There comes a moment in every company’s life when there has to be an acknowledgment that Microsoft Excel is simply not going to get the job done in terms of advanced FP&A. We’ve seen a huge number of these transition points unfold for our clients over the years and there are always common patterns and challenges that drive the need for change.

Here at Cubewise, we pride ourselves on being able to help our clients make this shift, moving from the well-understood landscape of Microsoft Excel to a more powerful, customizable, and collaborative FP&A solution that can support a company’s growth. In this case study, we’re going to explore this through the lens of a client called Procon Analytics who came to us to get assistance with making this transition.

Who is Procon Analytics?

Procon Analytics is a leading innovator in automotive IoT solutions – helping their clients leverage big data insights to drive better decision-making.  They operate under two major brands, namely: Connected Dealer Services and Advantage GPS – each of which services a different vertical and offers a unique solution tailored to that niche.

As an organization, they had reached an inflection point where what got them this far, was not going continue to work.  Change was needed, and we were there to help.

What challenges were they facing?

As the company continued to grow, the team began to realize that their planning and analytics function was not operating as efficiently and effectively as it could be – and there were some serious bottlenecks that were slowing down growth, stifling real-time analysis, and hindering efficient data management – making life very difficult for the FP&A team. The roots of these challenges were linked to the fact that the company was still using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for its FP&A and this simply wasn’t serving them as they began to scale their operations.

Here are some of the key problems that they were facing:

• Time-consuming manual planning. As each point of data entry, formula creation, and adjustment required human intervention, the team found themselves consistently behind schedule as the manual aspects of this planning were eating into valuable time that should have been used for higher-level strategic activities. Simply put, the human resources available were not being utilized to their full potential because the technology required so much manual work.

• Greater chance of human error. Building on the above, the manual aspects of the FP&A process introduced a greater chance of human error – which could lead to misleading reporting if errors were not picked up in advance. These errors can also be annoyingly persistent if they get baked into aggregated and consolidated reports – meaning that finding them and fixing them can be near-impossible.

• Siloed data. By having the data spread across many disparate spreadsheets, there were natural data siloes that opened up. This creates challenges in terms of version control and ensuring that the data is up to date, but it also negates the opportunity to make holistic decisions on all of the data – because the team was only ever seeing one component of the entire data structure at a time.

• Lower efficiency and organization. Due to the aspects mentioned above, the level of efficiency and organization of the financial and operational data was simply not high enough for a company of this size and influence.

• Less powerful capabilities. From a technology perspective, Microsoft Excel lacked some of the more powerful features that would be possible with other tools and platforms. These include real-time collaboration, scenario modelling, automated workflows, and many more. All of these features are crucial for modern, agile planning – and so the absence of these was really felt.

• Short-term mindset. Due to the fact that these models were geared toward immediate data and input, they incentivized a short-term mindset in terms of reporting and decision-making. This is not ideal because strong FP&A processes foster long-term strategic planning that is critical for ensuring sustainable success.

All of these challenges were weighing on the company and in order to unlock the full value of what could be achieved, the team acknowledged that a change was required.

What were they trying to achieve?

To understand how Cubewise sought to solve these challenges, it’s worth laying out the requirements that Procon Analytics had for their FP&A function. The overall objective was to streamline their planning function, provide insightful reporting, and create a data environment that could scale and grow with the company as it started to expand more aggressively across the country.

Here are some of the key requirements that they had:

• A consolidated P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement;
• Planning and reporting by entity;
• Intercompany eliminations;
• Service revenue amortization;
• Inventory tracking, forecasting, and reporting;
• Integration with NetSuite, Salesforce, and other internal systems; and
• Enhanced cost optimization.

A solution that could deliver these outcomes would streamline financial and operational planning and reporting, integrate the technology stack seamlessly with existing systems and data sources, and drive cost savings through data-driven insights.

After clarifying these outcomes and getting a highly nuanced understanding of the business problems being faced, the Cubewise team set out to craft a solution that could transition Procon Analytics from Microsoft Excel to a more robust and powerful system.

