Applix, the provider of business analytics software has been selected by Johnson Matthey, a speciality chemicals company, who has upgraded its use of Applix Executive Viewer (EV) from a simple financial planning tool to an integrated system of operational reporting and analysis.
Johnson Matthey has expanded its EV application to cope with increasing volumes of statistical data needing manipulation and to support increased trend analyses. Approximately 150 employees now use Applix EV, principally as a query tool, to explain patterns and changes in sale volumes. Originally deployed in 2000, Johnson Matthey first focused EV on a single server. Over time, the company has evolved use of the solution, extending it into many divisions across the corporation.
Before adopting EV, Johnson Matthey had to contend with multiple and incompatible Excel spreadsheets with disparate data from UK and US sites. This data was only analysed on a fortnightly or monthly basis. With EV, analysis has now become a daily activity, and, due to the simplicity of the interface, any individual user throughout the company can easily make sense of complex data rather than seeking assistance from the IT department.
Tony Whitby, IT Manager at Johnson Matthey, explains, "We require daily analysis of our precious metal commodity information, in order to rapidly identify variations in metal accounts. These regular breakdowns are critical for the business to quickly and effectively identify and explain movements in metal as well as to track daily changes in our metal positions. In addition, Johnson Matthey use Applix EV in other areas as a tracking system to monitor sales and turnover, fundamental in helping us make informed business decisions."
Johnson Matthey recognised that it is vital to have a system in place that can respond to the changing nature of the business. As the company has evolved, EV has been able to adapt with it. For example, in one division, Johnson Matthey maintains information on a large number of customers, each with individual sets of data requiring analysis across potentially 15 – 20,000 products. It has been vital to have an application that manages this data effectively and rapidly, yet is easy enough for the users to develop their own reports and drill into the customer and product details.
Martin Richmond-Coggan, vice president of EMEA, Applix, noted, "Johnson Matthey has undergone substantial changes in its operations in recent years, including divestitures and reorganizations. Despite these activities, Johnson Matthey's use of EV has remained stable, and even the new owners of Johnson Matthey's divested businesses have continued to use Applix EV. The interface fits so simply on top of the existing database that over the last seven years, it has been able to adapt and grow in line with the company, becoming a tool they could not do without."
The primary benefit of EV is to enable users to integrate and drill into data from multiple data sources and in a method they best see fit. In addition to EV's usability, further benefits highlighted by Whitby include reduced cost and rapid installation.
