Moving beyond traditional Business Intelligence in a CPG Organization

Transcription

1 Moving beyond traditional Business Intelligence in a CPG Organization While the enterprises have a slew of applications that churn out a variety of reports, there is a clear void in terms of providing a 360? visibility to the executives and operational managers at the enterprise level. This arises mainly from the fact that the applications still work mostly as data islands, and do not give a single perspective by combining the data from various data sources. Even if there is a singular view, it s at a rather minimal level with no real mainstream utilization. How difficult or easy is the effort toward having a single set of reports that throw light on the enterprise performance? What are the initial steps? Does it really alter the way the business works? This documents attempts to capture the trends and also how the TCS Solution could help overcome these challenges.

2 About the Author Mahendran K Mahendran K is a Solution Lead with TCS Consumer Products Practice. He has about 12 years experience in leading business and IT organizations. He specializes in Business Intelligence, Analytics, Data Modeling and UI Design. He can be reached at mahen.k@tcs.com. 1

3 Table of Contents 1. Trends in Business Intelligence (BI) in CPG Organizations 3 2. Need for the solution 3 3. BI and Analytics Solutions and their drawbacks 4 4. Selecting a future-proof BI and Analytics Solution - the checklist 5 5. Technologies 6 6. Beneficiaries 7 7. How TCS could help 7 8. TCS Insights Platform Solution 8 9. TCS CPG Solution Framework for Business Intelligence: cbids Solution Highlights Key Modules of Insights Platform Solution Conclusion 10 2

4 Trends in Business Intelligence (BI) in CPG Organizations The following are the broad trends in Business Intelligence (BI) observed among leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers: BI becoming a more and more pervasive force, directly linked to business transformation Better visualization capabilities from Flash based BI tools Predictive Analytics being increasingly used by Operational Managers Web 2.0 technologies delivering unprecedented collaboration capabilities with stakeholders internal and external to the organization Use of maps and other GIS tools Increasing dependency on retailer direct data Need for the solution Every day there are occasions that leave Operational Managers frustrated for want of simple straightforward data, which is always available, but in a different report with some other granularity. Millions of dollars are wasted due to wrong decisions made by very capable and bright managers, the reason being the incapability of their BI systems to catch up with business requirements. While the organization has developed and marketed futuristic products, there is no outside-in perspective while evaluating the BI. For example, when there is a variance in the shipment trend, several panic buttons are pressed in the organizations and a lot of people have to depend on various reports to find out the reason for the variance, and to check various other details such as the retail sales data, consumption per buyer data and so on. But is there a single report which shows the shipment data, the syndicated retail sales data and consumption per buyer data over the past and current periods? Data related to Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP),Customer Relationship Management(CRM), Trade Promotion and so on are analyzed separately. The story goes on for all applications, leading to organizations fighting the symptoms rather than the root cause. And by definition, functions inside organizations are strong fiefdoms which do not listen to the hue and cry of other functions thus making wisdom that is available, most of the time in the next cubicle, going waste. The following would be the business challenges that CPG manufacturers normally face in terms of business intelligence: Integration of various data sources is almost impossible Did the recent TV Ad campaign result in higher average shopper purchase from the retail shelves? Insights like this can be obtained only when different data sources are integrated. Evaluation of various scenarios while decision making is tedious Assessment of various scenarios is needed to decide on a particular action to be taken by an operational manager. For example, if the brand manager changes the amount of money spent on TV advertisements, what would be the impact on sales? To help the brand manager here, advanced analytics comes into picture. 3

5 Target Slippages go un-noticed Most of the time target slippages are not communicated to all employees in the hierarchy simultaneously, thereby giving room for disparity in priorities. Real-time Role and Scenario based alerts helps the users track the deliverables closely. Difficulty in integrating Syndicated Data Data Integrations platforms from high-end vendors come with pre-built, predefined BI data models which could help overcome this problem. Every user has a set of favorite reports Most of the dashboard solutions have a short lifespan as the business users are not able to customize it. Hence customization would be a key requirement for the Data Integration solution. Thus customization means making a solution with least executive resistance. Decision making across the enterprise is based on individual judgments At present decisions taken for any issue that arises in the enterprises is completely dependent on the various individual judgments based on the report or understanding that the individual receives. What organizations need is guided decision making or uniform decision making for each problem based on the organization s expectation, and not decisions based on individuals expectations. Sharing of reports and scenarios A next generation BI and Analytics solutions should have in-built task list and workflow process that encourages sharing of insights and scenarios. BI and Analytics Solutions and their drawbacks The following section explains the current tools used for data integration and their drawbacks. Spreadsheets Spreadsheet based decision making is so prevalent that most functional teams run solely on it. While it s friendly and quick for the user, it can be damaging for the enterprise as there is no transparency in what the function is and access is practically limited to a few users. The reporting from spreadsheets is prone to adjustments and corrections, making it unreliable for decision-making, unless the user and the consumer of the spreadsheet based reports are the same. Thus it might be very dangerous to allow the prevalence of spreadsheet based reporting for enterprise wide reporting. BI Tools Historically the BI application tools vendors the most prominent in the market defining most of the time the BI visions of the client organizations.bi tools are very highly adept in delivering BI, while most of the time the Operational Manager also need predictive analytics and scenario building capabilities that make a strategic difference to the decision making process.bi tools are weak in this area, thereby decision is being taken solely on history, which is not advisable. 4

