Fujitsu is one of the world’s largest technology manufacturers, with annual turnover of US$40 billion. Fujitsu professional services include business consulting services and applications services. A team of 170,000 supports customers in 100 countries with high technology infrastructure and communications products.
Challenge
A slow, painful process for planning and forecasting
Fujitsu’s Global Product Management is responsible for hardware and software marketing, and sales activities. To understand how it was performing, the team had to complete a painfully slow and entirely manual process. Before it could run any analysis, the finance team had to first extract data from SAP Business Warehouse (BW) into Excel. Then it manipulated data and ran ad hoc queries through Excel. Without the proper tools in place, the finance team had to present actuals data to Product Management in enormous Excel sheets, without reference to forecasts or budgets. Numbers were processed via cut and paste, which was extremely time-consuming and error-prone. Fujitsu tested the idea of a bottom-up planning approach with Jedox in an effort to deliver large-scale optimization with as little organizational disruption as possible. The project was led by Senior Product Managers Roger Straub and Nicolas Bartsch.
Roger selected Jedox because of its familiar Excel-like interface through web and mobile, direct connectors to SAP and practically any other data source, compelling dashboards and dynamic reports, and its high-performance in memory analytics for fast response. The ability to deploy quickly with Jedox and the low cost of ownership were also extremely attractive features of the product for Roger and the team.
Solution
Increased adaptability with an Excel-friendly interface
Jedox’s adaptable Excel-like interface was essential because it was so easy to use. The “wow moment” for Fujitsu was when the relevant figures – previously only available in two-dimensional Excel spreadsheets – were modeled in Jedox cubes. Jedox instantly captured plans and consolidated data, and surfaced previously inaccessible data for individual ad hoc actual and plan comparisons. Straub found Jedox an intuitive and powerful way to view the numbers from multiple perspectives and to flexibly associate data to explain correlations: “With Jedox’s diverse and flexible analysis capabilities, I have better control over products, and targets and measures are faster to derive.” Despite having no prior Jedox experience, Nicolas Bartsch created a prototype. After they proved how quickly and effectively Jedox would help them, they moved ahead with a full solution.
Outcome
Better insights via fast, multidimensional product analysis
Now, when Roger Straub wants to review product development at a certain time or compare product performance, he drills through Jedox reports quickly and flexibly: “Flexible ad hoc reports and analysis, and well-arranged Jedox dashboards, open new possibilities all the time. Our numbers are more readable and interpretable. Jedox explains the relationship between the number of items sold and installed software sold in an easy-to-read summary. Analyzing distribution channels for product sales is part of our standard language.”
Jedox’s multidimensional nature, and its ability to empower end users to customize reports independently, is an invaluable advantage. Jedox gives end users access to self-service features that have made their data more actionable and accessible across the board. By instantly capturing plans, end users collaborate over their numbers. Striking visualizations make it easy to find a common language between Product Management and Finance. When Straub presented the solution to various departments, Fujitsu began planning a rollout of multiple Jedox applications throughout the organization. As a leading technology services provider, Fujitsu is a strong advocate for smarter technology delivering business-driven process improvements. “Jedox is an impressive realization of this approach,” says Jens-Peter Seick, Senior Vice President at Fujitsu Product Development.
“Flexible ad-hoc reports and analysis, and well-arranged Jedox dashboards, open new possibilities all the time. Our numbers are more readable and interpretable.”
Roger Staub
Senior Product Manager, Fujitsu
