Ehrmanns

Logo EhrmannsHow Power BI helped Ehrmanns Wines finance team unbottle the good stuff

Ehrmanns is a leading wine supplier to multiple channels within the wine trade dating back to 1875. A lot has changed since then, and Ehrmanns has adapted accordingly to become one of the most dynamic suppliers to the trade. Ehrmanns' broad supply base of family-owned wineries from over 30 suppliers from 15 countries ensures that it delivers the right products, at the right quality and the right price.

As Ehrmanns is a dynamic business, the finance team was keen to ensure that the financial information that was being shared internally was as valuable and timely as possible, to support agile decision making. Clearly this has become increasingly important in a time of uncertainty. Here we share a conversation they had with James Hallet, our Power BI leader, about their move to using Power BI and the benefits they have seen.

What was the problem you were looking to solve?

We didn’t have the ability to report on the complete picture, all our data was retrospective. It didn’t recognise live stocks and open orders so the information we shared was limited at best. It also took time to reconcile, so even that was often too out of date to have value to support decision making.

Now our directors can see the data immediately the month closes, as can the sales team.

Why did you choose Microsoft Power BI?

We had the Microsoft licence anyway so when we looked at the MS solution, we realised that not only would we benefit from a significant saving the cost of the old system licence, but it would be continually updated. It was a no brainer.

Was it difficult to implement?

We worked with a consultant, DiB Business Solutions, who supported us in up skilling key users in the finance team. The biggest leap for us was thinking through what our key performance indicators could be now we had access to such better intelligence. It is a completely new way of looking at our financial information.

What returns have you seen?

Previously it would take one of the finance team several days to disseminate the reconciled month’s figures. Now our directors can see the data immediately the month closes, as can the sales team. As a result, the confidence in the information has been greatly improved as everyone can see the position of the company. Now that’s data democracy! There is also much greater granularity, so we can see the big picture but also be able to investigate any anomalies. The ease of seeing the information graphically is also having a positive impact.

Were there any surprises?

One thing that came as an unplanned benefit is the security of the data. It has been such a success that we are now rolling it out to all our other departments.

How we can help

We can provide support and assistance designing the key data-dashboards for your business and assessing the key KPIs that are valuable for your teams.

If you would like to talk about Power BI for your business, please get in touch with Philip Woodgate, philip.woodgate@goodmanjones.com

To find out more about Ehrmanns Wines visit www.ehrmannswines.co.uk, or enjoy some of their delicious wines such as the Beefsteak Club and Carta Roja, available at your local supermarket.