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Deloro Stellite outsources data collection
via Web
July 27, 2001
By Lou Kalosc
 In
this age of economic uncertainty, companies of every size and shape
across the country are looking for ways to create more efficiency
in the workplace. Technology is an area where many companies are seeking
to outsource work to achieve that efficiency.
Steve Poss is corporate controller for Deloro Stellite Co. of St.
Louis. Deloro Stellite, based in the United Kingdom, has a six-person
staff in its local corporate office. The company's primary business
is in the manufacturing of metal alloy wear-resistant components.
Until recently, Poss was responsible for gathering data from general
managers at the company's offices all over the world. He would get
the information in the form of Excel spreadsheets via e-mail and fax
and then enter the data and review it for trends and other issues
in different world areas. The information is compiled for his chief
financial officer to present at the company's monthly board meetings.
Poss decided to look for a solution to the time-consuming process.
He found it by outsourcing the work to St. Louis-based Host Analytics
Inc., a local application service provider. Host sold Deloro Stellite
its packaged analytic tools and then shifted the company's data into
a data warehouse, which it hosts.
"The time it took to analyze the data was limited because it
took so much time to compile it," said Poss. "The new system
has enabled us to consolidate much quicker. Keying the information
into the system has been pushed down to the plant level."
The system now automatically feeds the reports. Poss has two or three
days to review the data, which wasn't the case under the old system.
"That's the real kicker," he said. "Now my CFO can
get information quicker for presentation purposes."
An added benefit, he said, is that the data can now be accessed on
the Internet from anywhere in the world.
"For a group spread out like we are, it's very valuable to have
this type of common database," said Poss. "The Internet
has enabled us to deploy this type of system. Without the Internet,
my controller in Germany couldn't key in data that could populate
a database in St. Louis."
The third benefit, he said, is that the data is now secure. Because
the office is so small, budget does not allow for the hiring of a
full-time information technology person to monitor the data.
"We were forced to call a service and pay them hourly,"
explains Poss. "Now the data is monitored 24 hours a day, it's
secure, fireproof and protected from viruses. For a small corporate
office, it's comforting to know that the data is being monitored 24
hours a day."
Poss said the new system costs Deloro Stellite about $1,100 per month
for Host Analytics to host the database. This is much less
than it would cost to hire a full-time technology specialist on staff.
While the Deloro Stellite experience is positive and a small-scale
example, many large companies face major decisions that can impact
many people. Those decisions aren't made lightly. In fact, deciding
when and where to outsource is a top concern of many clients, said
Tammy Shields, vice president of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY).
Shields is regional leader of the company's St. Louis consulting service
practice.
(This article was originally published on http://www.bizjournals.com/)
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