Agriculture
Sometimes it is not enough only to automate the business. It can also be important to ensure the transparency of budgeting and planning processes for both internal and external users. Complex business performance management systems provide extended functionality and great data management capabilities, but they do not allow ordinary users to explore all elements in detail.
The Client Situation
Our team helped to digitalize budgeting and operational planning functions for an agricultural holding. For this purpose, one well-known business performance management platform was chosen, and we extended its toolkit by integrating multi-factor calculation models for operational planning, introducing convenient forms for entering data, and also setting up a structure of final reports.
The system perfectly performed with storage and processing of a large amount of corporate information and coping with tracking of all business activities. But over time, it was found that the system did not meet the expectations of transparency of strategic planning models for both internal and external users. The system did not allow ordinary users to introduce any amendments to calculation methodology, only developers could do that. The system only allows ordinary users to download raw data without any links.
As far as the Client had an obligation to demonstrate strategy and operational plans to a bank where the third party could survey all dependencies on key corporate metrics, the client’s employees had to download data from the system to Excel spreadsheets and manually enter formulas.
The Challenge
The client asked us to simplify the process of interacting with the system and remove the double work that employees did. The system should load data from spreadsheets instead of manually entering indicators. The system should upload data and save links between them in the form of formulas.
The Solution
Since it was impossible to implement the client's request in the existing system, we implemented Spreadym platform and compiled it with the client's data management system. Due to the API, the platform can integrate with third-party systems and carry out a full-fledged data exchange process. So that users could work out the budget and production plan in their Excel spreadsheets, then, with one click, upload data to the business performance management system.
Spreadym also solved the problem of downloading reports from the system. Users could see all the relationships between the data in downloaded reports, correct the calculations and share the data, like a regular Excel file.
Spreadym helped save time for business analysts and decrease the risks of errors that could result in crucial effects in the case of inconsistent information being sent to the bank. Spreadym helped avoid the inaccurate interpretation of data that could cause misleading in corporate strategy.
Key highlights
45
Active users
6 weeks
Implementation period
Large
Business size
Local ERP & IBM
Integration with local ERP and IBM Planning Analytics
Explore the Real Experience
We believe that the best way to explore something new is to see how it works in real life.
Agriculture
An agricultural company has integrated Spreadym to mechanize strategic corporate planning, and introduce transparency of system culculations for contributors engaged in the budgeting workflow. Initially, the organization's planning and budgeting procedures were rooted in IBM Planning Analytics, employing the "Bottom-up" approach.
While this methodology adequately addressed operational planning needs, the formulation of strategic plans according "Top-down" approach was impossible within the existing architectural framework.
45
Active users
6 weeks
Implementation period
Large
Business size
Local ERP & IBM
Integration
The Client Situation
Despite the implementation of IBM Planning Analytics to automate operational planning, the company encountered the subsequent challenges:
-
The strategic plan continued to be maintained in Excel due to the technical complexity of the integration
-
Calculations in the system were opaque to ordinary users
-
To make changes to calculations or data books, users had to contact the IT team
-
Several limitations were imposed on data uploads.
The Solution
We proposed the adoption of Spreadym to the client. Leveraging its REST API capabilities, the platform seamlessly assimilated into the company's pre-existing infrastructure. This facilitated a comprehensive data interchange between systems, enabling the presentation of information spanning individual articles to calculation formulas. Users retained their accustomed Excel format for plan creation, while data loading into IBM was streamlined to a single-click process.
Watch how we manage client's request
