Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet Oy unveil new reporting system
Results
Production management at Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet
WebFOCUS is integrated with the Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet Oy’s SAP production management system and the SAP BW (Business Information Warehouse) reporting and analysis tool. With WebFOCUS, the vital information from SAP systems can be quickly and dynamically used and displayed in various reports.
“SAP systems are filled with useful information, but the data is not always easy to access. SAPs are good for generating standard reports but creating a new report with SAP BW requires considerable effort and time”, says Chief Information Officer Juha Aaltonen from Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet Oy.
“We were looking for a reporting tool with SAP support, and we compared several software options. Not only did WebFOCUS turn out to be the most affordable option, it also proved to be more convenient and flexible than the alternatives”, Juha Aaltonen concludes.
Cost-efficient reporting
“We simply don’t have the time for rebuilding report templates for SAP BW from scratch. And using consultants for that task would be prohibitively expensive. To create a new report from scratch in SAP BW, even the simplest and most straight-forward project would take a minimum of five days of consulting. With WebFOCUS, a new report can often be generated considerably faster and with less expenses compared to BW implementation”, Juha Aaltonen says.
The life-time of a single report is sometimes very short. It might only be required for a single project or for analyzing the effects of variables in a prevailing business situation. But once the situation changes, the report may well be obsolete. WebFOCUS collects information from several data sources, meaning SAP, SAP BW and other databases. ”The criteria was to find something that could generate reports quickly enough with reasonable costs without requiring out-of-this world database skills. WebFOCUS fulfilled these criteria”, Juha Aaltonen says.
Dynamic reports – quickly and easily
Integrating SAP, SAP BW and WebFOCUS is so convenient that the user doesn’t even have to know where the database information originates. Its graphical reports are both visually impressive and easy to use with a single glance. Distributing reports is also easy. For managing your sales mix, WebFOCUS makes it possible to simulate various variables and to create summaries in addition to SAP BW standard reports. Order confirmations are submitted to salespeople on the field at night through WebFOCUS.
“We are building a Balanced Scorecard to support customer management. This will allow salespeople to produce an A4 sized scorecard to take to client meetings. This useful scorecard shows, for example, order history, client activity and reclamations, if any exist”, Juha Aaltonen says.
WebFOCUS is used for programming production queues. Salespeople can also see the state of production with one glance and provide required information to the client. Tracking also helps us push the right products when there are issues with capacity. WebFOCUS can be used to track transport company information as well as invoicing and inventory. XYZ analyses are used for inventory optimization.
Easy integration
“WebFOCUS is a straightforward tool. If you can use any other reporting tool, WebFOCUS won’t be a problem for you. We have been given training by InfoBuild, helping us see the benefits of WebFOCUS compared to the old system. For just about everything, WebFOCUS is considerably better,” Juha Aaltonen continues.
“I greatly appreciate having support here in Finland. If we have a question, we get help the very same day. In our previous system, there was no local support in Finland and responses were slower. InfoBuild also really make an effort to solve issues, they don’t leave things unresolved”, Juha Aaltonen says. “In my companies, reporting could be handled with a BW system with WebFOCUS”, Aaltonen continues.
Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet Oy produces energy-saving and living comfort-improving solutions for building. The company was founded in 1941 to produce fiber-glass products. Since 1994, it’s been part of the international Saint-Gobain group. Gyproc Oy, Saint-Gobain Ecophon Oy, and Saint-Gobain Isover Oy merger into one company on 1.1.2008, and the name of the company became Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet Oy. Saint-Gobain Rakennustuotteet Oy manufactures heat and sound insulation out of mineral wool as well as sound absorber products. With products up to 80% recycled glass, it is the main ingredient in our products. Well-known brands include Ecopho acoustic ceilings, Gyproc in gypsum lightweight structures, and Isover in construction insulation. WebFOCUS is used in all of the company’s offices in Finland and the Baltics. WebFOCUS supports the Cyrillic alphabet, so it can also be used in Russia.