Qlik Case Studies SunOpta increases margins and reduces inventory exposure with QlikView

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	SunOpta increases margins and reduces inventory exposure with QlikView Qlik

SunOpta increases margins and reduces inventory exposure with QlikView

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Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries	Consumer Goods
Applicable Functions	Business Operation Sales & Marketing
Use Cases	Inventory Management Supply Chain Visibility
Services	Data Science Services
Challenge	SunOpta, a leader in the natural and organic foods and natural health products markets, faced challenges in reporting and data analysis due to rapid growth and acquisitions. The company lacked overall visibility into companywide sales, finance, and operations. It also struggled to quickly integrate data from newly acquired or existing business units with differing enterprise software systems for shareholder reporting and strategic planning purposes. SunOpta needed to upgrade its existing disparate BI and reporting solutions, including Oracle BIEE, to maximize profitability with a daily view of gross profit performance and reduce inventory exposure and related costs. Read More
About Customer	SunOpta Inc. is a leading processor and distributor of natural and organic food products. The company operates in three business units: the SunOpta Food Group, which specializes in sourcing, processing, and distribution of natural and organic food products; Opta Minerals Inc., a producer, distributor, and recycler of environmentally friendly industrial materials; and SunOpta BioProcess Inc., which engineers and markets proprietary steam explosion technology systems for the bio-fuel, pulp, and food processing industries. Through a combination of internal growth and acquisitions, SunOpta quickly grew to become a leader in sourcing, processing, and distributing food products. Read More
Solution	SunOpta deployed its initial QlikView application – division sales analysis – in only one week. With QlikView, 120 SunOpta employees can now analyze customer profitability, inventory exposure, and manufacturing costs, for the answers they need to drive corporate profitability. SunOpta immediately leveraged the invaluable data that was locked in Oracle and five other enterprise systems. The company developed its first QlikView application – sales analysis – in only one week. Beginning with basic analysis of sales by division, SunOpta continued to expand the application to include in-depth sales and revenue analysis, including actual-to-budget, year-over-year, month-to-month, and top 25 customers by product and item. SunOpta division managers use QlikView on a daily basis for instant visibility of overall sales and contribution margins, as well as contribution margin by customer. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Applicable Industries

Consumer Goods

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Supply Chain Visibility

Services

Data Science Services

Challenge

SunOpta, a leader in the natural and organic foods and natural health products markets, faced challenges in reporting and data analysis due to rapid growth and acquisitions. The company lacked overall visibility into companywide sales, finance, and operations. It also struggled to quickly integrate data from newly acquired or existing business units with differing enterprise software systems for shareholder reporting and strategic planning purposes. SunOpta needed to upgrade its existing disparate BI and reporting solutions, including Oracle BIEE, to maximize profitability with a daily view of gross profit performance and reduce inventory exposure and related costs.

About Customer

SunOpta Inc. is a leading processor and distributor of natural and organic food products. The company operates in three business units: the SunOpta Food Group, which specializes in sourcing, processing, and distribution of natural and organic food products; Opta Minerals Inc., a producer, distributor, and recycler of environmentally friendly industrial materials; and SunOpta BioProcess Inc., which engineers and markets proprietary steam explosion technology systems for the bio-fuel, pulp, and food processing industries. Through a combination of internal growth and acquisitions, SunOpta quickly grew to become a leader in sourcing, processing, and distributing food products.

Solution

SunOpta deployed its initial QlikView application – division sales analysis – in only one week. With QlikView, 120 SunOpta employees can now analyze customer profitability, inventory exposure, and manufacturing costs, for the answers they need to drive corporate profitability. SunOpta immediately leveraged the invaluable data that was locked in Oracle and five other enterprise systems. The company developed its first QlikView application – sales analysis – in only one week. Beginning with basic analysis of sales by division, SunOpta continued to expand the application to include in-depth sales and revenue analysis, including actual-to-budget, year-over-year, month-to-month, and top 25 customers by product and item. SunOpta division managers use QlikView on a daily basis for instant visibility of overall sales and contribution margins, as well as contribution margin by customer.

Impact #1	Gained ability to identify low margin customers and respond with price increases or product line discontinuation
Impact #2	Reduced inventory exposure through better visibility into inventory levels and age
Impact #3	Garnered up to 85% in employee time and cost savings

Impact #1

Gained ability to identify low margin customers and respond with price increases or product line discontinuation

Impact #2

Reduced inventory exposure through better visibility into inventory levels and age

Impact #3

Garnered up to 85% in employee time and cost savings

Benefit #1	85% in employee time and cost savings

Benefit #1

85% in employee time and cost savings

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Overview

SunOpta increases margins and reduces inventory exposure with QlikView

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit