YASH developed multi-dimensional cubes that users could effortlessly access using Microsoft Reporting Services, Office web components, and Dundas OLAP controls.The Cost-effective solution improved alignment throughout the organization, as they could articulate strategies, set objectives, monitor performance, perform group analysis, and then make informed decisions that supported the overall business strategy.

1. Microsoft Business Intelligence
Success Story @ YASH
North American Distributor Deploys BI/DW Solution
to Improve Organizational Alignment
Quick Facts
Industry: Retail Objectives: Why YASH:
Geography: USA ▪▪ Develop a sophisticated solution ▪▪ Local partner with wholesale and
that integrates all data sources retail domain knowledge
The Client: and provides an accurate view ▪▪ DW/BI competency centers of
of the business excellence
The client is a leading distributor ▪▪ Leverage historic data to ▪▪ Microsoft certified consultants
of general merchandise to travel identify trends and proactively
Benefits:
centers throughout North America. It manage risks
produces and supplies over 8000 items ▪▪ Provide top management with ▪▪ Better organizational alignment
that include automotive accessories, a flexible reporting system that with business strategy
chemicals and additives, consumer displays a holistic and detailed ▪▪ Proper management of
electronics, novelty products, books, view of business performance performance against business goals
and videos. Commitment to customer
Solution: based on true data
satisfaction and efficient product ▪▪ Maintain competitive advantage
delivery has made them a market ▪▪ Robust system architecture with powerful business intelligence
leader since 1965. incorporating Microsoft SQL and data warehouse tools
Challenges and Opportunities: Server Analysis and Reporting
Services delivered using
▪▪ Field sales used an outdated SharePoint portal
database system to generate sales
Implementation Highlights:
data
▪▪ Reporting capabilities were limited ▪▪ Lean implementation team to
to preformatted documents and keep costs on track
lacked the flexibility of ad-hoc ▪▪ Created data mart for
reporting to drive business value development of multi-
▪▪ Existing preformatted reports could dimensional cubes
not accommodate large amounts of ▪▪ Shortened training and user
detailed data and decision makers acceptance durations as the
were not able to view complete or Microsoft platform provided a
most accurate information familiar user interface

2. “The new Microsoft Outdated Database System Created Inefficient Reports
platform has given us a
myriad of information The client’s sales personnel used MC9000 cellular devices to generate sales data
about our business at our from travel centers across North America. This information was fed into an HP
fingertips, and we are Mainframe transactional system and accessed using Open Database Connectivity
now able to realize our (ODBC), with reporting and analysis provided by Microsoft SQL Server. Because
system’s potential. YASH of the legacy nature of the HP Mainframe system, it did not serve as a functional
provided us with improved Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), and the data was primarily
data integration and real- kept in flat files without any referential integrity. This outdated database system
time visibility that has could only provide pre-formatted reports without any analytical or drill-down
made an enormous capabilities, resulting in a lack of flexibility and value to the company. The
positive impact on our client needed to generate sophisticated, ad-hoc reports for sales, finance, and
business processes inventory management that included:
and our profit margins.”
▪▪ Sales and Margins ▪▪ Inventory Accuracy
- CIO
▪▪ Open Orders ▪▪ Gross--Net Purchases
▪▪ Month End Door Analysis ▪▪ Returns—Scrap Analysis
▪▪ Cash Collections
The existing reporting process with the ODBC was very time-intensive to use,
and the pre-formatted reports could not analyze large amounts of detailed
data. The client’s primary objective was to have a flexible reporting system that
would help the top management analyze the business on a periodical basis. At
the same time, the client wanted to make analytical data readily available and
understandable for their employees, so that they could make future decisions
based on past trends that would improve performance and support the overall
business strategy.
YASH Revamped Existing Environment with Comprehensive and
Powerful Microsoft Solution
YASH Technologies was chosen as their strategic partner for YASH’s in-depth
Microsoft experience and rapid deployment methodologies.
In order to allow the client to combine data from a wide variety of sources
and see an integrated, up-to-date view of their business, YASH recommended
and designed a new system architecture using Microsoft SQL Server Analysis
Services and Reporting Services. This provided the most cost-effective solution
as it included an RDBMS without the need to purchase additional licenses for
the individual products. The new RDBMS would store data in the form of related
tables and provide powerful features that would require few assumptions about
how data was related or how it would be extracted. As a result, the same database
could be viewed in many different ways, creating flexible, ad-hoc reports.
The core of the solution included the traditional functionality of query, reporting
and analysis, which was complimented by data quality and integration to
accurately and consistently consolidate data from multiple sources. Dashboards
and other visualization techniques would help users quickly understand results by
displaying performance metrics and allowing users to drill down from the visual
image to view the underlying detail. The advanced analysis functionality included
On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) that would allow users to query, browse, and
summarize information in a very efficient, interactive and dynamic way. OLAP,
a vital component of both business intelligence and data mining, would allow
users to reveal trends and structures in data sets. Using sophisticated statistical
techniques to find relationships that are hidden and not obvious, the client could
use this solution to identify future trends to stay competitive in the marketplace.