6 Statistical Tools There has been a lot of buzz in this area, but business users still experience a huge gap between their day-to-day decision making and statistical tools. Most of the time the statistical tools are unwieldy behemoths giving insights into a particular area, and the data modeling team needs to explain the intricacies to a Brand Manager or an Account Manager. Thus the Statistical tools have not really crossed over from the domains of the statisticians into the core operational managers like a Shoppers Insight Manager or a Category manager. Tools from Syndicated Data providers BI and data warehousing domains have benefitted immensely from the advent of the Syndicated Data providers. And these vendors have proprietary tools that provide the manager with the required data. But the drawback is that these are data from real world, which does not take into account the data from ERP, CRM and so on. These data are unwieldy and sometimes get integrated at a small level after a lot of manual work. While such data is powerful, most of the time it is meaningless to look at them in silo. SaaS based Vendors The Software- As-A-Service (SaaS) based vendors concept involves the client giving the required data to the vendors and getting the report, thus avoiding any sort of complications. While the concept is impressive, the execution of the same has faced several hardships. The client who initially ventured into such new age products have shied away as they have awaken to the hidden realities- rigid data models, questionable security processes and possibility of a competitor suddenly taking over the SaaS based vendor, which could leave the clients at the mercy of the vendors. Selecting a future-proof BI and Analytics Solution - the checklist Integration of various sets of data The system must be capable of integrating various sources of data such as Internal ERP, CRM Data, Warehouse Management System, Trade Promotion Management system, External Syndicated Data and Retailer Direct Data. Robust BI Data and Process Model Framework The solution provider should have a set of pre-defined data and process model, thus making the whole integration swift and robust. Advanced Analytic Capabilities The solution should have the ability to visually represent advanced analytics capabilities that can leverage the data modeling capabilities. For example, TCS Insights Platform has a brand profitability meter which projects the profit the brand would make for each level of spending for Television, Print and so on.this platform enables the Brand Manager to create numerous scenarios and approve the best suited one for the brand and business. Work list and collaboration that enable and encourage better and faster decisions The system must have an inbuilt workflow to enhance the sharing of reports and dashboards. 5

7 Ability to guide in decision making The system must have a standardized process to guide the Brand Managers in decision making, especially in situations where retail sales are down or consumer consumption.. The guide, for example, could direct the brand manager to evaluate the shipments, the stock-fill rate, customer profitability and so on, based on what the management would feel could be best for that business. Ability to build and evaluate various scenarios The solution should be able to create a scenario using Analytical algorithms and share the scenario with the user s peers and superiors. Ability to customize the solution The ability to customize would be an important criterion for getting use hooked on to the dashboards. It has been witnessed that after using a BI solution for two months, most of the users want the solution to be configured as per their tastes, failing which, the dependence and usage of the solution diminishes and the user would move to spreadsheets for reports. Alerts that help fast tackling of deviations The system should provide an alert that tracks the deviations, thus helping in setting the priorities across the organization consistent. Integration with Google Maps, Organizational Micro sites The system should be able to integrate with the various organizational micro sites and Google Maps. Lot of Insights could be derived from the geographical patterns. For example, a Shopper Insights manager could analyze and find out that the stores in suburb in Chicago are frequented by empty nesters, a segment of consumer. This puts forward interesting possibilities in marketing and distribution. Roadmap of the technology partner No BI system can be future-proof if it is built on a technology that is going to be obsolete in few years. The parameter to be checked is whether the solution follows the road map of the technology it is built on. If it is not, the solution would warrant an evaluation a few years down the line. Technologies While there are several technologies available for an organization that wants to start off afresh, most organizations prudently decide to build these around the existing infrastructure. As CPG industry predominantly uses SAP for ERP, most of the Data Warehousing and BI tools used for these solutions in CPG are from SAP.The typical stack most often seen are SAP, BI, BO, xcelcius and SAP Enterprise Portal. 6

8 User Interface Interactive Analytics Role Based Portal Collaboration Guided Decision Making Single Sign on Data Integration Portal Workflow & Work list Internal & External Alerts Google Map Integration Web Services Logical Framework Analytical Templates for Reports and Dashboards Standard Reports Graphs Dashboards High End Analytics Predictive Models Scenario Building Forecasting Mining KPI Hierarchy Framework Role based KPIs Analytical Layer Data Model Framework Logical Data Model based on Industry best practices Business Process Maps based on Industry best practices Core Layer Data Integration Syndicated Data Integration Framework & Models Syndicated data Maintenance Systems Re-Usable Connectors for data transfer ERP Custom Databases Retailer Direct Data Figure 1: A Bi and Analytics Solution - Key Elements required for Success Beneficiaries Who inside the organization would benefit from such a solution? Obvious choice would be Marketing, Brand Management and Sales functions which need external data sources for their operations. There are other functions which would be majorly impacted by these solutions like Research and Development (R&D) and Warehousing and Procurement, to name a few. But historically, Marketing, Brand Management and so on have been the least automated, hence there might not be much understanding and appreciation among the managers of these functions for enterprise wide data integration BI Platform. So it s the CIO who has to shoulder the responsibility of championing such a solution. The solution benefits the CIO by enhancing value of IT in the eyes of the business. Data Integration of various disparate sources may well be last frontier that IT has to conquer inside the CPG Organization. How TCS could help 7

