARD International.
The Platform
A CPM solution for a supply chain business.
SpiralData delivered a platform that enables decision makers at RAMCAR to gain a deeper understanding of what happened, is happening and just as importantly, what is about to happen in their business:
Sales – the ability to effortlessly see sales from a variety of viewpoints; sales representative, manager, business unit, geography, company, SKU, product range or customer
P&L – a profit and loss report unique to the RAMCAR conglomerate that factors in offshore factors and enables drill-down to individual cost centres while streamlining the finance team’s end-of-month activities
Scorecard – key performance indicators (KPIs) across sales and finance that allow management to benchmark, including key financial ratios.
The platform was delivered on-time and on-budget using an agile implementation approach.
‘Once we understand an organisation’s architecture, our focus then turns to delivering application development in small, workable increments, as fast as possible. This builds confidence, illuminates the real business problem and, most importantly, saves time and money for the customer.’
— Kale Needham, CEO, Spiral Data Group
The Results
Success is just the beginning
‘RAMCAR is a supply chain business. SpiralData has delivered a solution – on-time and on-budget – to help us better understand our selling assets and their performance, as well as benchmarking that performance across sales, financials and logistics.’
— Matt Palmer, Director of Finance, RAMCAR
The platform has delivered full fingertip visibility across one unified platform for reporting, analytics and planning, with high-level KPIs and drill down to invoice, general ledger and cost centres. Importantly this has delivered a single version of the truth across sales and finance, with controlled hierarchies and data definitions embedded into the platform, resulting in 100% adoption. RAMCAR has seen a tremendous improvement:
253
work days have been recovered annually
52
users access the platform every day for data-based decisions
Next day
monthly sales report is now delivered every day
The outcome in the first year was that RAMCAR is on track to achieve 150% return on investment, and it is expected, in each subsequent year, that the return will be more than 250%.
