Analytics-Based Performance Management

BACKGROUND

Can you please provide a brief description of your company?

I work for a credit union in Ontario, Canada. We are the largest credit union in Ontario, and the fourth largest in Canada. The organization has had a lot of recent growth so we need a better understanding of cost and profitability.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the Manager of the performance management group

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company’s goals for this project?

Gary[owner of Analytics-Based Performance Management] created a profitability model to provide a better understanding of the reasons for certain costs and to track where all the costs were originating from. My group needs tools to create an activity based model.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Analytics Based Performance Management?

I received a referral from former colleague who has since moved on. Gary has experience and a thorough understanding of analytics and performance management. His ability to tap into other resources is great. He used a lot of other resources on this project for advice.

What was Analytics-Based Performance Management’s role in the project?

Their role was to set up the model and provide a lot of advice and training on which platforms to use. They are the experts in the field and SAS. We will not necessarily use SAS though. That decision will be made by our team in the future.

What technologies will be used?

We are still working on the project but I know that our team is thinking about SAS and some other major and smaller players. The ability to dynamically model the organization and give insights makes all of these platforms attractive.

Can you please provide a sense of the initiative in dollar terms?

The project cost including consulting and software costs will be between $100,000 and $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What are the results of the project? Do you have any stats or metrics to track improvement?

The project is ongoing but has moved very quickly so far. I think it will be wrapped up successfully because of the help and expertise of Analytics-Based Performance Management. They will help us finish the project in a few months compared to eighteen months that some organizations need.

How did Analytics-Based Performance Management perform?

Their performance has been great, his advice has lead to a lot of quick progress. He has saved us time and money.

When working with Analytics-Based Performance Management, what is unique or special about them compared to other vendors?

Their team is straight forward, they tell you the truth even if it is hard to hear. They want everything to wrap up cleanly.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or you would do differently?

No improvements are needed because they performed well in all ways. I have nothing to suggest.

BACKGROUND

Can you please provide a brief description ofyour organization?

We’re a large international financial institution.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I work in the office of budget.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were the organization’s overall goals for using his advisory services?

He did it on a pro bono basis.We met with the panel a couple of times. Gary gave us some broad guidance on where we should go with the project. We have subsequently successfully introduced an activity-based costing (ABC) system.

Did your organization use the SAS platform?

We chose the SAS platform in the end. We went through a competitive bidding process and assessed what SAS could do for us. The expert panel played no role in our reaching that decision.

SOLUTION

Please describe the work that Gary Cokins[owner of Modern Data Analytics] did for your organization?

Gary kindly served in an advisory capacity. We formed a panel of external experts when we were introducing our activity-based costing model a few years ago. The panel consisted of an academic, IT professionals and someone with experience in government budgeting. Gary kindly agreed to serve on that panel. He had worked with SAS and is a recognized expert on activity-based costing.

When did the advisory work take place?

We first started introducing the model in 2010. It took a while to be implemented. It was only last year that we got it up and running. Gary has remained engaged in the project and we have really appreciated his advice.

We wanted some big picture comments from Gary. He didn’t have a hands-on role.

Can you give us a sense of that initiative in either in dollar terms or in personnel work hours?

I cannot answer that.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

After the cost system was instituted, were there improvements within the organization?

It’s still in the early days, but it’s been very helpful.

The system improves our information. It gives a clearer line of sight from the cost of our inputs to the cost of our outputs and allows for better resource allocation. Resource allocation decision-making improves with this kind of information.

How did Gary perform in his advisory role?

Gary was extremely helpful, he provided lots of good practical advice.

Is there anything unique or special about Gary Cokins?

He’s an expert in this field.

Is there any area that you think he could improve upon or you would do differently?

There weren’t any issues.