Many of the large manufacturing organisations are reliant on all encompassing ERP systems such as SAP to mange their processes end to end. Unfortunately the joined up nature of this software doesn’t make the reporting challenge significantly easier as true insight across customer purchasing behaviour and its impact on profitability for example still requires significant analysis across data from multiple areas of the system.

Other organisations either have multiple ERPs through global acquisition or have chosen best of breed add-on solutions for CRM or HR and now need to combine data across the organisation and therefore have a more classic reporting challenge.

Managing Partner Chris Kwouk worked with the CIO of a large European FMCG company to develop a solution combining a reporting data warehouse with a master data management solution to control and store detailed product information across the organisation various European markets and factories. Together this allows detail product level profitability analysis and the ability to predict and react quickly to changes in market conditions and/or consumer behaviour.