It started out as a practical solution for financial consolidation. Now, All Tape Supplies uses the reports and dashboards from Alistar’s Analytics4Business One throughout the company. “What do we use Analytics4Business One for? You’d be better off asking what we don’t use the tool for!”
All Tape Supplies manufactures self-adhesive tapes for professional, primarily industrial, applications. Each year, ATS produces and ships seven to eight million square meters of tape to customers around the world. “We set ourselves apart through speed and flexibility,” says co-founder and COO Felipe Muñoz. ”We can deliver any type of tape anywhere in the world within a few days.” That flexibility is thanks to SAP Business One. By investing in processes based on best practices and a world-class ERP solution, All Tape Supplies has operated at a high level from day one. ATS now uses the latest version of the software: SAP Business One, version for SAP HANA. Thanks to HANA, SAP’s in-memory database platform, the solution can seamlessly process large volumes of data at lightning speed
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Felipe Muñoz: “Unfortunately, SAP Business One isn’t particularly strong when it comes to generating reports. You have to jump through all kinds of hoops to see what you want to see. For example, consolidating the figures from our three entities took me an enormous amount of work. During meetings with the accountant, I had three stacks of paper in front of me.”
Our average margin has now become a recurring topic of conversation every day.
Felipe Muñoz, COO of All Tape Supplies
With Analytics4Business One, Ensior offered an elegant solution to this challenge. Analytics4Business One is a turnkey BI environment based on Microsoft BI. The solution integrates seamlessly with SAP Business One and provides in-depth insights and analyses in no time. “The solution was implemented within a few weeks. Then, with the push of a button, I was able to complete our entire financial consolidation. That was included as standard in the solution. And that was just the beginning. In one fell swoop, I had access—even on my mobile device—to all the insights I needed to manage my business.”
Managing Based on KPIs
Muñoz wanted to make the most of the solution’s capabilities. Since its implementation, he has been continuously rolling out new dashboards throughout his company. Production, for example, is monitored in real time. Production workers can see on screens what percentage of the required daily production they’ve already completed. “That’s a great motivator,” he laughs. Managing based on KPIs has also become much easier. “Our average margin has now become a daily topic of discussion. I can immediately see how we’re doing, including how we compare to last month or last year.” One of the most important applications is creating liquidity forecasts for foreign currencies. “Calculating our risks using Excel used to take me an enormous amount of time. Now I have a clear view of our liquidity at any given moment and can immediately hedge against any currency risks.”
Anything is possible
Muñoz highly values Alistar’s work. “They’re incredibly knowledgeable people. They’ll never say something can’t be done. Anything is possible.” When it comes to the added value of Analytics4Business One for his business, Muñoz is succinct: “This solution now contributes to every aspect of our operations. The software gives us all the insights we need to steer the business. And the tool helps me motivate my people. You can find Analytics4Business One throughout our entire company.”
