Delivering BI at ProLogis,Delivering BI at ProLogis,a leading provider of distribution facilities a leading provider of distribution facilities and services:and services:A case studyA case study

Andrew HoughtonVice President & Business Process ManagerIDC, 29th June 2005

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AgendaAgenda

About ProLogis Origins of the Project Setting the Scope Initial Screening Final Product Selection Developing an Internal Investment

Proposal Selling the Concept Internally Obstacles Encountered and Solutions Summary and Conclusions

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About ProLogisAbout ProLogis

Worlds largest developer and manager of industrial real estate

1,970 facilities throughout North America, Europe, Japan and China.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado Founded 1991 Went public in 1994 (NYSE, PLD). S&P 500 since July 2003 International operations in Europe 1997; Japan

2001; China 2003. 5 million m² of distribution space in Europe 22 million m² distribution space in the US and

Asia.

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Origins of the ProjectOrigins of the Project

Large investment in ERP, but business information inaccessible and hard to analyze

Labour intensive reporting model• Existing reporting processes not scalable

Growing appreciation of the need for more timely and ‘decision-centric’ information

No single version of the truth• Different versions of same data point stored in multiple

systems Increased business complexity

• Major acquisitions, new markets, new finance sources• Greater pressure on management: SarbOx etc.

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Setting the ScopeSetting the Scope

Two types of Scope• Tool selection – scope fixed relatively early on• Delivered content – iterative

Providing a toolset rather than a fixed suite of reports Management need to see something to understand the

system’s potential

Requirements Gathering• Interviews with information consumers: end users and

analysts Vision Statement Decision driven by both technical and functional

criteria

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The VisionThe Vision

Supports strategic plan for scalable growth Key Deliverables

• Executive dashboard• Analytical and reporting toolset

Self-service Dynamic/interactive reporting Common data, personalised views Blends data from disparate sources

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Initial ScreeningInitial Screening

Initially cast a wide net• Both technically and functionally• Visited 2004 IDC BI conference

Supplied vendors with Vision Statement and sample data

Product Demonstrations from ‘long-list’• ProLogis data – not standard demo data• High end-user participation

Indicative Pricing Short-list of 2

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Final Product SelectionFinal Product Selection

Intensive 2-3 day workshop with each short-listed vendor

Very ‘hands-on’ involving analysts working with prototype data warehouse• Effectively represented a ‘Proof of Concept’• Informal debrief and formal evaluation by attendees• Formal RFP to vendors

Final decision based on RFP responses and..• Workshop feedback / technical opinion from IT / price

ProClarity selected

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Developing an Internal Investment Developing an Internal Investment ProposalProposal

ProLogis requires formal investment proposal be signed off• Business justification; brief description; budget

summary; project plan/timeline

Canvass and secure senior management buy-in

Provides unequivocal proof of management support

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Selling the Concept InternallySelling the Concept Internally

Engage people at every level• Senior managers; middle managers; analysts;

IT people Intensive internal sale

• No prior BI investment, therefore steep ‘learning curve’ for many managers

A lot of internal presentations • Workshop output illustrated concepts and

provided ‘shop window’ for deliverables Lots of Q&A Ongoing throughout the process

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Obstacles Encountered and SolutionsObstacles Encountered and Solutions

Dealing with Divergent Expectations: BI means different things to different people• Identify, agree and prioritise deliverables early on...• ...But! Construct a flexible platform with future options in mind• Vision Statement and internal selling to reinforce scope

‘Territoriality’ within the IT department• BI project configured around a Data warehouse challenged our

platform/applications-based IT organization• Cross disciplinary project: business led, but with strong IT input• Positioning BI as supplementing rather than replacing existing

systems• Senior management sponsorship effective here

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Obstacles Encountered and SolutionsObstacles Encountered and Solutions

Resistance from ‘reporting traditionalists’• Support for system stronger amongst general managers than

accounting/reporting specialists• Discomfort with the ‘warts and all’ approach implicit in strategy• Gradual transition rather than overnight change: the ‘Market

place of ideas’ Data Quality

• Transparency of BI system highlights errors and inconsistencies in data

• Credibility of the system demands that BI accurately reflects underlying data sources

• ...but, need to distinguish BI issues from business process issues

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Benefits so farBenefits so far

Still in process of implementing core BI functionality

BI lends clarity to data quality issues BI has brought data warehousing with it

with spin-off benefits beyond BI High level of expectation and anticipation

among management• Main management reporting book currently

available 3-4 weeks after month end• BI will reduce this to days/hours

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Summary and ConclusionsSummary and Conclusions

BI can be a transformative technology, and thereby can implicitly challenge certain interest groups within the organization• Explicit Executive Sponsorship is vital• Continuous internal selling/communication• Project leadership needs to come from the business, not IT

Formulate a ‘vision’ for the project early on• Establishes achievable goals, restrains ‘scope creep’• Clarifies priorities with management

...but, also build a platform and tool set for the future• Technologically agile• Adaptable to evolving reporting paradigms• Adaptable to changes in the business model