3. Technology Components As part of the data warehousing and OLAP solution, a fully functional Data Mart
was designed and developed based on dimensional modeling. YASH developed
▪▪ Microsoft Windows
multi-dimensional cubes that users could effortlessly access using Microsoft
Server 2003
Reporting Services, Office web components, and Dundas OLAP controls. This
▪▪ Mirosoft SQL Server 2005 provided the client with unprecedented reporting functionalities that included:
▪▪ Microsoft SQL Server
2005 Analysis Services
▪▪ Slice: Allows the company to select one dimension and focus on a portion of
the cube
▪▪ SQL Server 2005
Reporting Services ▪▪ Dice: Creates a sub-cube by focusing on two or more dimensions
▪▪ Microsoft SQL Server ▪▪ Roll-up: Allows users to move to the higher aggregation level
2005 Integration Services
▪▪ SharePoint and ▪▪ Drill-down: Permits business users to see results at a higher level and then
Performance Point move down the hierarchy of aggregation, apply a more detailed grouping
Services
Since the client was already using Microsoft SharePoint 2010 as their portal
▪▪ ASP .Net 2.0 platform, it was decided to deliver the reports and dashboards for the end users
▪▪ Dundas OLAP controls using SharePoint Performance Point Services. These enabled the client to easily
produce and share dynamic reports, KPIs, and data in a security-enhanced,
managed web environment with employees, customers and vendors.
Streamlined Reporting Created Strong Foundation for Growth
The successful implementation provided a rapid Return-on-Investment (ROI)
for the client. The cost-effective solution improved alignment throughout
the organization, as they could articulate strategies, set objectives, monitor
performance, perform group analysis, and then make informed decisions that
supported the overall business strategy. The sophisticated analysis and reporting
that YASH delivered with Microsoft’s rich scorecard functionality, supported by
reports, charts, and graphs, meant employees could readily track KPIs against key
business goals. Understanding and analyzing the relationships between KPIs and
corporate objectives meant the client gained a comprehensive view of how their
business was performing currently, so that minor problems could be identified
early on and corrective action quickly taken.
By using business intelligence against both organizational operating systems and
data warehouses, the client could now improve its daily operations and compare
current results with historic values to identify trends and head off problems before
they became more serious. The Microsoft platform, particularly SharePoint,
provided users a more intuitive and familiar interface than the previous complex
and outdated Mainframe system. Employees were able to communicate results
visually with charts, graphs, and maps, leading to a high adoption rate. Role-
based access to critical information resulted in trouble-free access to data from
multiple locations, publishable in different formats.
The company quickly saw the benefits of leveraging technology to enhance
business performance. They are now armed with powerful tools to bolster their
competitive advantage. With visibility into their business, the client is now
poised to execute new growth strategies to carry them through the next 50 years
of business.

4. About YASH Technologies
YASH Technologies focuses on customer success. As a leading technology services
and outsourcing partner for medium and large global customers, we leverage
technology and our flexible delivery models to drive performance and business
value throughout a customer’s enterprise. YASH’s comprehensive service approach
incorporates a holistic view of our customers that extends beyond delivery.
This approach integrates enterprise solutions and services, proprietary best
practice offerings, strategic application and maintenance outsourcing, as well
as consulting and integration services. YASH is a SEI CMMI (Level 3) and an ISO
9001:2008 certified company with U.S. and India headquarters and regional sales
and development offices spread across three continents. YASH is also part of a
select group of companies that are SAP - certified global providers of application
management services.
For more information, please visit www.yash.com or email info@yash.com
YASH Technologies www.yash.com/contactus
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