ARTA on the Buses with SAP BusinessObjects

ARTA on the Buses with SAP BusinessObjects

SAP BusinessObjects Analyses Data for Bus Operator Reporting



ARTA, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, has gone live with SAP BusinessObjects BI reporting and analysis tools which it is using to report on the performance of bus operators in the region.

ARTA’s goal was to have the ability to provide flexible reporting and drawdown for internal audiences and reporting via PDF to external stakeholders. The project team reviewed a number of solutions including Microsoft Reporting Services and Oracle before choosing SAP BusinessObjects to sit across its newly developed business warehouse.

The project went live in mid-2009 and the initial rounds of reporting garnered very positive feedback from users.

“The take up has been excellent and end users are very happy,” says Roger Jones, IT manager, ARTA. “The speed of report development and rendering from very large datasets is dramatically faster than previously.

“Because it is so easy to use people are engaging more with the data, they’re better informed which means improved decision making.

“We’re already seeing hard benefits in cost savings due to the much shorter time it takes to develop reports, including scheduled weekly and monthly reports. It has definitely paid for itself in business terms,” says Roger.

Much of the huge volume of data is collected automatically whenever buses reach or depart from a stop. As ARTA becomes familiar with the rich reporting it is now able to get from this data there is potential for the organisation to use the reports to inform decision making in areas as diverse as bus scheduling and timetabling, passenger occupancy levels, staff rostering and route planning.

Graeme Riley, managing director SAP New Zealand, says that ARTA has a strategy to leverage and increase its investment in SAP.

“ARTA runs SAP throughout its organisation and the additional insight provided by BusinessObjects will bring users further clarity about their business, allowing them to make important decisions with confidence and speed.”

Twenty users in passenger transport operations at ARTA are using SAP BusinessObjects to report on a SQL data warehouse.

ENDS

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