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During almost 6 years I have been corporate controller at Cordys. I enjoyed working with consultants from Top Dimension due to their knowledge and ability to execute on consolidation and reporting processes.
Together we were able to get the data straight from the ERP transaction backbone (Infor LN) and convert it into the management information we need like the balance sheet (in multiple reporting currency), P&L statement (with various views on business dimensions) and cash-flow statement per business. I also liked the integration with Excel by adding an Excel plug-in, which could be used as a front-end tool. In order to meet the reporting needs for frequently used reports we published our reports in any convenient format which looked very nice. I was happy to work with Top Dimension to build a sustainable system which plays a key role in our reporting cycle and fast close.
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Name: Kees van Rijswijk
Position: Corporate Controller (Cordys) |
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At TenCate Advanced Textiles, a subsidiairy of Royal TenCate, we had an issue to extract and analyze data from our ERP system. I was looking for a solution that was easy to implement, quick successes to gain and did have a low cost base. The database solution we have chosen was based on Microsoft SQL 2005 with Analysis Server.
For data analysis we are using the tool Executive Viewer of IBM.
Top Dimension Architects did the entire implementation for us. They built a model for sales analysis, production analysis, financial analysis and a solution for managing the flow from raw materials to finished goods, which is very complex process due to the number of products and the long time fence. Characteristic for the way of working is the understanding of information needs which is typical for the consultants of Top Dimension. They understand quickly the business processes, where to find data, they build a model effectively and let you play around with the results only. No concerns about the technique, only about functionality. And that is where our competence is.
Approximately 40 users use the application; some very frequent some of them occasionally. A big advantage is that we got rid of many spreadsheets with pivot tables with all well known issues.
After a successful implementation at the group Advanced Textiles Top Dimension did a project to build a corporate model for HR data analysis. Recently the model has gone life and the user base has extended with quite some users.
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Name: Hans Alferink
Position: Group Controller (Royal Ten Cate N.V.) |
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To notify that the recent 2 years were for ABN AMRO the rockiest in its long term history is a sure understatement. ABN AMRO was subject to an hostile takeover as never seen before. On top of that, the whole Banking Industry was completely changing due the credit crunch. In this setting the already dynamic and high demanding reporting environments had to operate as if it was just BAU.
It was a relief to have the Top Dimension consultants on board in all of our Hyperion Essbase projects. Their contribution and knowledge were utmost valuable. Much appreciation came also from the large user group for their no-nonsense and can-do mentality.
It takes much to have me impressed, but Top Dimension sure did this. And as they are still around here on an advisory base, I would say they did a good job.
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Name: Kwan Yuk Li
Position: Head Global Cost Reporting Support (ABN AMRO) |
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Hello,
I'm Lenie Borghuis, I work as a Business Analyst at the Financial Information Department at KLM. We have many Essbase cubes from easy to very complex. Essbase is a very powerful analyzing and reporting tool, by which you can look at enormous data at any perspective and all crosslink's you need. Also it can be used for all kind of data, not only finance related data, but for example also invoice data for status and aging.
Some of our cubes needed better performance. We didn't have grip on all the factors that play a role to fine tune the models. There I know that the cracks of Essbase and Executive Viewer have started their own company Top Dimension, I thought let contact them to see if they can help us. We hired them for a couple of days spread over some months. It was in the form of training on the job. From Ed Zwennis we learned how to optimize models and how it really works. We are now able to decrease the calculation time of the models sometimes dramatically. Also they will learn us how to work with API's, so that a couple of reports with graphics can be shown in one html page.
If you need simply the best in the market, you are definitely at the right address of Top Dimension.
Lenie Borghuis
Business Analyst
Financial Information Department
Royal Dutch Airlines, KLM
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Name: Lenie Borghuis
Position: KLM-Air France N.V. |
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We have been using Top Dimension for all of structural changes to our Essbase Application here at Maxxium Worldwide BV.
We have Executive Viewer (front end) sitting on top of our Essbase Application and every time we were updating our database with data, EV would be empty for all of our users.
After some years of ‘regular’ Essbase with 1 application and 1 database, Top Dimension helped us partition our application so that we are now working with 4 databases and 1 virtual database. This means that we are running/updating a ‘Calc’ cube in the background and once it has finished, it automatically switches with our ‘Flash’ (live) cube. This means that our users have 24/7 access to their data.
This 24/7 access is very important to Maxxium Worldwide as we are operating in countries all over the world and every downtime in our front end would mean loss of working hours somewhere in the world.
Furthermore, we have this setup running for 2 applications; 1 History, 1 Current, which means that once a set of data does not update on a regular basis (i.e. Forecast / Budget / LY) we move this particular data into the history application and we save time as it never has to run again.
We have 1 application with a virtual database that combines both History and Current data in our front end, EV.
Before this partition, we would run all of our datasets in 6-7 hours. Top Dimension helped bring this down to 1.5 – 2 hours and this is with double the datasets.
In addition, every time we have used Top Dimension’s services, they have always found time to fine tune our database and calculation script, which always saved us a lot of time and effort.
Top Dimension has always delivered on time and within budget and has always met our expectations. They have always handled themselves professionally and have always been willing to come by after working hours to make small adjustments / corrections.
Furthermore, Top Dimension is constantly keeping up to date with the latest developments within their field, so you can rest assure they will always be able to improve your application regardless of what version you are currently running.
If you are looking for top tier Essbase consultants, I would highly recommend Top Dimension.
Nikolai Simmelsgaard
Brand Consolidation Manager
HFM / Essbase / EV Administrator
Maxxium Worldwide BV
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Name: Nikolai Simmelsgaard
Position: Brand Consolidation Manager (Maxxium Worldwide) |
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Maxxium is a joint venture between four large 'spirits and wines' producers: Remy Cointreau (FR), Jim Beam Brands (US), The Edrington Group (UK), and Vin & Sprit (SE). Our most famous brands are Remy Martin cognac, Jim Beam bourbon, the Famous Grouse whisky, and Absolut vodka. Maxxium provides global marketing, sales and distribution (to wholesalers, hotels and bars, and large retail chains) and we are present in 60 markets with 1800 employees and an annual turnover of 2 billion euros (07/08). Reporting all these sales to our four shareholders is of course the fourth function of Maxxium, and this is where Jeroen Nathalia and Top Dimension have played an important role.
Maxxium started in 1999 with a multitude of local transactional systems and all markets had to report flat files, via email, which were then uploaded into Hyperion Enterprise and OLAP TM1 and finally distributed to management in the form of Cognos Powerplay cubes. This was all Remy legacy and the first big evolution was to implement Hyperion Essbase with the Executive Viewer on top. An implementation partner started work on our complex model, which requires ten reporting dimensions and currency conversion, but performance was slow and because of long loading and calculation times, the maintenance was quite difficult. Jeroen Nathalia, whom I knew from my previous company Vanenburg, was asked to do a quick scan of our Essbase model. He estimated he could bring our calc time from hours to minutes…and he did!
Over the past seven years, Jeroen and Top Dimension have added many improvements to our Essbase model. Most notably a cube rotation system that allows one cube to be reloaded and recalculated while another remains available for reporting. That means we no longer have any downtime for loading and maintenance, which is a huge advantage if you have operations in all time zones. They also added an eleventh virtual dimension to Essbase that merges specific combinations of products and markets into 'focus categories'.
In 2002, Maxxium was the first company in the Netherlands to implement Hyperion Financial Management (HFM). From that moment on we could collect local results through the web, perform consolidation in HFM, and feed Essbase from our SQL database. Top Dimension are familiar with our ETL process and have helped us through several upgrades.
Today, Maxxium has a global SAP ERP system with SCM, CRM, FICO and Business Warehouse. Nevertheless, the flexibility of our Essbase model and the user-friendly Executive Viewer front-end have remained the core of our management reporting. I believe that the long term relationship we’ve enjoyed with Jeroen Nathalia and Top Dimension, and their insight into our business model, can be considered one of the key success factors of the Maxxium Finance function.
Kind regards
Eelco
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Name: Eelco Spiker
Position: Hyperion & SAP BW Application Specialist |
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The CXO-Cockpit is a unique pre-built Executive Dashboard for Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) or Hyperion Enterprise (HE). The CXO-Cockpit provides a full range of pre-built highly interactive financial dashboards and reports, including Balance Sheet, P&L statements, Cash Flow reports and Waterfall, Trend, Portfolio and Benchmark dashboards.
The version of the CXO Cockpit for HFM was the only version available until a year ago. To enable usage of the CXO Cockpit as an executive dashboard for Enterprise users, we decided to develop a connector for HE. We realized that such a new connector should be developed on the basis of a proper design that makes the solution expandable and - similar to the solution for HFM - separates the specific HE functionality from the ultimate Cockpit relational database and OLAP part.
We recognized Top Dimension as the ideal partner to assist us in this. They have an unprecedented experience in developing OLAP solutions mainly in the area of Financial Consolidation and Performance Management. They helped us making a jump-start by:
- Creating a design for the connector based on a flexible multi-layer model
- Developing a first version of the ETL (Extraction, Transformation and Load) procedures required for the connector
- Adapting the OLAP database to enable it for usage on Enterprise data
- Extending the OLAP solution with a currency converter based on accepted accounting principles
With the highly appreciated help of Top Dimension we now have a great - and highly valuateed - solution for the large world-wide community of HE users.
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Name: Anton Plaisier
Position: CTO, CXO-Solutions |
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