DISCOVERING THE
FLASHPOINT
BRIDGING THE GAP FROM THE PAST AND THE FUTURE
Joe Delghingaro
www.JoeDelghingaro.com
The Interactive Experience
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
2
THE NEXUS BETWEEN
DATA AND BUSINESS
DECISIONS
That was only the beginning of TON’s of exciting innovation’s, designed along the
way.
Discovering The Flashpoint
3
THIS EVOLUTION
IS INEVITABLE
Genesis Emerging Environment
Twenty years ago, cell phones and the internet were Agility is paramount in this new frontier. More data has been
in their infancy. Cash and checks were the primary created in the past two years than the previous history of the
tenders used for financial transactions. Business was human race.
mostly conducted face-to-face. So much has changed
in such a short amount of time. Data Congestion
The Evolution Data comes from everywhere today. We have an ERP system
for our personal business data, systems like Paylocity or ADP
We are now living in an almost paperless currency age. manage our payroll, we have systems that specifically handle
Paypal, VenMo, ApplePay, credit cards, and direct de- sales tax, our customers give us access to software that gives
posit are the main ways money is transacted today. What us their POS information. Where does all of this information
was Science Fiction, is now the reality. Most people can live? Do we have a way to retain it for future use? Do we
video conference through FaceTime. Cars can drive them- want to retain it for future use?
selves and artificial intelligence is no longer theoretical.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
4
Managing Information Assets
Problem How to Ascertain the Data is correct
Businesses have too much data and it is coming from many This requires someone that has had years of experience ana-
different sources. lyzing and studying business and the facets that make them
succeed or fail. It also requires someone who has the techni-
Corporate Data Watchdog cal expertise to overcome the barricades that are met when
merging information fails.
Information comes from so many different streams, simi-
lar to being handed a box that has every part to build an Knowing is only half the battle
engine only completely dismantled and spread all over.
A Data Watchdog is someone that maintains, protects, and Sometimes knowledge alone is not enough, finding someone
tests the integrity of the data we rely on. This includes both proficient in both structured programming languages like Py-
the data we use and the framework where it is stored. Once thon, Java, VBA, and C#, along with an expert at SQL and creat-
complete we have an engine ready to be used. ing databases from the ground up. Providing both the knowl-
edge and acumen to be today’s Corporate Data Watchdog.
Discovering The Flashpoint
5
Deliver Insights to Improve Decision Making
Let the Information Guide the Solution poorly functioning SKU’s has remained constant. Meaning
we are running a risk of potential “stock out” on our revenue
Once we have reliable data, it is time to structure it, scrub heavy SKU’s.
for imperfections and formulate it into workable knowledge.
The Arbiter of Knowledge Hindsight is 20/20
Relevant information becomes the bedrock of the organiza- The world today is far too unforgiving to take risks like miss-
tion. At this point, we begin deeper analysis. It takes the care ing when an item falls off of Amazon or missing a reorder for
and precision, like a doctor, to take the analytics we create an obscure product that gains quick popularity.
and focus in on the harder issues like “why” something oc-
curred and “what” needs to be done to fix it. This deeper
level of analyzing is beyond computer science. It allows us to
analyze how we can decrease our inventory by over 1 million
dollars in a month while our quantity of discontinued and
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
6
Generate Incremental Business Value
“Data and analytics are used across pletely and providing the data expert more time to
the whole organization. No longer can focus more complex situations.
either multiple disparate teams or a
single centralized team with a single The Best is Yet to Come
organizational structure be identified”
Once today’s business finds their data expert,
The Orchestra Conductor they will be able to Shepard the dynamic strug-
gles we face in this torrid intellectual environment.
Today’s company needs their chief data partner to
work as an orchestra’s conductor to manage direct
and indirect relationships and maintain harmony.
