Closed Loops for Planning and Analysis

When analyzing, you compare what you expected with what actually happened. Producing expected figures you can then use for a later comparison can be easy, but it can also be enormously complicated. In many cases, you may not need to do more than re-use past figures with slight corrections. Frequently, however, plan values are the result of a complex decision-making process involving a large group of people. In both instances, our planning options help to keep the process as simple, comfortable and cost-efficient as possible - at least as far as the software side of things is concerned.

Level Concept - Making use of the entire planning know how
Typically, several organizational levels of an company are involved in planning processes. Not all of these levels are experienced in using computers. Their estimates regarding figures expected in the future are no less valuable, though. DeltaMaster's Level Concept takes this factor into account. We provide different user levels of the same integrated system to cater for the whole spectrum of typical users in a company. The same user levels are also available for entering plan data. An employee who is used to receiving reports at "his level" can also make his contribution to planning by carrying out data input in the environment he is used to. Pretty often, he'll even use the same reports with only one difference: he'll now see assumed figures instead of figures that have already been realized.

Data Input - Stress-free direct input
Alongside the usual input of new figures, you can also input amounts of change directly, for example, a revenue increase of 1,000,000, a 3 % lowering of costs, or a tripling of customer visits. We go into this in detail in DeltaMaster clicks! 03/2006. Here you can also find descriptions of procedures such as splashing (distribution of aggregated figures), or the copying of the previous year's data.

Passing on data - Simple depiction of complex relations
Uncomplicated recording of results is feasible even for calculated figures. Let's say you've created the user-defined key figure, "revenue per sales area," and defined it as the ratio of revenue to sales area. When you now enter a plan revenue per sales area, you are typically trying to say something about the development of revenue and not expanding or reducing the sales area. In the simplest case, the change to the value will be passed on proportionally. For more complex relations, there is also the possibility of using MDX to calculate the target value.

Fixation - Freezing binding specifications
Particular values may have to be "set" or "capped", especially when several organizational units or employees are involved in planning, or if planning is taking place at different levels. These amounts are to remain constant, even if subordinate or superordinate values change. The means for this is cell fixation. Suitable formatting is available to aid better recognition of the fixed values. The system does the rest for you.

Cell Comments - Keeping an eye on all levels
Comments are often necessary so that everyone involved understands what was planned and why. These comments can not only be saved comfortably on the level of individual values, but can also be aggregated along the value hierarchies into summarized comments. That way, you can keep an eye on everything, regardless of which planning level you are currently working in.

DeltaMaster

Have I come to the right place?
What DeltaMaster was built for

Product Features
Features best experienced live!

Library of Methods
Analysis methods at your command

Technical Data (PDF)
What your Head of IT needs to know
[in German]

Other Products

SparkMaker
Easy creation of sparklines in MS Office

SparkTicker
Information ticker for Excel data

Further information
You can find more on the planning option and on the subject of data input in the March 2006 und Januar 2006 editions of DeltaMaster clicks!.