Has anyone ever told you that you already have all the data and software you need to improve your supply chain? No, well this is just one of the many ways Beacon is different. We find that most companies already own what they need to build sophisticated supply chain reporting and analysis tools. We show you how to build these tools and then how to use them to improve supply chain performance.

We take the proven techniques and technology for building business performance measurement systems and apply them to supply chain issues. This is done by building a business intelligence data engine on a Microsoft SQL Server platform. The key to making this work is our strong skills in OLAP analysis and design as well as our understanding of the data warehouse and OLAP relationship. Sitting on top of this supply chain specific platform are the reporting tools. Microsoft Excel can report against millions of records when used in conjunction with an OLAP cube. With Microsoft Excel a company can build Microsoft Excel dashboards, balanced scorecard Excel reports and ad hoc analysis capabilities. When Microsoft Excel data analysis reaches its limit we can help clients perform performance management tools reviews to select and install specialized reporting tools.

You Already Have the Data . . .

Today, companies capture all their transactions electronically through an ERP system or a home grown order management system. All the data you need for supply chain reporting and analysis exists, its just not organized in a useful way. We show you how to organize the data to support your supply chain improvement efforts.

You Already Have the Software . . .

We build business intelligence tools customized for supply chain issues. Most companies already own a business intelligence tool but they’re not realizing the full benefit of utilizing these tools to improve the supply chain. Even more companies already own Microsoft SQL Server but aren’t aware of its strong business intelligence capabilities.

Let Us Show You How to Use Them

We’ll show you how to use your existing software and data to improve your supply chain.

• Executive dashboards.
• Purchasing - spend analysis, vendor performance.
• Planning – demand planning, inventory planning
• Manufacturing – cost analysis, production efficiency
• Logistics – carrier performance, cost analysis, customer service
• Returns – claims analysis

What Makes our Services Different

Our unique approach is our differentiator:

• We sell services to solve business problems not software.
• We build your solutions using your existing software, such as: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Business Objects.
• We use an iterative approach by focusing on a specific business improvement opportunity.
• We use a comprehensive project approach where the business intelligence tools support the change management and process change efforts.
• We build an ‘open’ architecture that will support a variety of best-of-breed reporting tools and provide wide access to the data throughout your company.
• We make data accuracy a priority and not an after thought.
• We can use any data no matter where it is and what format it is in.
• We can complete an initial project in 8 weeks or less.

Customize but Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

Beacon Blueprints are existing guides to standard supply chain needs. Having already defined the most common metrics allows us to simply customize to fit you needs rather than having to design from scratch. The blueprints are applicable to any software or database language.

The blueprints include:

• Hundreds of pre-defined supply chain metrics.
• Pre-defined data warehouse designs.
• Pre-defined OLAP cube designs.

Benefits

The main benefit to our approach is that it focuses on business results and not on technology.

• Little or no software cost – We utilize your existing software.
• Short time to implement – Eight weeks or less to build the analysis capabilities and identify improvement opportunities.
• Little of your own time required – Brief meetings to identify any unique characteristics and to define the location of key data!
• High return on investment – Untap the huge investment you’ve made to collect your company’s data. Our projects return an ROI in excess of 200%. In fact, we aim for a 10 to 1 return.
• Quick payback – With an eight week build and high ROI, payback can be less than six months from the start of the project.
• Drive change with facts – We put the facts at your fingertips to counter all the excuses for why things can’t change and focus the discussion on how things can change.

Who We Are

Beacon Solutions are provided through a joint effort between Springman Consulting and Mariner. Springman Consulting provides the supply chain expertise and Mariner provides the business intelligence expertise.

Springman Consulting is a management consulting firm specializing in supply chain and operations management. The founder has over ten years of experience consulting to Fortune 1000 companies. Springman Consulting can be reached at (704) 847-7595. www.springmanconsulting.com.

Mariner is a business intelligence consulting company specializing in applying industry best practices and project management to solve complex problems. Mariner is a certified Microsoft Partner and a Business Objects Gold Partner. Mariner is based in Charlotte, NC. Mariner – Realizing Visions with Technology. www.mariner-usa.com.