Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems, 9th Edition Decision Support System – HW #1 – Chapter 1. Exercise 2 & 3 Chapter 1. Internet Exercise 4 & 8 Chapter 2. Exercise 5 & 9 Chapter 2. Exercise 3 & 4 < Chap 1. Exercises 2 > Enter the TUN site and select “cases, projects and assignments. ” Then select the case study: “Harrah’s High Payoff from Customer Information. ” Answer the following questions about this case: a. What information does the data mining generate?
Answer) Customer behavior and preference related data. It is needed to analyze customer behavior and preference data. To generate the necessary data and understand customers’ preferences, Harrah’s had to mine the data. From these requirements, Harrah’s Winners Information Network (WINet) emerged. b. How is this information helpful to management in decision making? (Be specific. ) Answer) Customer behavior and preferences, those information which is the result derived from the analysis is useful for management to make a decision.
Harrah’s wanted to take a different, more cost-effective route to attract, maintain, and enhance customer relationships, especially, a business strategy that focuses on knowing their customers well. Through the strategy, the management try to obtain hundreds of customer attributes to determine each customer’s preferences and predict what future services and rewards they will want. Therefore, they can collect customer data and identify market segments and customer profiles, create appealing offers casino, hotel, event, gaming product, and tracked play.
The service representative can look up their profile and make decisions about how to treat the customer, such as offering free event tickets or meals. c. List the types of data that are mined. Answer) 1) Customer behavior Data recorded from tournaments and special events (e. g. , wine tasting weekend, slot machine tournaments) Pattern Data recorded for customers to bet money and to redeem rewards 2) Customer preferences Preference data (e. g. , smoking or non-smoking room) 3) Customer information detailed
The details of a customer’s stay, demographic data (e. g. , home address) The favorite food, beverages, and so on. d. Is this a DSS or BI application? Why? Answer) In this case, it is referred to Business intelligence (BI). BI refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting(clarification needed), and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes[wikipedia]. BI try to support better dicision making for business administration.
Especially, BI uses technologies, processes, and applications to analyze information. In a broad sense, BI can be included in DSS. DSS is considered to decision making for the scale enterprised. BI is tended to focuse on a specific information technology which can report the results of analysis more than DSS. So, in this case, the system like WINet is referred to BI application. < Chap 1. Exercises 3 > Data Warehousing supports Corporate Strategy at First American Corporation 1.
What were the types of drivers for the DW/BI project in the company? The DW/BI project named Tailored Client Solutions which is comprised of four types of drivers (four components) namely: Excellent Client Information that knows the client better than anyone, the Flexible Product Line that provides what the clients need, a consistent sales and service approach centered on meeting clients need (help the clients to achieve their goal) and a distribution management approach focused on channel of choices that offers he clients preferred channels. 2. What strategic advantages were realized? It’s the strategy that puts the customer at the center of everything the bank did (The Tailored Client Solutions project). The execution of this strategy need a data warehouse called VISION. Using this, some strategic advantages were realized: * Identified the top 20% of its customers who provided virtually all of the consumer profits, and the 40% to 50% of those who were not profitable. * Developed strategies to retain the top high value customers. Developed strategies to move unprofitable customers to lower cost distribution channels, different products, or pricing structures that boost profitability, while still focusing on customer needs and preferences; developed strategies to expand relationships with all customers. * Redesigned products and distribution channels to increase profitability and better meet customers’ needs and preferences. * Redesigned information flows, work processes, and jobs in order to meet customers’ needs and increase their use of profitable products. 3.
What operational and tactical advantages were achieved? They are: * Client Information: customer Preferences and Profiles. This information is used in many ways, including targeting marketing efforts and in designing the best mix of distribution channels. By better understanding the preferences of high value customers, FAC was able to design marketing programs that increased revenues by 15% in this market segment. * Flexible Product Lines: Product Profitability Analysis for Seniors Accounts. It helps FAC to know the profitability of its various products.
FAC was able to improve its risk-adjusted returns on equity from less than 20% to over 50%, while experiencing no overall loss in account balances. * Consistent Service: Contact Management System. It helps FAC develop a one-to-one relationship with its customers by giving service representatives a clear picture of a client’s entire banking relationship. The Contact Management System was credited with helping improve the retention of high value clients by 1%, which as worth $4 million in revenue. * Distribution Management: Distribution Management System (DMS).
