RS Components enables its team to focus on business-critical analysis

RS Components, as part of the global Electrocomponents PLC group, operates over a large geographical footprint. With the components business being fiercely competitive, the management team considered it mission-critical to be able to make business decisions swiftly. However, their existing decision support system was achieved through the manual consolidation of data directly from their ERP and CRM application systems (JD Edwards and Pivotal). This meant that they were spending too much time on data consolidation before any analysis could be made, delaying important decisions as a result. To tackle this, RS Components realized it needed a management tool or system that could provide strategic insights on the performance of its business across all functions. The system should be able to provide data for their Key Performance Matrixes, and assist management with their strategic discussions thereby improving their decision-making process. In order to achieve this, this system should be able extract data from multiple robust and complex systems spread across a diversed geographical region to provide a common view of the business which everyone in the company could rely on.

RS Components is a world-leading distributor of electronic components, and part of Electrocomponents PLC in the United Kingdom, a FTSE public listed company. The global company has over 4,000 employees, while RS Components employs over 1,000 throughout Asia Pacific. The company has a range of 450,000 electronic components and industrial products that it supplies to over 1.6 million customers worldwide in over 80 countries. Products include semiconductors, connectors, capacitors, resistors, LEDs, relays, switches, indicators and power supplies, batteries, cables, control gear, fans, HVAC, security, tools, plumbing, hosing, books, IT, safety and test and measurement products. Its business in Asia Pacific generated GBP 104 million in revenue for the financial year 2009.