Looking back at Business Intelligence (BI) implementations I’ve been involved in, there are a few that stand out as very memorable for their challenges and results. One of those projects was the deployment of a dealership performance scorecard for a major automobile manufacturer.
Our client sells its vehicles, ranging from small economy cars to pickups and expensive luxury models, through a network of about 1,400 independently-owned dealerships across the United States. The company’s dealership development organization supports the dealers, and closely monitors a range of statistics and performance indicators including detailed financial results, vehicle sales by model, staffing levels, market share, customer satisfaction scores, and others. It was very time-consuming to get a current, complete picture of each dealership and be able to compare its performance to peer groups and historical trends.
Our solution streamlined reporting and analysis while improving data quality. Automated processes were implemented to bring data together from a range of sources into Oracle Essbase where standard metrics for each dealership were calculated. A wizard-like reporting interface enabled users to select a dealership (or several), time period, and other parameters to quickly produce a series of standard, formatted reports. Ad hoc analysis directly from Essbase was made available to users through Essbase’s Excel Add-In.
At the destination of our journey we arrived at clear benefits and great project ROI:
- Easy, immediate access for all users to comprehensive dealer performance information and elimination of highly manual processes
- Improved data accuracy (legacy reports had included some incorrect data)
- Productivity gains equivalent to saving the time of 2 full-time headquarters staff plus 1.5 full-time regional office staff
- Standardized and pre-calculated key performance indicators, reducing effort and calculation errors
- Capability for ad hoc reporting and analysis, fostering fact-based decision making and enabling staff to focus on driving growth, rather than collecting and re-keying information
- Flexible system to easily meet evolving business needs and growth in number of dealerships
- Minimal time and attention required by the company’s IT department to support
- Improved dealer sales and financial performance, resulting from improved analytics and more timely information
In addition I heard a great anecdote about how a different group, the Used Vehicle Operations department, used data and analysis from the solution to encourage more dealers to participate in the company’s Certified Used Vehicle program. They were able to show that participating dealers not only earned significantly better margins on used vehicles than non-participating dealers, but also that certified vehicle inventory turns faster than non-certified. With proof of improved overall dealership profitability, they had a powerful message that helped expand the successful CUV program.
If you’d like more details about this project or a few others we’ve done, check out Analysis Team’s Case Studies page.
How could improved analytics and reporting drive better results in your product distribution channels?