DMS helps FAC plan distribution channels for various market segments in a way that profitable to the bank, yet still met the needs and preferences of customers. Indeed, in 1998, FAC was able to replace 22 higher cost hub locations with 30 lower cost spoke locations, while still meeting customers’ needs and preferences. This change created an over 20% return on investment. 4. What were the critical success factors (CSF) for the implementation? Critical success factor (CSF) is the term for an element that is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission.
It is a critical factor or activity required for ensuring the success of a company or an organization. The term was initially used in the world of data analysis, and business analysis. For example, a CSF for a successful Information Technology (IT) project is user involvement. “Critical success factors are those few things that must go well to ensure success for a manager or an organization, and, therefore, they represent those managerial or enterprise area, that must be given special and continual attention to bring about high performance.
CSFs include issues vital to an organization’s current operating activities and to its future success. ” (Wikipedia. com) The CSFs for the implementation are four domains, namely: * The business strategy * The organizational infrastructure and processes to carry out the business strategy * The IT strategy * The IT infrastructure and processes to carry out the IT strategy < Chap 1. Team Assignments 3 > Find the information on the proactive use of computer versus transaction processing systems (TPS) to support ad-hoc decisions.
Each member of the group should choose an application in a different industry (e. g. , retail, banking, insurance, food). Be sure to include the impacts of the Web/Internet. Summarize the findings and point out the similarities and differences of the applications. Use as sources companies that employ students, trade magazines, Internet newsgroups, and vendor websites. Finally prepare a class presentation on your findings. * Transaction Processing Systems (TPS): It is a type of information system.
TPSs collect, store, modify, and retrieve the transactions of an organization. A transaction is an event that generates or modifies data that is eventually stored in an information system. To be considered a transaction processing system the computer must pass the ACID test. The essence of a transaction program is that it manages data that must be left in a consistent state (Wikipedia. com). * There are essentially four major decision-making models: ad-hoc decision-making, multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), AHP, and Bayesian team support.
Ad-hoc decision making is what we naturally do when faced with an issue, especially when there is not time or other incentive to take a more structured approach. Exactly what people do “ad-hoc” depends on the problem (task variables, context variables); the person (cognitive ability, prior knowledge); social context (accountability, group membership) and time available. People often try to minimize their effort by using a strategy to determine the most important criteria and compare their first idea to it. If this idea meets the important criteria then they choose it.
If not then they will develop a second alternative and if two or more alternatives look about the same, they will begin to look at multiple criteria for evaluation (http://www. robustdecisions. com/decision-making-tools/decision-making-models. php). Proactive use of computer and TPS can support Ad-hoc decisions in following areas: * Low time required to frame a problem * Low time required to evolve * Support for inconsistent, incomplete and uncertain information * Support a shared vision * Ability to manage complexity * Support viewpoint variations * Suggest what-to-do-next * Leave a logic trail DSS applications: 1.
Clinical decision support system: (CDSSs) form a significant part of the field of clinical knowledge management technologies through their capacity to support the clinical process and use of knowledge, from diagnosis and investigation through treatment and long-term care. 2. The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) is a software package integrating the effects of soil, crop phenotype, weather and management options that allows users to ask “what if” questions and simulate results by conducting, in minutes on a desktop computer, experiments which would consume a significant part of an agronomist’s career. . WebFOCUS Business Intelligence Products is a comprehensive business intelligence (BI) platform that enables smarter decision-making from everyone at every level of your business, whether inside or outside your organization. As the leading provider of BI solutions for large-scale, customer-facing, and third-party partner initiatives, WebFOCUS integrates the four elements of a successful information strategy, namely: Business Intelligence, Performance Management, Data Integrity, and Advanced Analytics. < Chap 1. Internet Exercises 4 > Go to sap. com and oracle. com.
Find information on how ERP software helps decision makers. In addition, examine how these software products use Web technology and the Web itself. Write a report based on your findings. Sap. com Oracle. com Web based ERP – Advantages and Disadvantages Web Based ERP is definitely a controversial subject because it has its advantages and disadvantages. Some argue that it doesn’t provide all the benefits and functionality of ERP software, which might be true to some point. Nevertheless, it seems like a great option for small and midsized companies which don’t have the necessary resources to invest in ERP software.
