Business Performance Management - How Important Are Multiple Dimensions?

A few years ago a young AIM-listed client asked whether we could build a cash flow forecast model for their business. Their business plan had been to take two years to develop a major product, and in the meantime use two interim products to provide initial cashflow. These products hadn’t sold as well as expected, and further funding was needed.

The audit was imminent, and there needed to be a clear 12 month forecast to allow the auditors to provide a clean audit report. A major issue that was focusing my client directors’ minds somewhat!

We did indeed build a forecasting model. But in the absence of an affordable multi-user system, it was built in Excel. All sorts of issues, but the one to highlight here is trying to cope with multiple dimensions.

The major product could be sold in several different markets, around the world in various territories. In each country each market was likely to have a different sales partner, adding this product to their existing offering to their specific market. Varying local markets and shipping costs would make pricing potentially very different across the globe.

Initially we focused on sales by territory. Then it became clear that the CEO was thinking principally about sales by market. Ideally it would be sales by sales partner. Whilst physically possible in Excel, this would be more complicated than the client could reasonably maintain for themselves.

There was also the issue of multi-dimensional reporting of actual activity against these forecasts and budgets. Nightmare for them using Excel.

As I mentioned in a previous article, last week I reviewed a cloud-based system that would deal comfortably with this situation, provided the multi-user access the client really needed.

If this type of situation  sounds familiar and you’d like to talk about practical solutions, so contact me by email at challisc @ camwells.co.uk or by phone on +44(0)1628 632914

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