Complex Business Intelligence Solutions for a Construction Equipment Company

Business Intelligence implementation

The need to create a unified reporting platform arose due to the implementation of new IT systems. The platform had to integrate data from all sources, both new and existing. Technical limitations meant that reporting was done manually or in simple form by means of the MS Access tool. Insufficiently detailed and less credible analyses were produced, which made the decision-making process more difficult.

After a detailed analysis of the requirements, the company decided to develop their own Business Intelligence solution, for which JCommerce was the implementation partner.

The project consisted of model creation and the implementation of thematic data warehouses (Data Marts), which were optimized in respect to particular areas of operation. Moreover, the implementation of IBM Cognos improved the reporting system and fixed ETL processes, which supplied data for the Data Marts from a corporate data warehouse.

Solution

The implemented system facilitates:

• The quick and easy preparation of reports on company operations
• Wider access to business information
• The data analysis support process by means of marking significant information
• The visualization of data on graphs
• Exporting data to obtain multiform options
• The ease of distribution of reports and the possibility of managing data transfers
• Successful searching and the analysis of huge sets of data
• Data comparison
• Data filtering
• Ad-hoc reporting

Technologies used:

• Oracle 11g database server
• IBM WebSphere DataStage and QualityStage Designer (ETL)
• IBM WebSphere DataStage and QualityStage Director (Administration ETL)
• Cognos Connection – Business Intelligence portal allowing for the availability of list reports and analyses, as well as access to reporting tools

• Cognos Report Studio available via the web browser, with the following possibilities:
  – Working on different templates and with multiple queries
  – Advanced filtering
  – Aggregation and disaggregation of data
  – Adding new calculations
  – Advance filtering of data in regard to user parameters
  – Scheduling and distribution of reports to users
  – Modification of the report using personally written JavaScript code
  After a detailed analysis of the requirements, a series of simple and advanced reports
  were created using the Report Studio tool.

• Cognos Query Studio, available via a web browser, facilitating:
  – Selection of one or more dimensions
  – Aggregation and disaggregation of data
  – Sorting and grouping of data
  – Advance filtering of data in regard to user parameters
  The tool allows the user to create quick ad-hoc reports.

• ERwin Data Modeller – a tool for designing the logical and physical layers of the model. The designed set of thematic layers can be used in a modelling tool.

• Framework Manager – an application that allows users to build frameworks, which are used in
  reports. It allows the user to:
  – Create multidimensional models of data
  – Implement multilingualism of models
  – Filter data at the model stage
  – Create a business presentation layer, which makes the work easier for the user.

• Comparison of the products available
• Listing of available parts without future planned usage
• Planning the usage of materials and tracking production
• Monitoring expected delivery
• Calculation of delays and unfinished tasks
• Monitoring suppliers
• Quality assurance of product components
• Reporting difficulties or problems

About the client

C​NH Industrial is a global leader in capital goods which implements design, manufacturing, distribution, commercial and financial activities on international markets