Web based ERP clearly provides benefits for a business and it’s up to the business owner to decide if they are sufficient for the activities he or she is conducting. ERP was initially used only in the manufacturing sector, but it then developed and started being implemented in companies of all types because the benefits of automating and integrating various business processes and the activity of different functional departments became clear for almost everybody. All the company’s departments are able to access databases in real time and this leads to important savings in what concerns money and time.
The greatest advantage of web based ERP consists of the fact that it can be accessed remotely from basically anywhere in the world where there is internet connection and a browser. Access can be ensured with or without a password and communication is fast and efficient. A manager or any other employee found outside of the business premises can easily exchange data with any of the company’s departments. This is highly beneficial for sales person who usually work outside of the office. Quick communication with the company enables them to serve the customer faster and more efficient and it also simplifies their work a lot.
Customers’ complaints and requests, as well as orders, are managed easier and the company’s responsiveness is increased. Managers will also be able to control their business and to take decisions in what concerns resource allocation or other important aspects from wherever they are. Another significant advantage that web based ERP has is the fact that it requires no implementation at all and this significantly cuts down the costs. This is very important especially for small companies which would like to benefit of an ERP system but can’t afford the implementation.
There is no software and no hardware needed and the risk of failing in the implementation process is eliminated. There is no point in worrying about maintenance and up gradation when using web based ERP and eventual customization that you might want to do does not interfere with your business processes. It is also advantageous in what concerns training the employees for using it, because this is far simpler than if you were using ERP software. ERP software on Web technology and Web itself * Comprehensive financials including accounting, budgeting, financial eporting and more * Get instant visibility into real-time financial and operational performance across your entire company * Streamline all back-office processes across financial management, revenue management, order management, billing and inventory management * Improve accountability and compliance with robust, auditable accounting and powerful reporting * Reduce IT costs and get automatic upgrades with an ERP solution delivered completely in the cloud * Get secure access to your financials from anywhere—all you need is a web browser or mobile device * Drives efficient integrated processes from order to cash through to procure to pay ERP software on Web technology and Web itself – especially Small Business * The main advantage of the web based ERP software that it can accessed from anywhere from remote branch to head office where there is internet connection is available * Access can get with knowing of password which cam makes communication better and fast * Greatest benefit for the managers that they can do their work from anywhere even from outside the office premises and easily exchange the data * Web based ERP software highly beneficial for the sales and marketing team who always works outside they can make quick communications with the customers and with office * Customer, s connection with the suppliers.
Order request and communication are well managed and easier * Managers can easily control their works even they are out of the office and take view of the all the resources * The biggest advantage of the web based ERO software is that it no requires the installation and the implementation in your office. It ultimately decreases the cost. It is very beneficial for the small businesses and fir medium size business * No need of especial software and hardware. No need of after sale service and up gradation It is also advantageous in what concerns training the employees for using it, because this is far simpler than if you were using ERP software < Chap 1.
Internet Exercises 8 > Go to Oracle. com Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) offerings: | | Oracle Business Intelligence Tools and Technology Oracle Business Intelligence Tools & Technology Oracle Business Intelligence Foundation Suite Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Oracle Essbase Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Oracle Scorecard and Strategy Management Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Edition One Oracle Real-Time Decisions Oracle Business Intelligence Applications CRM Analytics ERP Analytics Related Products Sun Oracle Database Machine Oracle Database OLAP Option Oracle Data Mining Oracle Data Integrator Enterprise Edition
Oracle Hyperion Performance Management Applications Some Oracle ERP software and tools are integrated into Oracle BI. This software and tools are classified into five parts: * Report Delivery and Alerting * Enterprise Reporting (Using Dashboards and Scorecards) * Cube Analysis (slice-and-dice analysis) * Ad-hoc Queries * Statistics and Data mining For example, Oracle has integrated its JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Financial Management application with its financial analytics BI software. < Chap 2. Exercises 5 > Comment on Simon’s (1977) philosophy that managerial decision making is synonymous with the whole process of management. Does this make sense?
