SPSS - Customers

Contrans

Situation

Contrans has ten divisions, each operated independently, and each using its own business model and metrics.

Challenge

Accessing data, generating reports and distributing them to company offices in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, had become a slow, labor-intensive process that taxed IT resources without meeting the needs of internal customers — managers and executives — for timely, accurate information. "Our companies offer a wide variety of services and each of them faces different business conditions, so they tend to use different methods to analyze performance," explains Larry Edney, Contrans project manager. "For example, our tank and bulk businesses are very much weight/volume oriented, and tend to do analysis on a per-ton basis. The van and flatbed operations, though, are more mileage oriented, and tend to analyze their businesses on a cost-per-mile basis. These differences made data analysis cumbersome, as it was hard to create one set of standard reports that suited all companies."

Solution

Contrans implemented an enterprise-wide business intelligence (BI) solution from SPSS that could capture detailed, real-time information, and translate it into a usable data model that end-users could access from their desktops.

Once salepeople and managers see how fast this solution can deliver the information they need, in the format they want, they make it part of their routine.
Larry Edney, Project Manager, Contrans

Results

By using their SPSS solution, Contrans now:

Supplies management with desktop access to real-time operational and sales information, almost instantaneously
Reduces the time spent by the IT department on report generation and allows them to focus instead on initiatives that contribute to overall company growth
Enables the company's sales force to save hundreds of man-hours per year by enabling them to generate customized reports quickly
Allows employees to access and interpret specific sales and operational data faster than ever before

Contrans already had a number of ShowCase Query and Report Writer licenses when, in 1999, Edney decided to attend an SPSS user conference, COMPASS. There, he learned about the capabilities of other SPSS solutions.

As a result, Contrans chose to add Warehouse Builder, with Analyzer as a front-end for viewing information, and Enterprise Reporting for report delivery. Factors that influenced the company's decision were the solution's speed, functionality and flexibility of information delivery, as well its compatibility with Contrans' current iSeries™™(AS/400®) computing platform.

The new solution is rapidly winning rave reviews from Contrans users. "Once salespeople and managers see how fast this solution can deliver the information they need, in the format they want, they make it part of their routine," says Edney.

Additional applications

Currently, the company has approximately 40 installed users in eight locations. They use the software primarily to monitor sales revenue and day-to-day operations. Edney says that he expects to add 40 to 50 more users, and expand the solution's use to other areas of the business, including accounting, financials and vehicle maintenance.

SPSS solutions have transformed Contrans' information access. As a result, executives have immediate access to the information they need to make proactive business decisions, and IT staff, instead of being burdened with generating reports, can now turn their attention to more strategic initiatives.