Providing Tools to Foster Growth
Empower the organization with the tools and dash-
boards allowing them the ability to do their job com-
Discovering The Flashpoint
7
“HE WHO CONTROLS THE PAST CONTROLS
THE FUTURE. HE WHO CONTROLS THE
PRESENT CONTROLS THE PAST.”
GEORGE ORWELL, 1984
A few examples of current and former projects I have created.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
8
Amazon ASIN Tracker and Reporting
Amazon sales channels Many nuances exist between channels:
1. Amazon 1P - This is inventory that Amazon pur- 1. Pricing
chases directly from it’s Vendors. 2. Stock availability
3. Profitability
2. Amazon 3P (FBA) - Amazon’s “Fulfilled by Ama- 4. Customer satisfaction
zon” is inventory that is sent to Amazon’s DC but
is still owned by the Vendor until it is purchased by
the customer.
Problems:
1. Seller’s can find themselves violating Amazon’s pricing rules when they are sell-
ing the same item’s in both 1P and 3P marketplaces.
• Amazon’s pricing rules state that you cannot undercut the price on 1P with your 3P pric-
ing.
• Pricing fluctuates quickly and these changes can change market demand causing “stock
outs”
• Amazon does not provide transparency to see when items get suppressed by Amazon
from profitability.
2. Amazon will incorrectly order goods or fail to order goods when rapid changes
in pricing occur.
• Amazon uses exponential smoothing to manage their ordering requirements, this can
cause stock out issues for both Amazon and the vendor if Supply Chain does not handle
these fluctuations quickly.
• When selling between Amazon’s channels along with maintaining your customer’s needs
can prove challenging for a Supply Chain Dept.
3. Amazon will sell products at a loss if market prices push prices down for a long
period of time.
• Amazon is a low-cost follower. - Meaning if competition lowers their price, Amazon will
follow and match that price until the competition raises their price back up.
• Staying in front of these price wars can aid your inventory team to maintain adequate
levels of inventory.
• Also, if Amazon sustains a loss for too long they will remove the item from their site. This
can be a huge cost to any company selling thousands of these items per week.
Discovering The Flashpoint
Amazon ASIN Tracker and Reporting 9
Solution:
Combine Amazon’s 3P API, data mining from Amazon 1P, and your ERP
sales/inventory information and create “Amazon Mission Control”.
One aggregated set of data that pulls Amazon’s consistently changing information
alongside your companies data to provide crisp and clean tools to manage Amazon’s
sales.
Increased Visibility Better Analytics
Display Current Stock Status Inventory Data from ERP and
Amazon Channels
Intransit Inventory
Competitor Pricing
Provide Images for easy ID Buy Box Details
Price Parity How?
See the Competition • This is a huge platform that is Amazon’s FBA
API’s in conjunction with Web Crawlers to moni-
tor 1P prices and status. In a given day over
100,000 lines of data are pulled and stored to
create this linear timeframe for us to navigate.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
10 Product Information Manager
Catsy is a product information management(PIM) and catalog software platform that houses
product images, specifications and data.
• Providing our sales team and customers the ability to access our product’s remotely.
• Catsy offers us the opportunity to create custom customer catalogs for our private label customers.
• Helps Whitmor to align goals and processes to become and maintain efficiency
Discovering The Flashpoint
11
Business Intelligence and Reporting
Data visualizations that are as complex as the companies they serve.
Directly linked to databases providing real time analytics.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
12
Business Intelligence and Reporting
Accessible over the internet for entire organization
Intuitive and easy to use letting the team focus on their important tasks
Discovering The Flashpoint
New Product Tracker 13
Using Basecamp’s API, I created an object library in Python
that integrates with SQL Server to monitor an ERP system and
generate new projects when products are ordered.
• Provides real-time status updates when the
product leaves the factory, ship from the port,
and arrive in our local warehouse.
• Updates back to the ERP system once status
changes and updates the items “SKU status” for
transparency to the rest of the team.