Explain. Use a real-world example in your explanation. Simon’s Decision-Making Process Real-world Example: Wedding Planning 1) Intelligence * If I want to get married with lovely her, I’ll have a wedding plan considering various factors. * I’ll scan my environment about economic, job, family etc. * If I need, I’ll search and find those kinds of data around me and her. * I think what the problem for happy wedding ceremony is. * If I find my problems, I’ll classify my problem into several specific problems (e. g. , house, wedding ceremony data, convincing parents etc. ). 2) Design * I formulate my wedding ceremony model for successful wedding life. For conducting optimal wedding ceremony model, I set criteria up related to selection of wife, wedding ceremony expense, and determination of appropriate ceremony date. * If first model is not proper, I’ll establish alternative models (e. g. , I can change only one factor; wedding ceremony date). * I predict results of established models 3) Choice * I find the optimal model through comparison among them. * Sensitivity analysis: find a model between positive and negative for me through wedding. * I compare again with new models reflecting sensitivity analysis results and new idea. * If I choice an optimal solution, I plan to wedding ceremony according to the optimal solution. 4) Implementation * According to my optimal solution, I’ll get married with my lovely her.
So, we make sense Simon’s opinion, because almost real cases including a wedding ceremony planning can be applied to Simon’s model. < Chap 2. Exercises 9 > Stories about sub-optimization issues abound in some formerly centrally planned national economies in which the output of factories was measured by seemingly useful measures, with unexpected and disastrous results. The problem of sub-optimization: Optimizing the outcome for a subsystem will in general not optimize the outcome for the system as a whole. This may cause the exhaustion of shared resources due to the competition between these subsystems. The sub-optimization may also cause the invalid motivation for personnel.
From my personal life, I think of an example that a computer factory which produces desktops for selling including warranty/repairing service. Because of concentrating on the quality of the products, the company wants to improve the products’ quality. They tried to produce very good products which are very difficult to break down during the warranty period. The output was simply measured by the ratio of total of desktops that the company produces and the desktops that are broken down before the warranty period ends. Consequently, the price is increased due to the better desktops’ quality, and the company, unintentionally, limits some groups of potential customers who only need the average quality but cheap computers.
The overall impact on the organization for this policy was negative. < Chap 2. Team Assignment 2 > Develop a cognitive map of the decision-making problem of selecting a job or a university program, using Decision Explorer from Banxia Software, Ltd. (banxia. com). Describe your thought processes and how you developed the map. From scholarship part, subparts are omitted due to license problem We developed a cognitive map of selection for university. We developed the map according to our thinking process. 1) We find contributing factors for selection of university. 2) Additionally, we find contributing factors not to think for us. 3) We arrange that contributing factors encompass an objective. ) We think that separate factor has criteria related to selection of university. 5) Each criterion can be classified into sub-criteria based on general thinking in Korean. 6) We can categorize Universities according to each criterion. 7) For considering my situation, we find an optimal solution and alternatives. 8) We conduct a sensitivity analysis, and determine a university considering comprehensive results. So, we could develop above cognitive map according to above process. We think that this method is nice for decision-maker because we can find all alternatives and juxtapose each solution, and determine an optimal solution. < Chap 2. Team Assignments 5 >
Have everyone in your group individually make a list of the factors they considered when selecting a place to live (or alternatively, the program of study in which you are enrolled) and approximately how much weight (percentage) they individually put on each factor. Determine which and how many of the factors were common. Using a common list of factors, have each individual weight them. Discuss within the group why certain factors were important and others were not. Take an average of the factors’ weights and see if anyone’s factor weights were close. Write up your results in a report, indicating how these factors affect this type of decision making. Answer) The common list of 3 participants is as the below table. Table 1. The list of factors to select a place to live Factors| P1| P2| P3| Avg. | Per. | Rank| Class| | | House rent| 4| 5| 5| 4. 67| 11%| 3| Quality| 17. 00| 40%| House area| 2| 5| 3| 3. 3| 8%| 8| Quality| | | The number of rooms| 2| 2| 5| 3. 00| 7%| 9| Quality| | | Built-in| 4| 1| 2| 2. 33| 6%| 10| Quality| | | A southern aspect| 5| 3| 3| 3. 67| 9%| 7| Quality| | | Transportation| 4| 5| 4| 4. 33| 10%| 5| Environment| 25. 33| 60%| Nearness| 5| 5| 5| 5. 00| 12%| 1| Environment| | | Environment| 5| 4| 4| 4. 33| 10%| 5| Environment| | | Public offices| 1| 4| 1| 2. 00| 5%| 11| Environment| | | Hospitals| 5| 5| 5| 5. 00| 12%| 1| Environment| | | Mart| 5| 5| 4| 4. 67| 11%| 3| Environment| | | * index : 1~5 scores It is appeared that Nearness and Hospitals are the best factors to choose a place to live. House rent and Mart are followed.