What was the solution implemented?

It was clear that IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 was the perfect tool for this particular case because the superior budgeting, forecasting, and reporting capabilities aligned very well with the client’s needs. In addition, the flexibility and scalability of the platform meant that we could build a bespoke implementation that was best suited to the current needs and the future needs of the organization.

As mentioned above, it was critical to build a solution that could plug into the client’s existing systems which included NetSuite, Salesforce, HR system, and the current data warehouse. Here, we used TM1py in order to integrate all the data and transfer it into the IBM Cloud infrastructure. From here, we could build the requisite Planning Analytics workspace as well as additional tools such as Planning Analytics for Excel, automated email distribution, and an IDE for TM1 development.

As a holistic solution, this meant that there were no hidden formulas or hardcoded numbers in the system – delivering a level of transparency that simply wasn’t possible beforehand. There was one version of the model, available to all in real-time. This helped to encourage better collaboration and consolidation across all the brands and entities.

Why did they choose Cubewise?

Based on our conversations with the client, it is clear that they chose Cubewise as their technology partner because the team demonstrated a deep understanding of the company’s operational challenges. Internally we often say (rather tongue-in-cheek) that we live and breathe this stuff – but it really is true. We care deeply about the problems that we solve and that’s the sort of energy that first drew Procon Analytics to Cubewise.

However, you still have to be able to deliver a great solution – and that’s where we can leverage the power of IBM Planning Analytics / TM1. Cubewise proposed a robust, customized solution and showcased how its implementation could be tailored to meet the client’s objectives and fit in seamlessly with its existing workflows and processes. Combine this with a smooth implementation process, ongoing support, and a collaborative relationship – and Cubewise became the obvious technology partner for such a project.

From day 1, the Cubewise team was hands-on with the project, hosting in-person kickoff meetings, design thinking sessions, IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 training, and more. The Procon Analytics team found particular benefits in the Cubewise EDU Power User Plan and TM1py fundamentals class which help to empower the internal team to take full control of their implementation and technology stack.

It was for these reasons that Procon Analytics chose to walk the journey with Cubewise as a business partner and not just as a typical technology vendor.

What were the outcomes?

The entire deployment of IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 was completed in just 3 months – allowing the company to continue growing as fast as it had been, knowing that the technology would be able to keep up. As we reflect on what impact the solution has had so far, here are some of the key outcomes achieved:

• The company has a wide range of new insights into their customer sales data allowing them to make much more precise and nuanced decisions across each brand, entity, and customer segment.

• The company achieved significant cost savings by improving cost tracking – resulting in improved margins and a tighter, leaner operational structure.

• There was a seamless integration of all the data systems and sources, enriching its accuracy and accessibility across the organization.

• A scalable planning blueprint was put in place which is now ready for future growth and the ever-evolving needs of the company. The next few projects on the roadmap include workforce planning, customer analytics, churn analysis, and predictive modelling and forecasting.

• There was a marked transition away from spreadsheet chaos and towards data-driven insights.

• The company now has a single source of truth, rather than having everything spread across a number of different models and spreadsheets. This has greatly improved change management and has shifted the data entry paradigm completely.

It’s clear that the implementation of IBM Planning Analytics has helped to drive enhanced efficiency, accuracy, and strategic foresight in the planning process, and it has set the company up for the next stage of growth and expansion.

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As the Cubewise team, we are very proud of what we were able to achieve in collaboration with the Procon Analytics team and it is a testament to how well we worked together that we could achieve so much in just a few months. This project was a great reminder of how much leverage you can unlock for your company if you have the right technology and workflows to lean on.

If your company could benefit from an FP&A overhaul then there’s never been a better time to get started. Cubewise is ready and willing to walk the journey with you and help you transition away from Excel spreadsheets and towards a more powerful, accurate, and collaborative solution. Get in touch today and let’s see how we can help.