Plus Relocation Services Provides Information Builders’ Unique Business Intelligence Services to Global Customer Base
Custom Dashboard Environment Is the First of Its Kind for Relocation Management Industry
NEW YORK, NY (September 21, 2009) –
Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that Plus Relocation Services has deployed Information Builders WebFOCUS BI platform as the foundation for a customer-facing dashboard environment called InformAgility. As a global leader in the full-service relocation management and consulting industry, Plus Relocation created the BI environment to help clients create better relocation packages, keep track of expenses, and stay on budget throughout the year. Plus Relocation also used WebFOCUS to create an operational reporting system that helps employees communicate more effectively with customers about the costs and potential issues associated with relocation activities. Nearly 180 customers rely on InformAgility with more than 80 internal users depending on WebFOCUS for reporting and analysis functions.
According to Mick Lee, chairman and CEO at Plus Relocation Services, they selected Information Builders based on its proven success in Web-based reporting and performance management, coupled with its mature data visualization software. “Our new dashboards give us reporting capabilities that our competitors simply don’t have,” said Mr. Lee. “Through WebFOCUS, our clients are able to generate a variety of online, standard, and ad hoc reports in the areas of relocation activity, expenses, home sales, and invoice history.”
InformAgility makes this information easily accessible in a variety of formats such as graphs, PDF, HTML, Excel, and Active Reports. It includes an interactive cost calculator, online authorization forms, real-time status updates, customized financial reports, up-to-the-minute transferee survey results, and a document library for policies and reports. For example, if an employee moves from San Francisco to Singapore, the employer can estimate how much that relocation will cost and then use InformAgility to track expenses against that estimate. In addition, employers who purchase and resell their employees’ former homes can track appraisals, listing amounts and offers for each property. They can also drop in different pricing structures to perform “what-if” scenarios – a valuable capability in today’s volatile housing market.
Information Builders Professional Services helped Plus Relocation build a variety of operational reporting capabilities for internal use. Once these basic reports were in place, Plus Relocation used WebFOCUS Flex Enable to generate reports, graphs, and other visual representations of the data, including graphical drill-down capabilities that let users filter and manipulate information as they see fit. Plus Relocation is also using WebFOCUS Flex Enable to integrate graphics into its proposals, including interactive reports, drop-down menus, and dashboards. In the near future, the company plans to deploy WebFOCUS Performance Management Framework to complement an existing balanced scorecard initiative.
“At a time when many relocation services companies are struggling to stay afloat, Plus Relocation Services has proven how the right mix of reporting and performance management capabilities can offer the competitive edge necessary to acquire and retain new clients,” said Gerald D. Cohen, president and CEO at Information Builders. “Technology-savvy organizations enjoy having the flexibility to generate their own reports, collaborate online, and continually monitor activities and costs. Plus Relocation is at the forefront of an emerging trend to offer custom BI capabilities to customers.”
About Plus Relocation Services, Inc.
Founded in 1968, Plus Relocation Services, Inc. is recognized as a global leader in the design and implementation of employee relocation and assignment management programs. The company has earned rave reviews for “delivering delight” through their expertise, personalized services, innovative programs, and cutting-edge technology. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, PLUS has offices in the United States, Client Program Managers in the EMEA and APAC Regions, and the best on-the-ground service partners throughout the world. For additional information about PLUS and our services, please visit our Web site at www.plusrelocation.com.
About Information Builders
Information Builders’ award-winning combination of business intelligence and enterprise integration software has been providing innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customers for the past 30 years. WebFOCUS is the world’s most widely utilized business intelligence platform. It provides the security, scalability and flexibility needed at every level of global extended enterprises. Its simplicity helps create executive, analytical, and operational applications that reach dozens to millions of users. Information Builders’ iWay Software suite provides state of the art, multi-purpose, pre-built integration components that address all SOA, application, data and information management requirements. Its integration adapters have been adopted by the leading software platform providers. Information Builders also offers solutions in the performance management, business activity monitoring, and enterprise search markets. The company’s comprehensive enterprise product offerings give Information Builders’ customers the ability to grow and innovate according to their needs.
Information Builders’ customers include most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners.
Source: Information Builders