Business Intelligence Blog

CQR Security Limited is a British manufacturer, making equipment for the security intruder market such as cable and door contacts. Initially, the company deployed business intelligence to analyze its sales and get a better understanding of its top-performing products. The use of data has expanded dramatically for CQR, and it now takes a data-driven approach to production performance management, inventory management and component purchasing decisions — to find more ways to drive efficiencies.

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Topics: Case Study, Industry - Manufacturing, Job Role - Sales, Job Role - IT, Job Role - Executive, ERP - Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Job Role - Inventory/Operations, Inventory Management

Litex Industries (Litex), designs, sources and manufactures ceiling fans, lighting fixtures and patio furniture for customers across America. The company sells thousands of products from dozens of vendors. So data analytics makes it easy to find the hidden data — to help people better understand why products may be trending down in sales or to address underperforming vendors and sales reps.

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Topics: Case Study, Job Role - Sales, Job Role - IT, Industry - Electrical, ERP - Infor, decision-making, ERP -JD Edwards Oracle

Caprice homewares uses Phocas business intelligence (BI) software to make better inventory management choices. Managing director Harvey Lewis says using the software is one of the smartest things he’s ever done. He estimates overall annual savings to the business of at least Aus$500,000 which is achieved by reducing the amount of reporting staff and stock that wasn't selling.

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Topics: Case Study, Industry - Wholesale Distribution, ERP - Microsoft Excel, ERP - IBS Enterprise

In the southern hemisphere, pool season is just around the corner. The POPS Group is an Australian manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of PoolPro branded chemicals and products. Managing Director, Sean Ralph reminisces about the days when he used spreadsheets to manage its 1800 product SKUs which was 'very time consuming'. Phocas data analytics helps the seasonal business see the data in real-time so inventory management is efficient and POPS has enough stock to satisfy demand in hot weather.

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Topics: Case Study, Job Role - Sales, ERP - MYOB EXO, Job Role - Executive, Job Role - Inventory/Operations, Industry - Janitorial, Inventory Management

iQuip Group is an exciting new Australian wholesaler dedicated to supporting the paint, render and external façade industry. The company offers a complete range of premium accessories, tools and equipment and works as a one-stop-shop for paint retailers which was missing in the market. The company is owned and run by Rohan Salisbury, a wholesaler who is data-driven. He'd never run a business without Phocas data analytics, especially from the sales analysis point of view. "Phocas tells you what's not happening in your sales or what could be happening in sales – that's what we care about," said Rohan.

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Topics: Case Study, Industry - Wholesale Distribution, Job Role - Sales, ERP - MYOB EXO, Job Role - Executive, business intelligence dashboards

Rivertrace is a manufacturer based in Surrey, England and makes monitoring systems for pollution control for the maritime, offshore and industrial sectors. It designs, manufactures, commissions and services equipment across the world. Operations Director Martin Saunders explains how Rivertrace uses data analytics to enhance reporting, stay in control of its component usage and manage its Bill of Materials, providing an example.

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Topics: Case Study, Industry - Manufacturing, Job Role - Inventory/Operations, ERP - Merlin, Dynamic reporting

Gustave A. Larson Co is a leading distributor of commercial and residential HVAC parts and refrigeration equipment operating across 16 American states. Epicor Data Analytics (EDA) helps the business to leverage all of its ERP data as well as analyze call center logs, the IT helpdesk information and weather data. The EDA solution has sped up the delivery of actionable information across the business—helping everyone—make more timely and accurate decisions.

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Topics: Case Study, Job Role - Sales, Job Role - IT, Industry - HVAC/Plumbing, ERP - Epicor, decision-making

 

Savona, an independent British food distributor, wanted a BI tool that reviews sales information includes human resources data and brings together online and offline orders into one version of the truth. The team also plans to use the functionality in Phocas for the management of daily exception reporting to send to users rather than having it recreated in the ERP system. Exception reporting in Phocas highlights where actual results diverge significantly from the budget, usually in a negative way. Savona will use the outcomes to focus its team on the areas of its business that need immediate attention.

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Topics: Case Study, Industry - Food and Beverage, Industry - Wholesale Distribution, Job Role - Sales, Job Role - IT, Job Role - Inventory/Operations

Eastern Industrial Supplies opened its doors in 1980 in Greenville, South Carolina and has grown to have branches in six different states across America. Eastern specializes in the quality distribution of pipe, valves, fittings and commercial plumbing products. Two years ago, it set up an e-commerce division which has helped maintain healthy growth. Data drives the decision-making, as everyone relies on Phocas data analytics to validate responses and add value to their work.

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Topics: Case Study, Job Role - Sales, Job Role - IT, Industry - HVAC/Plumbing, ERP - Epicor, decision-making

 

Purchasing data analytics provides Wessex packaging with greater visibility into sales, purchasing and inventory data to inform pricing and warehouse decisions. The company specializes in pallet wrap and operates out of a  75,000 square-foot warehouse in Somerset, UK with 30 employees managing over 2,000 SKUs. The large volume of products is one of the main reasons the company swapped to Phocas Business Intelligence from Sales-i so it could keep track of its purchasing and inventory data.

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Topics: Case Study, Industry - Wholesale Distribution, Job Role - Sales, Job Role - IT, Job Role - Inventory/Operations