Lawson Software Launches Innovative Analytics Packages for Manufacturers and Distributors
Analytics helps put business intelligence capabilities in place quickly for faster time-to-value
ST. PAUL, Minn. (January 27, 2009) – Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) today announced the availability of two new analytics applications that can be deployed in a matter of days to help companies improve decision-making and find cost savings. The company introduced Lawson M3 Analytics and Lawson M3 Analytics for Manufacturing. The core offering, Lawson M3 Analytics, focuses on four key business areas: sales, finance, procurement and warehousing/logistics. M3 Analytics for Manufacturing provides additional manufacturing-specific analysis capabilities focusing on production and order costing processes.
“Lawson M3 Analytics offered a fast and affordable way for us to get the business intelligence we need to help us better manage our operations and customer service levels,” said Martin Murgatroyd, head of IT for Brunner Mond, a U.K.-based manufacturer of soda ash, sodium bicarbonate and related chemicals. “Lawson understands our specific manufacturing challenges, which means the KPIs and scorecards that matter to us are already there, ready for managers to use to help improve our business. The Lawson offering delivers what we expected and more, because it is very simple to use and the information is clear and useful. Directors can ask their own questions and see the answers right away. During these tight economic times, this solution has quickly given senior managers a data-driven view of what’s going on in our business.”
These solutions help manufacturers and distributors simplify deployment of a complete package of business intelligence tools without having to develop analytics tools in-house. The application includes more than 70 pre-configured key performance indicators (KPIs) and 50 pre-built scorecard reports commonly used by manufacturers and distributors. Sample KPIs include day sales outstanding, inventory turnover, delivery performance and gross margin percentage. Sample scorecards highlight critical data such as sales versus budget, supplier performance, production variances and customer debt.
By packaging a specific set of KPIs and scorecards for manufacturers and distributors, Lawson gives customers a more complete, measurable view of their operations in a few short weeks. Such a comprehensive approach to business evaluation has essentially been beyond the reach of all but the largest manufacturers and distributors until now.
Lawson introduced the new Analytics package at a time when many companies need solutions that deliver high value in a shorter amount of time. “Lawson is setting a trail in the analytics space that many others will need to follow in order to help customers lower their cost of ownership and increase their business and system responsiveness and IT return-on-investment,” wrote Nigel Montgomery, AMR Research, in a Jan. 15, 2009 alert, “Lawson’s M3 Analytics Points to a 2009 Trend.”
“Lawson M3 Analytics can really be thought of as ‘business intelligence made easy’ for manufacturers and distributors – delivering value for our customers in a shorter amount of time,” said Dean Hager, senior vice president of product management for Lawson. “Each of these products is a targeted business intelligence toolkit that manufacturers and distributors can use to help them manage their businesses more strategically and effectively without having to spend a lot to get it.”
The company also recently introduced Lawson M3 Analytics for Food and Beverage. The Analytics solutions are designed to be simple, integrated and time-saving tools that can help companies that make, move, or maintain products realize the value of industry-specific business intelligence. More information about Lawson M3 Analytics and an online product demo are available at www.lawson.com.
Source: Lawson
