MetrixLine :: Business Value Through Process Metrics :: Metrics : Frameworks : Delivery Service

Context

Manufacturer has at least 20+ products out there selling in various formats in the market.
All sales are retail sales out of outlets.
Outlets are multichannel, owned, manned, franchised etc.
Products go into multiple end form factors.
Outlets are spread out across a wide geography.

Need

Executives/Managers need intelligence on the numbers being sold.
Managers need intelligence on sales and potential for multiple products.
Managers need intelligence of region wise sales of various products and formats.
Managers need intelligence of marketing campaign effectiveness.
Managers need this information weekly to push sales and reposition.
Managers need information on competition on various comparable dimensions to improve the offerings in the market.
Managers need this information as the week is done to carry out detailed analysis and plan their decisions.

The Problem

Data from these outlets, many of them remote is consolidated daily in a simple xl sheet.
That data is sent to multiple collection points where consolidation happens.
The end result was a set of simple charts which draw a picture of what has happened in the field.
Intelligence was a month late and a multiple layers of consolidation lost a lot of data.
Drill down analysis and multiple what-if's were not possible on data.
The reports were good but managers wanted the data quicker and with a lot more analysis and control.
The overall effort for getting this data to the managers centrally was very large.
Managing data collection required high management overheads.

MetrixLine Approach and Solution

Automated data collection by directly uploading the data from outlets in xl format on a web link - upload xl from anywhere.
Managed and scheduled all uploads from various field outlets - let MetrixTrack manage data scheduling, updating and collection.
All the metrics, measurements, numbers were configured as metrics and algorithms configured on MetrixTrack.
All Metrics and analysis made available in real time to the Managers who wanted information.
Specific scorecards for Managers configured so that they get snapshots of relevant intelligence for their decisions.
The complete process automated to remove overheads of data collection, consolidation at multiple points, presentation and data management.
Total time for deployment - Less than one cycle of data collection previously taken.

Overall Value

Data collection, management, consolidation and presentation overheads reduced to nil.
Data now available timely for managers to take action.
Ability to analyze all intelligence online and in real time.
Ability to get much broader views of data for multiple scenarios with minimum or no effort.
Metrics now centrally available for historical analysis, tending, comparatives, what-if?s, root cause etc - powerful tools in the hands of managers.
Ongoing effort to maintain the metrics, add new metrics, add new analysis, new scorecards, edit the above is minimal.

Large Chip Manufacturer