Reducing the Cost of Enterprise Reporting
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- WebFOCUS
- WebFOCUS ReportCaster
- WebFOCUS Developer Studio
Tech Stack
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000
- IBM AS/400
- Microsoft Windows 2003
- Microsoft Excel
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
- Retail
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Supply Chain Visibility
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Staples Promotional Products, based in Overland Park, Kansas, specializes in the development, promotion, and extension of branded merchandise. The company has been a leader in the branded merchandise industry for more than 50 years, serving approximately 350 companies in the Fortune 1000, along with numerous small and midsize companies. Staples creates and sells custom merchandise such as mouse pads, shirts, hats, key chains, and coffee mugs. The company operates call centers and manages Web stores on behalf of its customers, maintains a 600,000-square-foot distribution facility, and hosts 170 Web sites to promote, sell, and distribute custom products for its customers. The company's IT department, led by IT Director Mark Sullivan, handles application development, technical services, and network administration for about 1,000 employees.
The Challenge
Staples Promotional Products was struggling with an inefficient and inconsistent reporting environment. The IT department was constantly writing reports to meet the needs of various departments, using a variety of tools including DB2 reports on the AS/400, Cognos' Impromptu, Microsoft Access databases, Excel data analysis, and Web forms for querying data. The lack of consistency and the time-consuming nature of this process led to the IT department seeking a more efficient solution. They wanted to provide end-user reporting tools to the entire organization, requiring a reporting environment that was accessible to a broad base of users, not just application developers or systems analysts.
The Solution
Staples implemented WebFOCUS in April 2004. They established a data warehouse for end-user reporting using Microsoft SQL Server 2000, and used WebFOCUS to replace about a dozen field sales and commission reports that had been created in Cognos Impromptu. WebFOCUS was chosen for its unique approach to parameterized ad hoc reporting, along with its mature facilities for report bursting and distribution. Staples also enlisted the Information Builders Education department to train a number of developers and power users to use the WebFOCUS software. Staples has established a hierarchical model for helping the entire organization adopt the WebFOCUS software. They have trained seven software developers to use WebFOCUS Developer Studio to create business intelligence applications for accounting, inventory control, e-commerce, client support, and other departments.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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