July, 2007

APOS BI Tools Suite

Custom Development for Unique Requirements

To request a demo download version, please visit here.

Join us for one of these webcasts covering an overview of the APOS BI Tools suite for the BusinessObjects XI platform.

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Case Study - Toyota Canada Inc., Toronto *Cool customer

"My overall experience with APOS Systems was outstanding! They are the best software company that I have ever dealt with.” . . . Kent Yau, Business Analyst, Toyota Canada Inc.

APOS BI Tools Used:
Bursting Manager, InfoScheduler, Report Package Booster for Business Objects XI R2.

Background:
Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, and Toyota lift trucks. Toyota Canada’s head office is in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax.

Challenge:
In their efforts to put customers first and make things better, TCI initiated a plan in 2005 to restructure their finance and accounting departments as well as refurbish their business intelligence system. They were creating 200 different reports that were sent to over 1000 end users. These reports dissect the business by product line, expenses, accounts etc. The dealers and managers required unique information pertaining to their business interest. Although the Business Intelligence system was updated and working well, the end users didn’t see the added value of the upgrades because they were not getting the information that they wanted in a timely manner. In order to get the information in the hands of the end users, someone would have to create individual report packages for each customer. Doing this manually was a long process that was untimely. Toyota was looking for a way to deliver the customized reports to all of the end users more efficiently. Toyota contacted APOS Systems to ‘Make things better’.

Solution:
Toyota’s goal was to make their business intelligence solution more proficient without adding a technical person to the accounting department. “The APOS BI Tools filled the gaps between BusinessObjects Enterprise capabilities and our customer’s requirements. They either added missing functionality to the enterprise system or made the available functions more efficient to use,” stated Kent Yau, Business Analyst, Toyota Canada Inc.

Before purchasing any APOS tools, TCI utilized the product evaluations for each tool of interest. This gave them the opportunity to test the products, show them to the end users and ensure that they were exactly what they wanted. The APOS BI Tools made it possible for TCI to overcome their challenges. They are now able to get the information to their customers in a timely and efficient way.

The APOS Bursting Manager tool streamlined the process of creating and distributing customized reports to each of the Toyota dealers across Canada. The report recipients no longer have to flip through a 200 page report for the information that is important to their area or product lines.

Without the APOS InfoScheduler tool, the end user would have to go into each report to schedule it. Now, they have a spreadsheet that enables them to hit schedule and run whichever reports they want.

Report Package Booster makes it effortless to put together a customized report package for each manager or distributor. This tool eliminates the need for an individual to manually create each report in a pdf format.

With the implementation of the APOS BI Tools, Toyota is quickly realizing the Return on Investment. “The APOS products are very economical to begin with. Payback time – is less than a year. When I showed management the payback figures they couldn’t believe there were such tools. I am saving one head count a month on distributing and administration functionalities,” claimed Kent. “The APOS BI Tools are saving us 150 hours per month…and there was no disruption to the business process with the implementation,” Kent continued.

Why APOS?
“APOS is the greatest company in supporting their product. I always got a timely and knowledgeable response. Actually, APOS Support would pursue me to follow up with concerns…not the other way around.” Kent proclaimed.

APOS BI Tools Suite *Extend BusinessObjects XI and Crystal Enterprise

One of our challenges is keeping our customers and colleagues current on the APOS BI Tools suite as it grows. Visit here to request demo download instructions and our current price list.

Instance Administration and Scheduling . . .

InfoScheduler - power batch scheduling from Microsoft Excel

Instance Manager - administrator power tool for managing instances

Archive Manager - report instance archiving, with restore capability!

Instance Monitor - email notification of failed instances

System Management and Monitoring . . .

Object Manager - report promotion, object management, security maintenance

Extending the Platform . . .

Integration Kits . . .

Integration Kit for ESRI - two-way integration between Business Objects and ESRI GIS

Custom Development for Unique Requirements

If you have a unique reporting system requirement, let us know. We love to work on special projects and regularly save our customers a lot of time and money by using APOS BI Tools as a fast-track foundation for a specific customized solution.