It is also shown that the ratio of Environment factors is high relative to the ratio of the House Quality itselt. As a result from the table, we can obtain a fact that the environmental factors is more important than the quality of house itselt on selecting a place to live. The interesting point in this table, there is no participants whose preference pattern are similar with Avg. of them. But, the result of survey is useful to find a best solution and make a decision. In addition, it makes us to negotiate each other’s differces. < Chap 2. Internet Exercises 3 > Search the Internet for companies and organizations that provide computerized support for managerial decision making. (Hint: Search for business intelligence. Take a sample of five software vendors and characterize their products, based on specific functional market area (e. g. , marketing, manufacturing, insurance, transportation), level of managerial support (e. g. , strategic, tactical, operational, transactional), type of computerized tool (e. g. , DSS, data mining, BI, OLAT, EIS, ES, Artificial Neural Networks [ANN], cluster analysis), and how they utilize Web technologies. Take a sample of 10 nonvendors (e. g. , consultants). What kinds of support do they provide? Answer) We taked five software vendors, Microsoft BI, SAP BI, Oracle BI, Microstrategy BI, and Pentaho BI. All of them is applied various functional market area, marketing, manufacturing, insurance, transportation, and so on.
Also, they provide appropriate fuctions to each level – management and worker. But the type of tools used is focused on datamining through the database. Pentaho BI among them, is a opensource solution, have less larger scale than other applications. However it provides version of enterprise functionally. Nowadays all most companies related BI is providing functions to plan, integrate, analyze, and report basically. The customers are requiring the usages like them. Fig. 1. Microsoft BI Matrix Fig. 3. SAP BI strategy Fig. 2. Oracle BI Foundation Suite Fig. 4. MicroStrategy-9’s Platform Fig. 5. Pentaho Enterprise Edition Product We taked ten non-vendors (consultants) like the below. 1. The Hackett Technology Solutions
Hackett Technology Solutions’ Best Practice Implementations enable organizations to: Adopt the same business processes that work for top-performing organizations, Sustain process improvements through technology, Mitigate risk, Compress planning time, Ensure alignment between technology solutions and business objectives. http://www. bisolutions. us/ 2. Business Intelligence Solutions Data mining services by industry – transportation, financial services, insurance, retail, telecommunications, others. Consulting Services – Reporting and Analysis, Forecasting, Statistical Modeling, Optimization, Data Mining Services, GIS Analytics, Survey / Instrument Development, Validation and Analysis, Integration of Statistical / Data Mining / GIS Models into existing applications, Application Development http://www. businessdecision. com/ 3. Business & Decision Group
Business & Decision is an international Consulting and Systems Integration (CSI) company. It supports to build Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and a major supplier of services for e-Business and Enterprise Information Management (EIM). http://www. advantagebi. com/ 4. Advantage BI Consulting Advantage BI Consulting offers a variety of services to improve the value of information in organisation : Strategy Development, Architecture Reviews, Solution Implementation, Application Support. http://www. modernanalytics. com/ 5. Modern analytics Modern Analyticss provides data driven decisions on demand and delivers proven predictions for profit performance. They service for retail, high-tech, banking and service industries.
Also they support coporates to increase profits by: Managing risk, Forecasting product demand, Finding new customers, Keeping existing customers (preventing customer attrition), Cross-selling and up-selling new products, Identifying fraudulent charges, isolating fraud in returns, Prioritizing workloads, Optimizing sales pipelines. http://www. intelligentsystems. biz/ 6. Intelligent Business Systems Intelligent Business Systems supports decision alternative prioritisation, preference assessment in a general multicriteria decision setting, decision support systems for simultaneous equation systems (SESs) forecasting, etc. http://www. intelegencia. com/ 7.
