Information Builders > Case Studies > Goodfellow Shores Up Business With Enhanced Reporting

Goodfellow Shores Up Business With Enhanced Reporting

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Company Size
200-1,000
Region
  • America
Country
  • Canada
Product
  • WebFOCUS Reporting Server
  • ReportCaster
  • Developer Studio
  • DB2-AS/400 adapter
Tech Stack
  • WebFOCUS
  • DB2
  • AS/400
Implementation Scale
  • Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
  • Cost Savings
  • Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
  • Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
  • Construction & Infrastructure
Applicable Functions
  • Business Operation
  • Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
  • Inventory Management
  • Supply Chain Visibility
Services
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
  • System Integration
About The Customer
Goodfellow Inc. is an industry-leading wholesaler and distributor of wood and wood byproducts. The company has 700 employees and generates annual revenues of CAN$500 million. Goodfellow has operations in Nova Scotia and Quebec and is known for providing the highest quality pressure-treated wood products. However, the company was seeing a dwindling number of construction projects and clients going out of business due to the recent economic downturn. To maintain its position as an industry leader and its reputation for expertise in lumber processing and customer satisfaction, Goodfellow knew it needed better insight into key operations.
The Challenge
Goodfellow Inc., a wholesaler and distributor of wood and wood byproducts, was hit hard by the economic downturn. The company was seeing a dwindling number of construction projects and clients going out of business. Goodfellow knew it needed better insight into key operations to maintain its position as an industry leader and its reputation for expertise in lumber processing and customer satisfaction. The company wanted a solution that could maximize efficiency and facilitate just-in-time business models – a strategy made even more critical by diminishing cash flow. Until recently, the IT group at Goodfellow struggled with an issue very common in large enterprises: All requests for information were routed to the IT department. Fulfilling these requests was very time-consuming for IT Director Graham Rattray and his group, so they needed to implement some major changes in the way information flowed throughout the company.
The Solution
Goodfellow deployed Information Builders’ WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) platform to gain greater visibility into sales, inventory, budgeting and finance, product management, and more. It gives users across the entire company instant access to the pertinent information they need to most effectively perform their jobs – without always relying on IT staff. WebFOCUS also enables the company to keep supply levels as low as possible by allowing stakeholders to constantly scrutinize forecasts, pending orders, and supply chain activity. This way, just enough product is on hand to satisfy immediate customer needs. With WebFOCUS in place, the company firmly believes it cannot just survive this slow period, but also become stronger. Goodfellow purchased WebFOCUS Reporting Server, ReportCaster, Developer Studio, and the DB2-AS/400 adapter. WebFOCUS runs on a Windows platform and accesses information directly from the DB2 databases. Unlike their previous reporting solution, it enables powerful drill-down functionality.
Operational Impact
  • Goodfellow’s Web-based reporting environment has cut IT reporting efforts by more than 30 percent while streamlining the way information moves throughout the organization.
  • WebFOCUS enables the company to keep supply levels as low as possible by allowing stakeholders to constantly scrutinize forecasts, pending orders, and supply chain activity.
  • WebFOCUS gives users across the entire company instant access to the pertinent information they need to most effectively perform their jobs – without always relying on IT staff.
  • The BI system has also had a major impact on the financial department by enabling them to close the books faster and make mid-month corrections if expected sales fall short of forecasts.
Quantitative Benefit
  • IT reporting efforts cut by more than 30 percent.

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