Information Builders Case Studies WebFOCUS Brings Analytic Self-Sufficiency to Associated Food Stores

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	WebFOCUS Brings Analytic Self-Sufficiency to Associated Food Stores Information Builders

WebFOCUS Brings Analytic Self-Sufficiency to Associated Food Stores

Information Builders

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries	Retail
Applicable Functions	Business Operation Sales & Marketing
Use Cases	Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Associated Food Stores (AFS) was facing the challenge of eliminating haphazard, inaccurate one-off reports. The IT staff was burdened with dealing with individual requests for information, which was not only time-consuming but also costly. The company wanted to reduce the cost of providing relevant data to users and automate analytics, report development, and information distribution. The existing system was causing confusion about which numbers were accurate as users loaded the results into Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access to further manipulate the data. The company was also dealing with inconsistencies throughout the organization due to the use of multiple reporting technologies. Read More
About Customer	Associated Food Stores is an American retailers cooperative that supplies more than 400 independently-owned retail supermarkets throughout Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, and Wyoming. The retail cooperative ships more than 750 truckloads of groceries each week to 400 independently owned supermarkets and 43 corporate-owned stores in an eight-state region. The company was founded in 1940 when Donald P. Lloyd, president of the Utah Retail Grocers Association, convinced 34 Utah retailers to band together to face the growing threat of large grocery chains. Today, the company helps independent retailers compete against national chains by combining buying power, warehouse facilities, and technology. Read More
Solution	AFS decided to use WebFOCUS and InfoAssist+ to create a flexible, company-wide analytic environment that enables business users to create custom reports, dashboards, and InfoApps™ to deliver information and insights to everyone. The company rolled out a Retail Portal that allows store managers to track daily sales and labor from a time and attendance system. The portal combines point-of-sale data, financial data, and customer account information, then compares it against scheduled labor hours, total labor hours, dollars spent on wages, and overtime labor to gauge profitability. AFS also rolled out BI portals and InfoApps to internal business units such as finance, marketing, advertising, team services, design and print services, logistics, transportation, procurement, payroll, retail counselors, and its executive team. InfoApps are interactive apps that enable non-technical users to easily explore data via charts, graphs, dashboards, and reports. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

Applicable Industries

Retail

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Real-Time Location System (RTLS)

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Associated Food Stores (AFS) was facing the challenge of eliminating haphazard, inaccurate one-off reports. The IT staff was burdened with dealing with individual requests for information, which was not only time-consuming but also costly. The company wanted to reduce the cost of providing relevant data to users and automate analytics, report development, and information distribution. The existing system was causing confusion about which numbers were accurate as users loaded the results into Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access to further manipulate the data. The company was also dealing with inconsistencies throughout the organization due to the use of multiple reporting technologies.

About Customer

Associated Food Stores is an American retailers cooperative that supplies more than 400 independently-owned retail supermarkets throughout Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, and Wyoming. The retail cooperative ships more than 750 truckloads of groceries each week to 400 independently owned supermarkets and 43 corporate-owned stores in an eight-state region. The company was founded in 1940 when Donald P. Lloyd, president of the Utah Retail Grocers Association, convinced 34 Utah retailers to band together to face the growing threat of large grocery chains. Today, the company helps independent retailers compete against national chains by combining buying power, warehouse facilities, and technology.

Solution

AFS decided to use WebFOCUS and InfoAssist+ to create a flexible, company-wide analytic environment that enables business users to create custom reports, dashboards, and InfoApps™ to deliver information and insights to everyone. The company rolled out a Retail Portal that allows store managers to track daily sales and labor from a time and attendance system. The portal combines point-of-sale data, financial data, and customer account information, then compares it against scheduled labor hours, total labor hours, dollars spent on wages, and overtime labor to gauge profitability. AFS also rolled out BI portals and InfoApps to internal business units such as finance, marketing, advertising, team services, design and print services, logistics, transportation, procurement, payroll, retail counselors, and its executive team. InfoApps are interactive apps that enable non-technical users to easily explore data via charts, graphs, dashboards, and reports.

Impact #1	Managers have a current, company-wide view of critical metrics.
Impact #2	The IT department is free to develop new programs, rather than spending all their time troubleshooting.
Impact #3	The business community is more self-sufficient.

Impact #1

Managers have a current, company-wide view of critical metrics.

Impact #2

The IT department is free to develop new programs, rather than spending all their time troubleshooting.

Impact #3

The business community is more self-sufficient.

Benefit #1	A single user can run payroll reports in less than half the time.
Benefit #2	Approximately 1,000 people at 90 stores actively use the system to manage their operations.

Benefit #1

A single user can run payroll reports in less than half the time.

Benefit #2

Approximately 1,000 people at 90 stores actively use the system to manage their operations.

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Overview

WebFOCUS Brings Analytic Self-Sufficiency to Associated Food Stores

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit