Data collection is a major challenge for companies, which need to search for and consolidate information in order to analyse their business, create reports and make the right decisions. For large companies, data from different establishments and all subsidiaries must be centralised in order to make global strategic decisions. However, this represents a significant volume of data.
Managing collection processes: what are the obstacles?
As part of various business processes (finance, HR, production, logistics, etc.), companies need to collect data from different entities or departments. The most common problems encountered are as follows:
- Data heterogeneity
- Re-entry of information in multiple documents
- Exponential data volume
- Non-standardised information systems (IS) between subsidiaries
Very often, due to the lack of a standardised information system, data must be requested from users at the subsidiaries concerned. And too often, this collection relies on Excel, a tool with which it is difficult to guarantee the quality of the data collected other than through tedious manual operations. Managing the various levels of validation throughout the collection chain is also difficult, as office transfer systems (email, shared files) are designed to provide all users with the same level of information.
Gathering Tools for collecting and consolidating reports
To automate these collection processes while ensuring data quality and eliminating time-consuming tasks (such as follow-ups for validations) without imposing heavy change management on users, Gathering Tools is the ideal solution for businesses.
With its form system, users in each department or subsidiary receive a document to fill out that is identical to their old spreadsheet file. They can only modify authorised cells, and management rules using the tool’s full computing power detect any inconsistencies, preventing the transmission of incomplete or non-compliant information. The administrator manages the collection workflow in real time, which is similar to a series of discussion threads grouped together in a global dashboard. They can view, validate or invalidate responses, manage versions and follow up with non-respondents at any time. Once the data has been collected, it is automatically consolidated and summary dashboards are immediately published or updated.
Results: time savings and improved performance
Gathering Tools can handle different types of data formats, multiple languages and currencies. This makes life much easier for the teams responsible for reporting. Managers of different entities receive pre-filled documents consolidated with data from previous periods and data reported by the relevant business lines from subsidiaries. This eliminates the need for re-entry and saves valuable time, which can then be spent analysing the information.
The example of Bic’s Treasury Department
- Weekly creation of financial reports
- Data collection from 70 subsidiaries
- Initially: consolidation of 70 Excel spreadsheets consisting of four or five different tabs
- Thanks to Gathering Tools, the Finance Department saves one working day per week.