• Initiates upload to Catsy (PIM) providing sales
and customers with up-to-date selling informa-
tion.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
14
Prior Projects
BIRTH OF THE
ENGINE
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most re-
sponsive to change. - Charles Darwin
Before
Consolidated Reporting - multiple reports manually compiled.
Discovering The Flashpoint
15
Necessity is the mother of invention - Plato
One Sunday I was struggling with our reporting problem, FRx was unable to consolidate data from four systems.
Then I had an idea, build an Engine to spool data off of a database, forget about the limitations of our current reporting tool. Ulti-
mately, its moot because of the vast difference in GL Structures between ledgers. Today’s companies require more flexibility today
as unique.
Microsoft’s FRx Simply Failed
I built the first working model that day.
Today
One fully automated consolidated SRE for all of TruckPro.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
16
Rise of the Phoenix Database - Part 1
Phoenix: The name for the engine that The database is updated before reports can run. The update
drives the reporting tool that replacing FRx. process takes 9 minutes. This consists of fetching data from
Reason: In mythology, the Phoenix is a bird that rise’s 4 different instances of GP and aggregating it into one central
from the ashes of its former self. It was critical that database. Then compiling it into subset groups and building
whatever solution used mirrored what everybody was over 80 cubes to make the data accessible faster.
familiar with and trusted. For this reason, Phoenix’s
reports look exactly like FRx reports. Reporting Engine - Part 2
The Environment Now that the data is organized, the Engine written mostly in
VBA, SQL and VB net, executes directly from Microsoft Excel.
The entire Phoenix system is a two-part system comprising All of the tools incorporating the tool execute from the work-
an engine and a database. book and interface directly with the database.
Discovering The Flashpoint
17
“EVERY ARTIST DIPS HIS BRUSH
IN HIS OWN SOUL, AND PAINTS
HIS OWN NATURE INTO HIS
PICTURES.”
HENRY WARD BEECHER
That was only the beginning of TON’s of exciting innovation’s, designed along the
way. Let’s take a second to flip through the evolution of these tools and their vital
role to prior success.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
18
Consolidated Detail by Region
Early 2014
August 2015
• Running the same Engine that drives the SRE; the new ‘CDR’ shares the same reliability as the
SRE
• Despite growth, CDR completion times have decreased from nearly a week to seconds
Discovering The Flashpoint
19
Quarterly Operations Review
• I create tools and resources for the ‘end user’ quickly and accurately.
• Pushing our current limits to maximize efficiency and propel us into tomorrow.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
20
Verification
Verification that every subtotal on every report aggregates correctly, visual confirmation
that the smallest detail has been checked
Verification every store add’s up to it’s Region total
Verification Prior year SSC Allocation equals zero
• Attention to Detail
• Thousands of check points to ensure data we can trust
Discovering The Flashpoint
21
BEYOND
REPORTING
Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve
done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me. - Steve Jobs
Impact
My reporting touches that hands of almost ever person in an organiza-
tion because it’s quick, reliable and easy to use.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
22
BEYOND
REPORTING
YEAR END DUPLICATES
• March 2015 - GP 2013, Accounting department rolled over the prior year in the system and had
a catastrophic IT incident, cause over 1 mil duplicate records to be create and a temporarily loss
in integrity of our GL
Objective
• Time: 3 days
• Task: Write instructions walking someone step by step through the task stated above
• Reason: Fix GL before Auditors arrive that week and was not permitted access to do work on
• Mission Status: Mission Accomplished!
Discovering The Flashpoint
23
BEYOND
REPORTING
EAST AP ACCOUNT FIX
• November 2014, Month End close we discover that during the integration of AP for the East
Region the wrong accounts had been set up in GP 2013 and a month’s worth of invoices were
entered and paid through the sub ledger and general ledger.
Objective
• Time: 3 days
• Task: Void checks, void invoices, re-enter invoices, for all 4000 invoices AP entered in the
Month of November for the East Region
• Reason: Needed to fix sub ledger so GL and SL could agree
• Mission Status: Mission Accomplished!
