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Delivering BI at ProLogis,Delivering BI at ProLogis,a leading provider of distribution facilities a leading provider of distribution facilities and services:and services:A case studyA case study
Andrew HoughtonVice President & Business Process ManagerIDC, 29th June 2005
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AgendaAgenda
About ProLogis Origins of the Project Setting the Scope Initial Screening Final Product Selection Developing an Internal Investment
Proposal Selling the Concept Internally Obstacles Encountered and Solutions Summary and Conclusions
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About ProLogisAbout ProLogis
Worlds largest developer and manager of industrial real estate
1,970 facilities throughout North America, Europe, Japan and China.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado Founded 1991 Went public in 1994 (NYSE, PLD). S&P 500 since July 2003 International operations in Europe 1997; Japan
2001; China 2003. 5 million m² of distribution space in Europe 22 million m² distribution space in the US and
Asia.
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Origins of the ProjectOrigins of the Project
Large investment in ERP, but business information inaccessible and hard to analyze
Labour intensive reporting model• Existing reporting processes not scalable
Growing appreciation of the need for more timely and ‘decision-centric’ information
No single version of the truth• Different versions of same data point stored in multiple
systems Increased business complexity
• Major acquisitions, new markets, new finance sources• Greater pressure on management: SarbOx etc.
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Setting the ScopeSetting the Scope
Two types of Scope• Tool selection – scope fixed relatively early on• Delivered content – iterative
Providing a toolset rather than a fixed suite of reports Management need to see something to understand the
system’s potential
Requirements Gathering• Interviews with information consumers: end users and
analysts Vision Statement Decision driven by both technical and functional
criteria
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The VisionThe Vision
Supports strategic plan for scalable growth Key Deliverables
• Executive dashboard• Analytical and reporting toolset
Self-service Dynamic/interactive reporting Common data, personalised views Blends data from disparate sources
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Initial ScreeningInitial Screening
Initially cast a wide net• Both technically and functionally• Visited 2004 IDC BI conference
Supplied vendors with Vision Statement and sample data
Product Demonstrations from ‘long-list’• ProLogis data – not standard demo data• High end-user participation
Indicative Pricing Short-list of 2
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Final Product SelectionFinal Product Selection
Intensive 2-3 day workshop with each short-listed vendor
Very ‘hands-on’ involving analysts working with prototype data warehouse• Effectively represented a ‘Proof of Concept’• Informal debrief and formal evaluation by attendees• Formal RFP to vendors
Final decision based on RFP responses and..• Workshop feedback / technical opinion from IT / price
ProClarity selected
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Developing an Internal Investment Developing an Internal Investment ProposalProposal
ProLogis requires formal investment proposal be signed off• Business justification; brief description; budget
summary; project plan/timeline
Canvass and secure senior management buy-in
Provides unequivocal proof of management support
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Selling the Concept InternallySelling the Concept Internally
Engage people at every level• Senior managers; middle managers; analysts;
IT people Intensive internal sale
• No prior BI investment, therefore steep ‘learning curve’ for many managers
A lot of internal presentations • Workshop output illustrated concepts and
provided ‘shop window’ for deliverables Lots of Q&A Ongoing throughout the process
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Obstacles Encountered and SolutionsObstacles Encountered and Solutions
Dealing with Divergent Expectations: BI means different things to different people• Identify, agree and prioritise deliverables early on...• ...But! Construct a flexible platform with future options in mind• Vision Statement and internal selling to reinforce scope
‘Territoriality’ within the IT department• BI project configured around a Data warehouse challenged our
platform/applications-based IT organization• Cross disciplinary project: business led, but with strong IT input• Positioning BI as supplementing rather than replacing existing
systems• Senior management sponsorship effective here
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Obstacles Encountered and SolutionsObstacles Encountered and Solutions
Resistance from ‘reporting traditionalists’• Support for system stronger amongst general managers than
accounting/reporting specialists• Discomfort with the ‘warts and all’ approach implicit in strategy• Gradual transition rather than overnight change: the ‘Market
place of ideas’ Data Quality
• Transparency of BI system highlights errors and inconsistencies in data
• Credibility of the system demands that BI accurately reflects underlying data sources
• ...but, need to distinguish BI issues from business process issues
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Benefits so farBenefits so far
Still in process of implementing core BI functionality
BI lends clarity to data quality issues BI has brought data warehousing with it
with spin-off benefits beyond BI High level of expectation and anticipation
among management• Main management reporting book currently
available 3-4 weeks after month end• BI will reduce this to days/hours
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Summary and ConclusionsSummary and Conclusions
BI can be a transformative technology, and thereby can implicitly challenge certain interest groups within the organization• Explicit Executive Sponsorship is vital• Continuous internal selling/communication• Project leadership needs to come from the business, not IT
Formulate a ‘vision’ for the project early on• Establishes achievable goals, restrains ‘scope creep’• Clarifies priorities with management
...but, also build a platform and tool set for the future• Technologically agile• Adaptable to evolving reporting paradigms• Adaptable to changes in the business model