Intelegencia Business Intelligence Managed Services: To implement, integrate and support existing or new Business Intelligence Solutions ; (Microsoft SSIS, Microsoft Migration Assistant, Microsoft SQL Server and OLAP, Informatica) Data Mining Tools & Services: To gain insights into their customers and competitors by thorough data access, analysis and application of corporate data and information ; Data processing, Data analysis, Programming and Modeling using tools such as SAS, SPSS and other Statistical tools, Development and maintenance of business reports utilizing various OLAP platforms, Data Quality, Data Integration, Data Augmentation.
Managed Reporting Services: to collect volumes of internal and external data, and analyze this data in different dimensions. Analytic and technical strength to provide an ongoing reporting infrastructure and support : Cognos, Business Objects, Dashboard and Scorecard Applications. http://www. infomaker. com/ 8. InforMaker Inc. They service analytics and business intelligence consulting. Their Analytics services include predictive analytics, data mining, statistical analysis, machine learning algorithms, and operations research applications. They execute analyses, build mathematical models and develop algorithms for the information driven business. Their Business Intelligence solutions use SAS® , Business Objects®, Oracle®, and MS SQL® technologies.
Their engagements include marketing analytics, web analytics, e-commerce, customer relationship management, supply chain, semiconductor, financial, informatics, healthcare, and manufacturing studies and applications. http://www. infocentricity. com/ 9. InfoCentricity It is an analytic solutions company that can help easily discover and leverage key insights hidden in data. This supports a family of products that can meet the needs of multiple risk management and marketing functions across a wide range of industries, including: Financial Services, Retail, Direct mail/catalog, Telecommunications, Utilities, E-commerce. http://www. decisionsystems. com/default. htm 10. Decision Systems Inc.
Consulting Services : Technology Reviews, Application Reviews, Product Evaluations, System Prototyping System Design Application Development : Customer Applications, Systems Integration, Client-Server, Thin-Client, Web Product Development : OEM, APIs, Web Interfaces, Web Services Outsourcing : Application Support, Application Maintenance, Product Support, Technical Support Analytical Applications/ DSS : Sales, Analysis, Planning & Forecasting, Profitability/Yield Analysis, Financial Consolidations, Statutory, Reporting, Budgeting Business Intelligence : OLAP CRM Analytics : Web Analytics Data Warehousing : General Reporting, Data ETL Enterprise Info. Portals , Knowledge Management ETC. < Chap 2. Internet Exercises 4 > Access a DSS/BI software vendor’s Web site (select one or use the one your instructor selects).
Select a success story of the software or use the one your instructor selects. Describe in detail what decisions were to be made and what process was actually followed. Be sure to describe how technology assisted (or hindered) the decision-making process and what the decision’s impacts were. Answer) < Customer success of SAS Business Intelligence : Fast action drives customer satisfaction! American Honda saves millions using SAS > Engineers at American Honda Motor Co. hope you never have to take your car to the shop – except for routine maintenance. “People expect their cars to be perfect,” says Tracy Cermack, Project Manager in the Service Engineering Information Department at American Honda. SAS allows us to integrate text documents with traditional structured product information from warranty, Techline [technician call center] and customer call center data so that we’re capable of quickly addressing issues of quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. ” Boasting one of the most admired and recognized brands in the United States, American Honda ensures the continued quality and performance of its automobiles by listening closely to what its customers – and the data – are saying. Using SAS for an early-warning system that mines structured data and unstructured text, American Honda combines customer and technician feedback with manufacturing and other systems data.
The resulting analytic discoveries support engineering improvements that build better vehicles and maintain the automaker’s pre-eminence in the industry. “Not only does this mean less cost to the company, but it also means less expense and inconvenience to our customers,” Cermack says. “We can fix issues before they ever reach the customers, and that means higher satisfaction and improves the probability of repeat purchases. ” Product quality, customer safety Cermack’s group continually analyzes warranty claims, Techline data, customer feedback, parts sales and vehicle sales to gauge quality and safety – looking at essentially anything that possibly could go wrong with a vehicle.
