Watts Water Technologies Improves the Flow of Data With Cognos TM1
Description
Multi-Dimensional Forecasting and
Financial Planning Solution
Business Needs
- Develop reliable and timely forecasts and budgets
- Automate the consolidation of data and analysis process
- Improve planning and decision-making
- Design a user friendly interface
Software
CLIENT BACKGROUND
Watts Water Technologies is a global company with operations in North America, Europe and Asia, providing solutions for the safe use, improved quality, precise control, conservation and beneficial comfort of water. A leader in the industry with over 130 years of history, the Watts Water Technologies family of companies design, manufacture and sell an extensive line of flow control products for the water quality, residential plumbing and heating, commercial and OEM markets. With over 5,000 employees and many recognized leading brands such as Watts, Powers, Ames Fire & Waterworks, Brae and Orion, Watts Water Technologies has a variety of solutions that are used to maintain the quality and flow control of water.
BUSINESS PROBLEM
Watts Water Technologies depends on budgeting processes and ongoing sales reporting between sales groups and authorized representatives in order to manage the sales pipeline. The company looked to increase their efficiency in generating the monthly forecast reports, which Watts Water Technologies considered an inefficient use of time and resources when done manually. The sales data from the company’s ERP system was used to update the numbers in the forecast reports, allowing corporate management to analyze performance and make decisions. With more representatives selling a variety of Watts Water Technologies brands, they needed to consolidate data from the ERP system in a more timely and automated fashion. Watts Water Technologies required a software solution that would provide up-to-date information, reducing time and potential for error, and enabling them to make better business decisions.
SOLUTION
IBM Cognos TM1 allows Watts Water Technologies to improve forecast and budget efficiency, making the information easier to access for those who need it. The solution enables the assembly of data from multiple sources and provides multidimensional views. The implementation of TM1 will increase business intelligence, efficiency and productivity while eliminating disparate data.
Prolifics worked with Watts Water Technologies to implement the solution, which enables the company to create reliable and personalized reports, generated regularly for proactive management of sales pipelines. TM1 eliminates all manual aspects of the process and ensures the delivery of trusted information, improving the reliability of data. A task formerly spanning 2 weeks is completed in minutes, increasing productivity exponentially and reallocating resources to focus on more strategic tasks. Incorporating a more automated and scientific aspect to these assignments gives Watts Water Technologies a competitive advantage, improving accuracy and reducing time spent generating reports.
An additional benefit of this unique implementation is that it provides their regional managers with the ability to exploit their data in a very user friendly “point and click” interface. Able to service their own business requirements, the ease with which the managers can access information makes them self-sufficient and able to pull the data they need.
By utilizing TM1, Watts Water Technologies is capable of making more informed decisions, spotting trends and automatically recognizing areas where agents are excelling or may need additional assistance. With over a billion dollars in annual sales, the company is improving the process used to consolidate data. With the solution’s impressive success in the United States, Watts Water Technologies plans on deploying the software on a world-wide level.
Our sales organization was unsure as to what the best solution would be to address their sales reporting and budgeting requirements and through our partnership with Prolifics, we have been able to deliver a feature rich, easy to use, TM1 solution.”
— Kris Munson, Senior IT Project Manager, Watts Water Technologies