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Complete Data Access

PFW Software’s Inherent IBM DB2 Power

PFW Password - Summer 2006Data access is an important consideration for dealerships trying to excel in their market. Unfortunately, some dealerships today may be required to work with a business system that effectively locks them out from information they need. This information can be critical to the effort to raise service levels and many are now realizing that it makes little sense to spend money on software that is closed and inflexible. The goldmine of input that has been collected—at a considerable cost—over the history of the company must be accessible.

To provide competitive advantages to our customers, PFW allows you to capitalize on the IBM open database technology that is central to our business system. Should you require reporting over and above that which is included in PFW IntelliDealer, the combination of PFW and IBM innovation can assist. A key benefit of an open and flexible database is the range of query tools that can be used to obtain information to help you gauge performance, identify trouble spots, and even refine dealership policy and best practices.

Accessing Internal Data
IBM’s innovative and open relational database is called DB2 and is the key to your efforts to obtain internal data via third-party reporting tools. The DB2 model includes the critical functionality of database access via ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), paving the way for the use of a reports interface that can be used to extract a depth of information from dealership records.

System vendors that market products without an open database structure continue to limit their customers with reporting that prevents them from obtaining the information they need to compete for market leadership. DB2’s roots can be traced to IBM’s Structured Query Language (SQL), which enables multi-table queries and multiple-user access. The DB2 relational database model contains lists of data in tables (columns and rows) that results in a complex and scalable database that works very well with web-oriented systems—of which PFW IntelliDealer is an example.

PFW customers use a variety of reporting tools to complement the strong reporting capability provided via IntelliDealer. As well as Business Objects’ Crystal Reports, Microsoft Excel, and IBM operating system-packaged applications Query/400 and SQL/400, any manner of report interfaces—via ODBC connectivity—can be used for DB2 reporting.

Custom Financial Reporting
With this powerful IntelliDealer reporting tool, users are able to render benchmarks and key metrics that can be used to head off potential troublespots. Custom Financial Reporting lets you manipulate a myriad of report variables to convert data into valuable information and then present that information in the strongest possible way (Fig. 1). This aids your effort to take advantage of your storehouse of customer interactions and can ultimately improve your place in your market. Custom Financial Reporting features an intuitive design interface that eliminates the need for costly training and removes the expense of third-party software, or the consultation of a database administrator.

Through Custom Financial Reporting, on-screen historical financial reports supplement existing system-generated queries. This cuts down on “paper administration”, which saves time and cuts costs. Cost to the dealership can also be lowered through the reduction of internal and vendor calls to the finance department, which allows them to focus on their duties. The ability to conveniently provide key information to internal departments, vendors, and customers gives dealerships a competitive advantage, and may lead to improvements in processes.

Data Miner
This dynamic query tool allows the user to write queries that are savable, modifiable, and copyable (Fig. 2). With Data Miner, access IBM server files as required, target rows and columns, and set the query’s sort order, all from within the universal browser-based interface. Data Miner provides access to key customer, finance, equipment, parts, and marketing information.

Crystal Reports
Access to the PFW system’s database lets you create the reports that your competition cannot. Chris Lucas of Tractor & Equipment Company says, “Crystal Reports has helped us create the reports that our Sales Department needs to manage the new, used, and rental inventories. In particular, one Crystal Report helped us identify how long new equipment has been on demo by combining the in/out status with the reserved month/year. This in turn helps us generate millions of dollars of equipment sales by highlighting equipment that has been on extended demo assignment and selling it to customers ready to buy.”

Via www.pfw.com’s Members Only area, PFW customers can access a handy Crystal Reports pool where report writers and users can submit and download reports (Fig. 3). It’s a “give and take” where intellectual property and innovation is shared, so that all can benefit.

Equipment Reports
Reporting flexibility is available through this IntelliDealer interface, which prints retail and wholesale reports. Available selection criteria include warranty, customer, machine, salesperson, and rental variables. Users can choose from a selection of over 75 fields and then save the editable queries for future use.

Strong reporting can give you an edge in today’s competitive landscape. When much time and effort has been spent recording various aspects of customer interactions, it makes sense to follow through on that investment by making the most of this resource. Dealerships should expect nothing less than full access to their data, and should be able to extract and present information as they desire. With IntelliDealer’s internal reporting tools, as well as external data connectivity, users possess the ability to report in the way they need to.