The team’s vigilance – coupled with SAS’ analytic power – enables the company to mitigate potential issues before they lead to real problems. If, for example, an analyst identifies a possible concern, the team can alert engineering, manufacturing or even the dealers’ repair shops immediately. “We’ve implemented a system using SAS data mining and SAS text mining that gives us insight into what the data can tell us,” Cermack explains. “American Honda has an excellent infrastructure for identifying problems and investigating issues that aren’t clear on the surface. There’s always something we could miss if we had to do it all manually, so we rely on SAS to identify and help us make sense of key information. ” Detecting emerging issues
Using SAS, American Honda has developed an early-warning system that helps the automaker find and forestall potential problems and go back to previous data for more in-depth analysis. During the project’s development phase, analysts identified emerging issues with three different vehicle models – issues that had not shown up earlier. With this help from SAS, American Honda was able to resolve the problems swiftly before they had widespread effects. SAS Text Miner helps analysts zero in on a single performance issue that might be identified based on text. They can then compare hundreds of potential scenarios and drill into additional areas of information to quickly find key concepts or threads that provide a picture of what’s really happening.
By analyzing the text and related structured data, American Honda can pinpoint the real issue and identify key part numbers or other sources for further investigation. “SAS helps us look at the analyses graphically to identify what stands out,” Cermack says. “Then we can hone it down to a more finite definition that we can act on. ” Hundreds of millions saved Before using SAS Text Miner, American Honda developed a SAS system to place warranty and other customer data into categories to define problems and address them as quickly as possible. While this warranty analysis system was cutting-edge for the industry, it still wasn’t comprehensive. The original SAS system worked extremely well when American Honda already knew what the problems were.
The new SAS system enhances the solution to uncover root causes and find hidden issues that engineers can correct long before they become problems for American Honda customers. With the new SAS early-warning capabilities built into the warranty analysis system, Cermack’s team can perform simple text-matching functions and look at automatically defined clusters of text in a variety of different ways. If the system detects growth in a cluster over time or a sudden increase in a cluster size, it alerts analysts, managers and engineers for further analysis. Recipients can click on the alert notice, easily view details of the findings and take into consideration the relationship of other variables.
As needed, they can request reports to highlight top part numbers or labor operations related to claims, which can give them better insight and understanding of what’s going on. “We’ve discovered that parts might be replaced when, in fact, they have nothing to do with the problem, which means the part never needed to be replaced to begin with,” Cermack says. “SAS is helping us make discoveries so that we can address the core issues before they ever become problems – and we can make sure that we are addressing the right causes. We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in savings. ” If a problem is identified two months into production and is corrected right away, then it doesn’t adversely affect the next 10 months of output – hundreds of thousands of cars.
Cermack credits SAS Consulting for ensuring the project’s total success. “Just any consultant wouldn’t do,” she says. “We had an amazing team in SAS – even better than I had expected; I have great respect for the members of our consulting team and I cannot compliment them enough. ” 1) What decisions were to be made * To mitigate potential issues before customers lead to real problems. * Identifying problems and investigating issues that aren’t clear on the surface. * To make the automaker find and forestall potential problems and go back to previous data for more in-depth analysis. * Looking at the analyses graphically to identify what stands out. To hone it down to a more finite definition that workers can act on. 2) What process was actually followed * To integrate text documents with traditional structured product information from warranty, Techline [technician call center] and customer call center data. * By SAS Text Miner, American Honda can compare hundreds of potential scenarios and drill into additional areas of information to quickly find key concepts or threads that provide a picture of what’s really happening. * Using SAS, American Honda has developed an early-warning system that helps the automaker find and forestall potential problems and go back to previous data for more in-depth analysis.
During the project’s development phase, analysts identified emerging issues with three different vehicle models – issues that had not shown up earlier. 3) How technology assisted (or hindered) the decision-making process * Using SAS for an early-warning system that mines structured data and unstructured text, American Honda combines customer and technician feedback with manufacturing and other systems data. * By SAS Text Miner, American Honda can find key concepts or threads that provide a picture of what’s really happening. 4) What the decision’s impacts were * To be capable of quickly addressing issues of quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. * To support engineering improvements that build better vehicles and maintain the automaker’s pre-eminence in the industry. Honda ensures the continued quality and performance of its automobiles by listening closely to what its customers are saying. * By analyzing the text and related structured data, American Honda can pinpoint the real issue and identify key part numbers or other sources for further investigation and resolve the problems swiftly before they had widespread effects. * Not only less cost to the company, but less expense and inconvenience to customers. * Product quality, customer safety, and detecting emerging issues. * The new SAS system enhances the solution to uncover root causes and find hidden issues that engineers can correct long before they become problems for American Honda customers.
