IDIR
"Our Business Intelligence project was started to satisfy internal information requirements, but it is more ambitious: we want to make information available at the group level in order, for example, to create consolidated purchasing initiatives."
Maurizio Tramontano
IT manager of IDIR
IDIR is a specialist auto parts distributor in Southern Italy. The company has been a member of the I.D.I.A. – Independent Distributors Automotive Group – a national group in the sector, since 2000. Since 1996 it has had an eCommerce portal serving 500 of its 1,000 clients, which is used to exchange electronic invoices and display sales statistics.
Challenge
Complete availability of data
"We had already developed a system in house to analyse sales data, but we wanted something more: our objective was to make information available to our sales force over the internet, so that they could perform data analyses remotely at any time," says Maurizio Tramontano, IDIR’s IT manager. Thanks to Business Intelligence the 14 sales agents can now access all the data for their portfolio and perform all the necessary drill downs on the web from their laptop (or even with a Blackberry).
Sergio Monzeglio, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IDIR Spa
says "this way each agent has more knowledge about the
customer: they can display not just the product portfolio (with
details of individual orders), but also revenue, cost of sale and
therefore the margin, both in absolute and percentage terms for an
individual customer profile and a selected time period."
Approach
A project with European ambitions
Business intelligence solutions, initially developed to satisfy
commercial requirements, are being extended to all the company
functions. With further objectives: Maurizio Tramontano states "our
objective is to create a data warehouse at the group level to have all
the data consolidated to support group purchasing initiatives. Since
we are talking about a purchasing volume of about 125 million euros
a year, you can see how important it is to develop these sorts of
policies: we are able to make in depth analyses and get even better
terms from the suppliers." The I.D.I.A group has also become part of
the Temot International Autoparts group, a European leader in the aftermarket.
Choosing BusinessObjects: The value of the partner
IDIR chose BusinessObjects Edge, the solution for medium sized
businesses. 
Maurizio Tramontano explains "I had been interested in
BusinessObjects for some time, but the decision came when I found a
competent BusinessObjects supplier who could transfer the potential of a
sure market leader platform into our reality." The partner’s capacity to
present the product competently and to offer solutions to specific
requirements is considered important in the choice. But costs cannot be
overlooked either. "The possibility of having a 25 user package at reasonable cost, with
commercial reports and dashboards for the top management is obviously workable."
Results
Requirements of medium size companies
Care is required when dealing with the medium size company market. The product has to be
adaptable to the various types of commodities. 
The supplier also has to have a flexible
approach: "Unlike large companies, projects have fewer licenses” Pasquale Testa of Nettuno
Solutions, the supplier company explains. Remember that margins are
reduced compared with a larger sales force: we have to show that a
complex and flexible product can be accessible to medium sized
businesses."
Medium sized businesses have the advantage of direct and faster access to top management; but they do not have much in terms of IT resources. They therefore need a supplier to be present on the ground and in whom they can rely in case of need. Pasquale Testa explains "it is very important to reassure the client and Business Objects is a great help with this. In this way the company is pleased to have chosen a reliable supplier and a leading company which will not let it down."
A survey conducted by Nettuno Solutions showed that many companies are not aware of how
Business Intelligence is also accessible for their company. Pasquale
Testa says "there is a need for SMEs to be trained and informed about
the fact that access to business intelligence methodologies is no longer
the exclusive prerogative of large companies, but is also an opportunity
that they can grasp."
Quick Facts
- About IDIR:
I.DI.R. Spa is an established company in the auto parts distribution business. It currently has about 1,000 active clients in Campania, Calabria, Molise and the province of Potenza. ISO 9001:2000 certified with a turnover of 25 million euros, it occupies 60 premises. Most clients have been handled through the eCommerce portal for over ten years. - Why Business Objects?:
IDIR Spa chose BusinessObjects Edge Standard to make data analysis and statistics of sales data remotely available to the sales force. At the end of the first phase for the commercial sector the solution will be implemented for the other company functions in order to extend it to the whole national group of which it is a member. - Business Objects Products and Services:
- BusinessObjects Edge Series, BusinessObjects Edge Standard Edition