Hospital equipment supplier benefits from Qlik Sense analytics

Rudie Vermaak, Client Partner at Decision Inc.

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Decision Inc. has implemented the Qlik Sense next-generation analytics platform at Medical Innovations to enhance the data its sales team needs to drive growth while delivering more interactive reports.

About Medical Innovations

Medical Innovations was formed in 1988 and has subsequently become recognised as a supplier of quality hospital equipment, with innovative solutions to a broad range of customer demands both locally and internationally.

The company’s business model is based on a quality-oriented approach with core values that include patient safety, mutual trust and respect, and teamwork.

Its product categories include material handling, transport systems, consumables, theatre tables and accessories, and products for disinfecting.

The requirement

Medical Innovations was using an accounting software solution that delivered basic reporting, but did not account for the projected growth of the organisation.

“When I joined the organisation, we had to create a sales department and needed a solution that could provide us with the data analysis required to better understand our customers, our most effective products, and identify monthly trends. Reporting for inventory management using a timeous, spreadsheet-driven approach was not going to work. We needed something innovative that would be capable of delivering true business intelligence,” says Manus King, CEO of Medical Innovations.

The solution

Given his knowledge of the QlikView analytics solution at a previous organisation, King wanted to examine ways of introducing it at Medical Innovations. However, after meeting with Decision Inc. it was decided that the Qlik Sense next-generation analytics platform would be better suited to its business requirements.

“They demonstrated Qlik Sense that would provide us with a more flexible environment than QlikView. While it was initially difficult to get employees to embrace this new way of doing things, it became easier once they understood the value it would deliver,” says King.

In fact, Rudie Vermaak, Client Partner at Decision Inc., says such has been the acceptance of Qlik Sense at the organisation that Medical Innovations has become one of its most successful adopters in the Western Cape client base of Decision Inc.

The benefits

“Working directly with Manus has enabled us to deliver a more interactive reporting solution on their financial side that gives them better oversight of their sales. Previously, it took several days to create a report as the data had to be manually pulled from different systems. Now, with Qlik Sense, it is automated and can provide insights on stock levels on an hourly basis,” says Vermaak.

King says Qlik Sense has enabled the sales side of the business to grow.

“Thanks to the efficiency of the solution, the sales team does not have to guess on data but can use it to derive better insights than were previously possible. Even though the implementation is still in its early days, more people across the organisation are using it and are requesting specific enhancements based on their unique requirements,” says King.

Vermaak says a lot of work was done around change management to ensure employees trusted the system and could experience the benefits first-hand, especially around how data can be better analysed.

“The ongoing improvements we are doing to Qlik Sense ensures the solution stays relevant to the requirements of Medical Innovations. As the needs of the business change, so we adapt the solution, consistently delivering a user-friendly experience,” says Vermaak.