Project Description

Diversified Metals, Inc. is an international specialty metals distributor with over 35 years of superior customer service, award winning quality control, timely shipping procedures and cost efficient products. Boasting a quality assurance program that is unparalleled in the industry, it is critical that the company maintain the highest levels of data accuracy.

The Challenge

The organization was looking to create a new report generation system to replace their current outdated model. Their current system, which was old and outdated, used a programming language – 4GL – that was adequate for necessary day to day interfacing with the database, but poorly insufficient for writing reports. It was difficult and cumbersome to maintain existing reports, let alone create new ones. New report requests could take weeks for programmers to produce, regardless of complexity. Additionally it was impossible to tie in charts and graphs for further visualization. Many reports were slow to run and taxes system resources. In order to stay competitive in the market and maintain the high level of quality assurance upon which Diversified had built a reputation, it was critical to re-examine current systems and move toward a data structure that would allow immediate access to sales and inventory information.

After contemplating a number of programming options, the company turned to Chateaux, who offered a solution that was as simple as it was highly effective. Chateaux transformed their entire reporting structure by using a Business Intelligence application to reproduce existing 4GL reports and create a superior platform for new ones.

Not only did Chateaux oversee the process of reproducing current reports in the new BI platform, but they ensured the ongoing success of the new programming structure by training personnel on site to effectively manage the installation and author new reports. With the right tools and the proper training, the organization would be able to move the accuracy and speed of reporting to a new level of efficiency.

Chateaux also trained staff to pre-run high demand reports on a weekly basis for quick, on-demand availability to the end users – upper level management. By anticipating which reports were critical to day-to-day operations of upper level management, the reporting structure stayed on track with delivering need-to-know information exactly when it was needed.

Chateaux’s seasoned team had the new BI application up and running within a week – a time saving that could not be priced with any dollar amount. With the new installation, personnel were able to meet and exceed all new reporting expectations. At the end of the week long training process, the reporting group was well positioned to effectively replace over 75% of the company’s 4GL reports with new, easy-to-read report outputs, within just a few months time. Furthermore, they were now able to produce more insightful reports for management – almost instantaneously. The new intuitive information creates specific views (from high level to extremely detailed) that are customizable to the user. This allows for a greater in-depth analysis of every aspect of the company’s information – from sales to product data to personnel – than ever achieved before.

While the access to information has increased, use of the more capable BI application has reduced the demand for system resources without a single reported conflict – eliminating user wait time augmenting productivity.

With the comprehensive view they need into their company information, the organization is poised for increased success.