IBM Cognos Customer References DHL

1. Case Study
DHL Global Forwarding stays on time with
an IBM Cognos TM1 system
Overview
 Challenge
• Enable DHL Global Forwarding’s finance
organization to create reliable budgets
and forecasts using sophisticated
applications, with no need for
programming or traditional IT skills
 Why IBM?
• The IBM® Cognos® solution was the best
for overall functionality and delivering
business benefits, including highly
intuitive analysis and reporting, and the
ability to rapidly change models
 Solution
• The IBM Cognos TM1 system provides
unmatched real-time insight into DHL Global Forwarding, part of DHL “ For our financial
complex financials, so that finance Worldwide, remains the global market
managers – including the controller – analysis and everything
leader in both air and ocean freight.
can access important and fast-changing The company continues to provide a
we do, IBM Cognos TM1
business data when they need it most range of transportation and logistic is very critical, and it’s
 Key Benefits services, including its strengthened irreplaceable at this
• A highly reliable system with minimal US Domestic Heavy Weight service, point.”
maintenance needed; easy-to-read to meet customers’ current and future
Anand Saxena, Financial Reporting
reports; increased access to data from logistic needs. (FIRE), DHL Global Forwarding
multiple sources; speedy downloads -
100,000 records in less than 90 DHL is the global market leader of the
seconds; rapid re-forecasting capability international express and logistics
to accommodate market changes; ability industry, specializing in providing
to create worldwide budgets remotely, innovative and customized solutions
reducing staff travel expenses from a single source. The company

