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Multinational Beauty Company
Project Management
SQL
SAP BW/4HANA
Business Objects
HANA AMDPs
An American multinational beauty company wanted to deliver considerable savings as part of its annual planning process. However, they had no common tool capable of reporting contribution margins. As a result, they required a partner who could provide a standardized tool using SAP HANA™ that would support the decision-making process at the SKU, brand, house, company, and regional level. This tool would provide detailed portfolio management, pricing strategies, productivity opportunities, and product reformulation. The key goals were:
- A standard set of formulas and financial allocation rules across all divisions
- Guaranteed accuracy of data aligned with corporate consolidation reporting
- Complex margin bridge calculations presented via an intuitive range of KPIs
- Allocation engine and SQL HANA views processing big data efficiently and faster pre-established performance benchmarks
- Analytical and visual dashboard-style reports
Oxford provided a small, but versatile team including a Solution Architect, Technical Architect, Lead Developer, and Project Manager. These professionals delivered an end-to-end technical solution and full project management support. By utilizing hands-on architects with strong techno-functional experience, we were able to create a self-sufficient delivery team. They were able to quickly address the various challenging requirements that surfaced during the project lifecycle. This approach allowed technical decisions to be considered and implemented very quickly in an Agile environment.
The project was split into three phases — each building on the success of the previous. The final solution delivered a suite of 14 reports providing detailed analysis by customer, SKU, and individual brands, all supported by graphical analysis.
The solution was built using SAP BW/4HANA™ SP7 backend, with reporting provided via Business Objects™ analysis. The project used HANA AMDPs in transformations and custom planning functions with a backdrop of ABAP for HANA to reap the benefits of greatly improved performance (both loading and runtime) and supportability of custom logic code. The solution was aligned with SAP best practices utilizing the latest BW/4HANA technologies including BPC embedded planning framework.
The project was delivered on-time and on-budget. The current solution forms the foundation for future business analysis and further enhancements as the overall business take-up increases. The tool now supports a harmonized and coordinated approach across the business when reviewing gross margins, profitability, SKU rationalization, and marketing value analysis.