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
24
BEYOND
REPORTING
GP ERROR CORRECTIONS
• Errors in the GL due to incorrectly coded items into the GL create issues that slow down close
and cause the GL not to balance. These errors can take hours to find and my automated que-
ries can locate and identify them in seconds.
Objective
• Time: 3 days
• Task: Void checks, void invoices, re-enter invoices, for all 4000 invoices AP entered in the
Month of November for the East Region
• Reason: Needed to fix sub ledger so GL and SL could agree
• Mission Status: Mission Accomplished!
Discovering The Flashpoint
25
WD11 36%
Consolidated Financial Re- Reduction in Calendar Days for
ports have been produced submission of reports for the
with QOR for the entire East August close compared to the
Region. Average 2015 submission date.
ON TIME
Commitment
Continued process improvement month
after month combined with continuous
code and database improvements have
allowed us to turn out more and accurate
reports month after month with zero in-
crease head count.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
26
“YOU MEASURE THE SIZE OF
THE ACCOMPLISHMENT BY
THE OBSTACLES YOU HAD TO
OVERCOME TO REACH YOUR
GOALS.” -BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
Along the path from here to there I have made a plethora of tools/references/SOPs
and Utilities to help the entire team succeed.
Discovering The Flashpoint
27
INTERCOMPANY
• Secured Windows Authorization back end GP interface with one click updating and refresh
• Database to DTDF Variance Recon on top of sheet to identify synchronization
• Individual data feed by FRIDA for transaction level information for regions
• MTD & YTD Reconciliation off to right for “At a Glance” out of balances
• Visual Monthly Variance and GL Balance to allow region to reconcile balance prior to closing books
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
28
FINANCE STATEMENT
COMPARISONS
Obtaining its name from Greek mythology, (a creature comprised of parts of more than one animal), the
Chimera was created to rip two SRE’s apart and compare them side by side to locate exactly what is
different. In other words...
Identify Version Control
• Select 2 files either TTM or SRE
• Choose page to compare
• Results are in table on the bottom
• Detailed line item results provided to side
• Excellent to find errors and post close entry validation
Discovering The Flashpoint
29
BUDGET TEMPLATE
• Running off the Phoenix Engine the
2016 Budget Template pushes the
boundaries of previously provided
templates.
• The Intuitive design automatically up-
dates as the season continues. Pulling
more relevant 2015 information as it
becomes available.
• The built in Revenue module allows depart-
mental budgeting from inception preventing
problems further in the process.
• All Data flows back to the main document
and NOTHING is linked to outside docu-
ments.
• The payroll module calculates store
level employee’s at the employee
level.
• Everything consolidating back to the
master file for upload into the GP
2013 database.
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
30
S O PTANDARD
OPERATING PROCEDURE’S
I prepare scores of easy to read, visual instructions that are geared for my end user.
Understanding the complexities of the job and providing guidance with clear and concise instruction.
Discovering The Flashpoint
31
THE
FUTURE
Let’s make tomorrow great, today!
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
32
• Business Analytics
• Conduit for IT and Finance
• Corporate Accountant
• Statistics and Regression Analysis
• Game Theory
• Computer Programmer
• Database Designer
• Teammate
Phoenix was only the start...
Discovering The Flashpoint
33
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE AT:
https://www.JoeDelghingaro.com
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success
34
CONTACT
THANK YOU OFFICE
I appreciate the time you spent Memphis
reading this booklet. Tennessee
Phone 303 842 9422
email: [email protected]
www.JoeDelghingaro.com
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
- Ernest Hemingway
Discovering The Flashpoint
35
YOUR NEXUS BETWEEN TODAY’S AMBITIONS AND TOMORROWS SUCCESS
VISIT ME:
www.JoeDelghingaro.com
The Interactive Experience
Your nexus between today’s ambitions and tomorrows Success