2. offers expertise in express, air and Reporting (FIRE) at DHL Global with the solution even at cell level, which
ocean freight, overland transport, Forwarding. “The same reports that enables concurrent use without the
contract logistic solutions and would come out on the tenth working day threat of data getting overwritten by
international mail services, combined of the month now need to be available by multiple users in the same application.
with worldwide coverage and an the third or fourth working day.” This makes it very easy to manage
in-depth understanding of local access, and there is data integrity at
markets. DHL’s international network A paramount concern for DHL was all times. These features allow DHL’s
links more than 220 countries and being able to access reliable data financial organization to focus on
territories worldwide. Some 300,000 despite change. For example, over the process improvements as much as
employees worldwide are dedicated past eight years, DHL has acquired possible, and as a result, its financial
to providing fast and reliable services five significantly sized companies, analytics have become more efficient.
that exceed customers’ expectations. which resulted in major changes in
Founded in San Francisco in 1969, the accounting system, among other Strategy Followed
DHL is a Deutsche Post DHL brand, areas. Despite that, it still has historical DHL evaluated numerous financial
which is the world’s leading provider of data in its system, and through all that analytics solutions from several
logistics services. The group generated change, some areas have been altered competing vendors before ultimately
revenues of more than 50 billion Euros considerably, including accounting selecting IBM Cognos TM1. The overall
(more than $70 billion) in 2008. codes changing from five to 38 digits. functionality, including the system’s
ability to provide highly intuitive analysis
Challenges Faced “We have retained all of our information and reporting, and its comprehensive
DHL Global Forwarding needed to and all its gory detail,” Saxena adds. security and audit trails, was
access its data in a quicker and more “So, if anybody still wants to know how significantly better than any of the other
structured manner so that finance and much we spent on say, warehouse products evaluated.
operational managers could make employee salaries in Milwaukee, in Air
better-informed budgetary decisions Export in January 2002, they can go in From an IT environment perspective,
and do forecasting. Since it does and dig right in to get it.” DHL operates on Microsoft® Windows®,
business in an industry in which data is and uses Oracle® and IBM AS/400® for
always changing, and running the most Another priority was security. Like its accounting and business operations.
efficient operations depends on the thousands of other companies, DHL DHL went live with the current version
most updated data, DHL must be agile. needs to pass quarterly security audits. of IBM Cognos TM1 in 2006, after it had
The need for reliable, accurate up-to- As part of the audit, all the security completed its fifth acquisition. It took
the-minute data is constant, and without facets of the applications at the DHL less than six weeks to provide a detailed
it, finance directors are operating at a IT center are audited to make sure all and consolidated financial report of
disadvantage. pertinent regulations are followed. the acquisition – including accurate
This entails a lengthy questionnaire reporting of the key performance
“The biggest change from eight years disclosing who has access to the indicators (KPIs) – after data had
ago is just how much emphasis we put system, and how access is determined. been incorporated from the acquired
into accessing information faster and Because IBM Cognos TM1 is self- company. According to Saxena, DHL
faster,” says Anand Saxena, Financial contained, DHL can implement security
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3. has had such wide success and strong Arizona in as little as 90 seconds. DHL DHL’s use of IBM Cognos TM1 is
results that it will soon upgrade to the uses monthly reporting of the figures paving the way for users to have better
newest version of IBM Cognos TM1. at all levels, down to the smallest experiences. Rather than running
reporting unit, which is considered a queries in the IBM AS/400 system,
While there are many new features and station. The organization can also use which has a DOS interface, users
functionalities within each upgrade, this data for measuring KPIs. can look at the same data easily in
DHL made special use of the turbo IBM Cognos TM1 and prepare their
integrator function, which improved “IBM Cognos TM1 fills a very particular templates ahead of time, then just
stability in importing data from files. The role in the company and does it really update them with the new numbers
overarching goal – that the company well,” Saxena adds. According to when needed. And as for administrative
continues to meet or exceed – is to Saxena, the solution has also helped requirements, IBM Cognos TM1 calls for
provide decision-makers with the most DHL avoid costly travel expenses almost no upkeep. Saxena reports that
reliable, up-to-date budget information that it used to incur when a dozen he spends roughly four hours per year
possible. department heads met in one city for on technical upkeep and administration,
day-long budget sessions. In doing or approximately one hour each quarter.
Benefits Realized its 2009 fiscal year budget, DHL was That very limited amount of maintenance
Approximately 55 licensed users able to accomplish the same goals enables Saxena and others to focus
across North America access IBM by conference calls instead, because more on strategic analysis, reporting
Cognos TM1 practically every day every stakeholder had access to the and budgeting functions that can
for forecasting and budgeting data same data at the same time. What’s enhance the bottom line.
from the entire global organization. more, as the slowing economy is
Everything from quarterly forecasts to forcing budget revisions, DHL is Saxena notes that every time DHL has
annual budgets is being created within making these changes on-the-fly, and made one of their five acquisitions, the
the IBM Cognos TM1 environment. All with great ease. The more streamlined company has decided to continue using
users have their own templates that approach to budgeting has enabled the intuitive IBM Cognos TM1 solution
they can update directly from IBM DHL to react faster to challenging because of its superior analytical
Cognos TM1 at their convenience, and business conditions. capabilities and ease of use, when
the sales organization also uses data compared with what other organizations
generated from reports. Non-technical “IBM Cognos TM1 is flexible enough were using prior to the acquisition. In
users are able to use the easy, intuitive that it’s very friendly in accepting data,” one case, he notes, several people were
solution with no snarls. The company’s Saxena says. “It’s easy to change doing tasks now handled by one person
data from its accounting system in and it’s easy to adapt it to changing with IBM Cognos TM1.
Prague is updated on an hourly basis conditions. You can change models 20
so finance can have a consolidated times if you need to, and do it rapidly.” “IBM Cognos TM1 is a very versatile
view of the company’s performance. application – it’s easy to test and it’s
Because of the IBM Cognos TM1 easy to change and switch things
speed, 100,000 updated records are around,” Saxena adds. “It just makes
consolidated and available for view business easier.”
from the IBM Cognos TM1 server in
3

4. About IBM Cognos BI
and Performance Management
IBM Cognos business intelligence (BI)
and performance management solutions
deliver world-leading enterprise planning,
consolidation and BI software, support
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and services to help companies plan,
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operational performance. IBM Cognos
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August 2009
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