WebFOCUS business intelligence software brings 250% ROI

ICL has experienced a 250% return on investment (ROI) with the implementation of Information Builders` WebFOCUS business intelligence software to initially manage and report on sales productivity. The system will soon be extended to provide financial reporting for the company`s Baan and Oracle systems.

ICL MD Elvin de Kock said one of the main areas of concern was managing the sales process. "We use Siebel as a sales management tool, but the information was not always available in the required format. We deployed WebFOCUS as a business intelligence solution to provide reports structured exactly to our requirements. Within days we had a key management information solution that fully met our needs."

Siebel is being used as a sales tracking/forecasting system allowing salespeople to input and manage their sales forecasting information.

"WebFOCUS has enabled us to cut down from 180 to around 20, the average days from date of initial order to invoicing," he explained.

This has effectively reduced "pre-debtors" days and therefore dramatically improved cash flow. "This alone has more than paid for the system and provided us with a ROI of over 250% within six months of implementation. In addition, 150 unqualified deals were followed up and reduced to 13 within only three months. This allowed us to focus our resources where they would best be utilised to bring in additional revenue.

"In many instances, management have specified and created their own reports, and during weekly meetings, WebFOCUS is used to analyse business opportunities, based on live information.

"The benefit," said De Kock, "is that our sales teams can now update Siebel with confidence, knowing that management are able to make decisions based on current, accurate information."

ICL has extended the system to include service level agreements as well as tracking customer service calls. "Sales staff can now access information on a specific customer before visiting their site to ascertain whether there are any outstanding issues. This prepares them beforehand, contributing to a much higher level of customer service."

ICL Business Assurance Manager Des Lynch said WebFOCUS provides a software dashboard that enables management to determine within seconds the overall status of the sales environment. "The dashboard provides information such as the sales status, bankable business and sales closing rates. It also provides information as to the progress of the sales cycle," he explained.

"Following its first year in use, ICL presented the system for an ISO audit based on the new ISO 9001:2000 standard. This recently launched standard focuses strongly on business processes. The system has also been audited by the British Standards Institute [BSI], the British equivalent to the South African Bureau of Standards [SABS], adding to ICL`s overall adherence to tight management controls," he noted.

Assessors John Wright and Alan Clapson concluded that the review results show that ICL`s business has improved significantly from last year. ICL is benefiting from reports and the associated business systems now in place. "The dashboard approach is assisting management in highlighting key issues within the business, and the communication of strategy, objectives and decisions have also been improved," they added.

ICL Business Intelligence marketing manager Tony Cross said the experience gained through the use of WebFOCUS has attracted much interest from customers and prospects.

"Receiving this latest ISO accreditation has proven the power of WebFOCUS in a real-world environment, showing it is not only a reporting tool but a powerful strategic management tool as well."