“If we had to do all of the [work] ourselves, it would probably take three or four times
longer than it took to implement Oracle’s prebuilt BI solution.”
—Terence Ng, Director of Global Information Systems, Audatex
elements and report attributes and then use them to generate a report,” says Ng.
Obtaining a single-vendor solution for storing, managing,
and analyzing data—in conjunction with prebuilt analytic
applications—dramatically accelerates the implementation
cycle, says Ng, who is responsible for the Audatex global
enterprise resource planning and BI implementations.
“According to our estimates, if we had to do all of the
data mapping, modeling, and transformations ourselves, it
would probably take three or four times longer than it took
to implement Oracle’s prebuilt BI solution,” Ng says. “Oracle
Business Intelligence Applications identify and load all the
required data elements into the data warehouse. All we need
to do is activate a data transfer process to include the pertinent information.”
The implementation team deployed Oracle Financial
Analytics to create a self-service financial reporting environment for users throughout the United States and Canada,
including profit and loss revenue reports, expense analysis by
cost center reports, and many other reports from the general
ledger, accounts receivable, and accounts payable data.
Additionally, the implementation team created a series of
dashboards to keep employees in touch with financial and
operational metrics. An executive dashboard provides at-a-glance information on revenue trends; actual returns versus
forecast projections; net operating income; head count;
revenue per head; and earnings before interest, tax, and
amortization expenses (EBITA).
“We have highly targeted analytics, yet we did not need to
create a data mart or generate custom reports,” says Ng. “Our
management gets accurate, up-to-date information to make
informed decisions. In our industry, having this insight at
your fingertips is essential.”
A receivables dashboard provides information about
monies due, credit risks, collector efficiency, days sales outstanding, and other KPIs. “This information enables our
finance team to manage cash inflows and collect debt,” says
Ng. “It also provides an overview of payables so the accounting managers and controller can manage cash outflows and
ensure timely payments to suppliers.”
So far, says Ng, senior executives and finance and
accounting personnel are the primary beneficiaries of these
BI efforts. “Thanks to Oracle BI tools and applications, they
no longer need to generate reports manually or ask IT professionals for assistance,” he says.
Similarly, line-of-business managers can keep an eye
on the finances for their cost centers including budgeting,
forecasting, planning, and cost analysis. One feature that
helps them do this is the iBot, a feature of Oracle Business
Intelligence Suite, Enterprise Edition Plus, that delivers
reports to these managers and executives automatically.
iBots, which are Web robots, can filter and analyze data.
Then, driven by schedule or events, or upon detection of
a problem or opportunity, iBots determine the appropriate individuals to notify and deliver real-time, personalized
intelligence by e-mail, pager, PDA, or mobile phone. That
information delivery can even trigger other iBot information
deliveries. “This helps us be more proactive and respond to
issues more quickly,” says Ng.
In the near future, employees in the Audatex sales and customer support areas will enjoy additional reports, operational
metrics, and dashboards from Oracle Business Intelligence
Suite, Enterprise Edition Plus. “This is a very powerful tool
that enables not just our finance team but people in many
STEVE LYONS
External Reporting
Report business results
and metrics relevant to
each audience.
Perform scenario analysis and risk management.
Strategic and Predictive Modeling
Stakeholder Environment
Managers connect corporate strategy
with stakeholder interests.
