Financial analysis is the key to further business successes of e-commerce giant
Poland's one of the largest e-commerce platform faces many challenges. One of the first priorities besides user satisfaction, which is more than a dozen milion per month, is the efficient management of terabytes of data. Implemented by Incube CPM within 4 months, the IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) and Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) solutions not only accelerated the entry and extraction of necessary information, but also facilitated monitoring over ongoing activities. The implementation of a comprehensive planning tool has resulted in the creation of reports in a shorter period of time and allows the right business decisions to be made efficiently.
Work Breakdown Structure Methodology
The biggest challenge of the project was to create the model in one common space, which became Planning Analytics Workspace. This is the place where any authorized person can: enter, verify and, if necessary, correct budget information related to budget analysis. The IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) solution, including the basic concepts associated with it - i.e. cube, dimension, etc. were already familiar to employees, especially the Controlling team. What was new, however, was PAW's web-based interface, which the departments involved handled well, thanks to their familiarity with the original TM1 tool. Incube CPM's proposed workflow for approval, entry and control of investment projects based on the WBS structure met all the above requirements, complementing them with other practical functionalities. A methodology for financial planning and budgeting of enterprises based on the "task breakdown of initiatives and projects". Work Breakdown Structure - WBS) is a completely new approach to streamline controlling processes.
Managers in the role of budget owners are up to date with the progress of work. All use a single, comprehensive web interface (PAW). So there is no need to switch between different systems. The effects of each team member's actions can be seen in the form of charts, which makes it easier to make comparisons and identify problematic issues.
In addition, we have ensured transparency in the activities undertaken by employees. Nodes (in our case Cost Center), once accepted at all necessary stages, are locked and cannot be edited without administrator manipulation.
Managers in the role of budget owners are up to date with the progress of work. All use a single, comprehensive web interface (PAW). So there is no need to switch between different systems. The effects of each team member's actions can be seen in the form of charts, which makes it easier to make comparisons and identify problematic issues.
In addition, we have ensured transparency in the activities undertaken by employees. Nodes (in our case Cost Center), once accepted at all necessary stages, are locked and cannot be edited without administrator manipulation.
Simple and transparent use of data
Automating the processes of collecting, historizing and comparing data as well as performing calculations immediately and integrating with external systems like SAP, Google Sheets and G-Suite have yielded very good results. Before the implementation, it took 6 days to close a month. At the moment it is half the time. And the results are descriptive reports containing both financial data and KPIs.
Importantly, the hours saved can be successfully used to determine future goals, as properly prepared data also allows to perform predictive analysis.
Importantly, the hours saved can be successfully used to determine future goals, as properly prepared data also allows to perform predictive analysis.
Financial analysis and organization of work with WBS
(Work Breakdown Structure)
According to Michał Bogucki, who was involved in the project, the applied planning at the WBS level has many advantages. Although, as he admits, moving planning to a lower level was an innovation for budget owners.
- Just by automating the entire planning process, making all components available in one common interface, there are many benefits. It saves time and reduces costs associated with creating an organization's plan. A common space organized by tabs/navigation buttons gives better insight into the process for budget owners, reduces the risk of errors, and improves collaboration and internal communication, he adds.
When asked for details, he points out the most important attributes of the solution used.
The first and most noticeable is the saving of time, captured not in minutes and hours, but in days. This is the result of the automation introduced, which replaced manual data extraction, creating analysis The plan is entered in one common place, there is no need to collect it from multiple sources and consolidate it to one, which will allow to get to know the values consolidated to the company level. This procedure is also useful at the later stage of the work which is the comparison of results with the plan. The second is to analyze the information more carefully and estimate accurately. This was achieved by breaking down large tasks into individual WBSs. A third plus is the ability to define and organize work already at the WBS level. The lower level of granularity allows for more accurate estimates of large tasks. Therefore, the verification of necessary resources and risks, as well as the assignment of work and costs to individual teams is faster, he enumerates.
- Just by automating the entire planning process, making all components available in one common interface, there are many benefits. It saves time and reduces costs associated with creating an organization's plan. A common space organized by tabs/navigation buttons gives better insight into the process for budget owners, reduces the risk of errors, and improves collaboration and internal communication, he adds.
When asked for details, he points out the most important attributes of the solution used.
The first and most noticeable is the saving of time, captured not in minutes and hours, but in days. This is the result of the automation introduced, which replaced manual data extraction, creating analysis The plan is entered in one common place, there is no need to collect it from multiple sources and consolidate it to one, which will allow to get to know the values consolidated to the company level. This procedure is also useful at the later stage of the work which is the comparison of results with the plan. The second is to analyze the information more carefully and estimate accurately. This was achieved by breaking down large tasks into individual WBSs. A third plus is the ability to define and organize work already at the WBS level. The lower level of granularity allows for more accurate estimates of large tasks. Therefore, the verification of necessary resources and risks, as well as the assignment of work and costs to individual teams is faster, he enumerates.
According to Michał Bogucki, who was involved in the project, the applied planning at the WBS level has many advantages. Although, as he admits, moving planning to a lower level was an innovation for budget owners.
- Just by automating the entire planning process, making all components available in one common interface, there are many benefits. It saves time and reduces costs associated with creating an organization's plan. A common space organized by tabs/navigation buttons gives better insight into the process for budget owners, reduces the risk of errors, and improves collaboration and internal communication, he adds.
When asked for details, he points out the most important attributes of the solution used.
The first and most noticeable is the saving of time, captured not in minutes and hours, but in days. This is the result of the automation introduced, which replaced manual data extraction, creating analysis The plan is entered in one common place, there is no need to collect it from multiple sources and consolidate it to one, which will allow to get to know the values consolidated to the company level. This procedure is also useful at the later stage of the work which is the comparison of results with the plan. The second is to analyze the information more carefully and estimate accurately. This was achieved by breaking down large tasks into individual WBSs. A third plus is the ability to define and organize work already at the WBS level. The lower level of granularity allows for more accurate estimates of large tasks. Therefore, the verification of necessary resources and risks, as well as the assignment of work and costs to individual teams is faster, he enumerates.
- Just by automating the entire planning process, making all components available in one common interface, there are many benefits. It saves time and reduces costs associated with creating an organization's plan. A common space organized by tabs/navigation buttons gives better insight into the process for budget owners, reduces the risk of errors, and improves collaboration and internal communication, he adds.
When asked for details, he points out the most important attributes of the solution used.
The first and most noticeable is the saving of time, captured not in minutes and hours, but in days. This is the result of the automation introduced, which replaced manual data extraction, creating analysis The plan is entered in one common place, there is no need to collect it from multiple sources and consolidate it to one, which will allow to get to know the values consolidated to the company level. This procedure is also useful at the later stage of the work which is the comparison of results with the plan. The second is to analyze the information more carefully and estimate accurately. This was achieved by breaking down large tasks into individual WBSs. A third plus is the ability to define and organize work already at the WBS level. The lower level of granularity allows for more accurate estimates of large tasks. Therefore, the verification of necessary resources and risks, as well as the assignment of work and costs to individual teams is faster, he enumerates.