IM426 BUSINESS CASES

AND CASE STUDIES IN MIS

27 29 May 2014

Compiled and/or Prepared by Celeste Ng

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO
NEED IT YESTERDAY
CUSTOMERS WITH BI APPS

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (1)
Custom fabrication=
perforated and mesh metal=
Commercial construction=
Metrics show profitability=
Scattered throughout the organization=

Octopus with long tentacles=

Cumbersome=
Data integrity=
Complex financial scenarios=

Transactional data=
Key performance indicators(KPIs)=

Gross profit=
Margins=
Customer inquiries=
Invoice counts=
Sales analytics=

Municipalities
Wholesalers
Inventory availability
24-hour turnaround time
Manual planning
Manual budget
Spreadsheets
Reached throughout the organizations
districts
Executive dashboards
District managers
Extended
Tracking of the profitability of all aspects of
the business
Intelligence and reporting requirements

Single web-based portal=

Order dashboards=

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (2)

The purpose of this case study:

Illustrate

how real business problem faced by a

company named McNICHOLS (http://
www.mcnichols.com/viewer.htm) was solved using an
information system (IS) called IBM Cognos 8 BI

IBM Cognos 8 BI integrates and consolidates

transactional data into executive dashboards to deliver
information to the management requiring it.

Reference:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wdfhelp/v6r1m0/topic/com.ibm.dashboard.
doc/dashboard_framework_getting_started.pdf

Reference:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wdfhelp/v6r1m0/topic/com.ibm.dashboard.
doc/dashboard_framework_getting_started.pdf

Reference:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wdfhelp/v6r1m0/topic/com.ibm.dashboard.
doc/dashboard_framework_getting_started.pdf

Reference:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wdfhelp/v6r1m0/topic/com.ibm.dashboard.
doc/dashboard_framework_getting_started.pdf

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (3)

Describe McNICHOLS data and reporting

problems
Its

manual quarterly budget process had become

unmanageable.
The manual method involved various MS Access databases
for different pieces of the budget and spreadsheets
scattered throughout the organization.
The budget lifecycle took weeks to manage, and given
limited resources to handle it, they were in rush mode at
the end of every quarter.
Collecting sales data and moving it into other
spreadsheets to feed into Access was very cumbersome,
and
Collecting sales data required constant review to ensure
the accuracy of the data.

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (4)

Why do you think the company was using Access

and Excel for its Intelligence and reporting
requirements?
Personnel

skill perspective
Software availability perspective

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (5)

Describle McNICHOLSs business strategy, or

how it defines its competitive advantage. How
important is customer loyalty?
Strategy

manager are challenged to do more and

accomplish more with less. With BI, they can do so
with greater functionality and fewer resources
allocated to reporting and analytics.
Customer loyalty can be improved With BI, they can
provide the highest level of service to customers
internally and externally.

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (6)

Were resources improperly allocated under the manual

system? How has the BI system reallocated and
improved resources?
Resources

improperly allocated because budget process

required 7-10 days to complete at the end of each quarter; and
several hours in each month
BI system reallocated and improved resources by
Enabling sales analytics ---- they are linked to budgeting modules,
making it easier for managers to monitor KPIs.
Integrated views of all business and financial data, provided in a
single web-based portal.
Improved accuracy and quality of data.
Marketing, production, and order dashboards that enable real-time
tracking of the profitability of all aspects of the aspects of the
business.
Managers that have a good handle on actual transactions forecasts,
and targets

CASE 8: RESPONDING TO NEED IT

YESTERDAY CUSTOMERS WITH BI
APPS (7)

What might have been the business case for BI at

McNICHOLS?
McNICHOLS

requires a solution that

Could provide trusted forecast to senior managers, enabling

them to make quick and effective decisions
Could guarantee data accuracy, data integrity
Could display complex financial scenarios, flexibility, and
ease of use