Constant pressure from shareholders and upper management to improve the bottom line are driving factors to business leaders searching for new ways to be more effective and efficient. One of the many tools available to them is Enterprise Performance Management.
Broadly defined, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) is managing the profitability and performance of your business operations and results. It is typically a suite of software applications that help you:
- Create and manage plans across the business and/or business lines
- Track and analyze profits and expenses from plans
- Provide tools for end user queries and formal external and management reporting of results
- Streamline and manage certain close and planning processes
- Standardize key Master Data (e.g., Accounts, Customers, Suppliers, etc.) to facilitate comparative analysis and management
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Oracle Hyperion’s suite of Products provides multiple applications that do all of these things and more. The key for many organizations is selecting the right applications that they need to be successful.
The old adage is that “There is a right tool for every job”. The key is making sure you have the right tool and then know how to use it. As an example, I could probably pound a nail into a piece of wood with the flat side of a wrench, but I’d have better results if I used a hammer. However, do I need a claw hammer or a ball peen hammer? Does it really matter? The same principle applies to selecting the applications and solutions for your business needs. Sometimes you need the specialized hammer, other times, all you need is a hammer, it does not matter what type!
So how do you pick the right tools? The organization needs to identify, and prioritize, their needs. A U.S. based manufacturer on one ERP system, with 75,000 inventory items, 45,000 customers, and using only U.S. Dollar has distinctly different needs than a global service provider that has offices in 45 countries, deals in 40 different currencies and has multiple regulatory reporting requirements.
In my next post, we’ll go down the path of how to identify and prioritize the needs of your organization and then how to select the right tools.