9 TCS Insights Platform Solution TCS has built a CPG Insights Platform, which constitutes a series of role specific dashboards and analytical tools based on TCS proprietary cbids framework, which is an industry specific BI framework for the CPG industry. This solution can enable any CPG manufacturer in the rapid adoption of BI and Analytics across the organisation. The TCS solution includes ready to deploy components built on the Business Objects portfolio. TCS CPG Solution Framework for Business Intelligence: cbids TCS uses a technology neutral, global best practices framework - Consumer Products Business Intelligence for Decision Support (cbids). This model is a key differentiator that underpins the TCS Insights Platform Solution for the CPG industry. cbids constitutes the following three major components: Best Practice Process Models for various business processes Associated Key Process Indicators (KPIs) for each of the best practice business processes, and Metrics Hierarchies Logical Data Models that combine internal data from enterprise applications such as SAP and Siebel with external information such as Syndicated Data and Retailer Direct Data Solution Highlights Insights Platform has cockpits that are user-friendly, allowing the integration of data and information from disparate internal and external sources based on the logical data models provided by the cbids framework. The cockpits have been deployed using a combination of Business Objects and SAP Netweaver BW technologies, but can be rapidly ported to other platforms as well. Some highlights of the TCS role based dashboard solution for sales and marketing area are provided in the following diagram and list. Actionable Insights Invaluable Business Insights effective in deriving tangible business benefits from complex and voluminous data Performance Monitoring Keep track of deviations through role and scenario based alerts 6 Guided Decision Making 6 Decision Support and Guided Navigation through KPI trees Collaboration Encourage interaction and promote information sharing across enterprise through vital collaboration tools and in-built workflows 2 3 Data Integration Enable integration of data coming from disparate internal and external sources e.g. Internal EP, CIM and External Syndicated Advanced Analytics Visualize possible outcomes and plan for the unexpected by hamessing Predictive models like Brand Profitability Meter Figure 2 : TCS Insights Platform 8

10 Rapid implementation Ease of accommodating future requirements Lowest Total Cost of Ownership Leveraging of best practices across organization for data analysis Integration of various sets of data - Internal ERP/CRM Data, Syndicated Data and Retailer Direct Data Use of TCS proprietary BI Data and Process Model Framework-CBIDS Advanced analytic capabilities that help optimize the resources Work list and collaboration that enable and encourage better and faster decisions Decision support through KPI Tree Building and evaluation of various scenarios Visually rich and appealing charts and graphics Ability to customize the solution Alerts that help fast tackling of deviations Integration with Google Maps, Organizational Micro sites and so on Fully aligned to the roadmap of SAP Flexible mode of engagement by TCS Key Modules of Insights Platform Solution Guided Decision making: The KPI Tree tool of the Insights Platform guides the user to diagnose and arrive at the problem zone which needs his attention. For example, a Brand Manager might be facing a dip in the sales of his brand; the KPI tree could indicate that the problem is in the areas of distribution, thereby reducing the time taken for decision making. Scenario Builder: TCS Insights Platform has an In-built scenario builder that helps the user develop and evaluate various scenarios.for example,, a Brand Manager could evaluate the investments into various marketing vehicles like TV Print using this scenario. Work Flow: Activities could be initiated, documents could be shared and approvals could be given in the process flow module. The scenario built in the scenario builder could be shared and sent across. Conclusion Companies that have better visibility come out victorious in critical the decision making cycle. IT should play a proactive enabler role in business decision making through futuristic business intelligence capabilities. TCS Business Intelligence and Process Management Unit has worked with over 315 customers including 4 out of the Fortune 10, making it the most well equipped in terms of vision and expertise to partner for a large BI and Analytics solution implementation. 9

11 About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, business solutions and outsourcing organization that delivers real results to global businesses, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT and IT-enabled services delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery TM Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata Group, India s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 143,000 of the world's best trained IT consultants in 42 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $6 billion for fiscal year ended 31 March 2009 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at Contact us at global.cpgsolutions@tcs.com Subscribe to TCS White Papers TCS.com RSS: Feedburner: All content / information present here is the exclusive property of Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS). The content / information contained here is correct at the time of publishing. No material from here may be copied, modified, reproduced, republished, uploaded, transmitted, posted or distributed in any form without prior written permission from TCS. Unauthorized use of the content / information appearing here may violate copyright, trademark and other applicable laws, and could result in criminal or civil penalties. Copyright 2010 Tata Consultancy Services Limited TCS Design Services M