Restaurant Equipment Repair Company Discovers Easy Report Building and Speedy Drill-Down with Davisware Analytics Powered by Spreadsheet Server

Eichenauer Services Inc. has been servicing commercial kitchen maintenance needs, including installation and repair, for over 70 years. Based out of central Illinois, they have the largest service area in the state with branches across 11 cities.

The Challenge

Before implementing Davisware Analytics powered by Spreadsheet Server, Justin Eichenauer, Director of Operations at Eichenauer Services, had to manually build database views in SQL to support his reporting needs. This was a time-consuming, technical process that took up far too much of his spare time. For example, Eichenauer describes his experience of performing an inventory variance analysis prior to implementing Davisware Analytics: “I would have to build a view in SQL, and then pull it into Excel so that I could analyze it.” These Excel files were made to be shareable around the organization, but some of them “would get really big,” making it difficult to drill down into detail and making loading and refreshing formulas slow. Eichenauer was looking for a product that would work within Excel and allow fast and easy drilldown when needed.

Eichenauer Services’ ERP field service software provider, Davisware, recommended Davisware Analytics, a real-time reporting solution that integrates directly with GlobalEdge or Vision.

Building upon Success with Davisware Analytics

Davisware’s software is purpose-built to support the operational and financial needs of commercial food equipment service organizations. As a longtime customer, Eichenauer says that Davisware “has come a long way from where it started and is pretty awesome software.” Adding Davisware Analytics “enhances our ability to function very well in our industry,” allowing Eichenauer to get real-time KPI data in seconds and the most out of their ERP investment.

Eichenauer enjoys the Query Designer feature in Davisware’s Analytcis platform, as it allows him to build reports “a lot easier”—he no longer has to build views in SQL and pull data into Excel, he can just access the data from within Excel via the direct connection to his GlobalEdge software. “Every time I make a new report, I learn new ways to make it better,” says Eichenauer. “The longer you use [the solution], the better you get at it.”

Because of the dynamic distribution capabilities, Eichenauer enjoys the simplicity of using Davisware Analytics report distribution functionality because he can “just set a formula to distribute the information whenever [he] need[s].” This allows him to share his reports with his colleagues on a schedule that suits him.

Being Excel-based is also “easier than SQL,” according to Eichenauer, as “you can’t mess anything up because you aren’t directly messing with the data.” Davisware Analytics suits Eichenauer, as he’s “not a programmer, but is good at Excel,” and the “easy usability” of each element of Davisware Analytics means that “you can do some fun stuff with it.”

“Davisware Analytics has saved me some time, for sure!” says Eichenauer. “Whenever I was doing stuff before, it was in my own time. I don’t need to do that any longer.” An example of this is how much easier Davisware Analytics makes it to drill down into data. “If a general ledger (GL) balance is off, I can go in and create a report and figure out what’s going on in the details,” says Eichenauer. “I can quickly go and make any kind of analysis report I want.” Additionally, he enjoys the speed at which he can perform these drilldowns: “When I’m in a meeting and someone asks a question, I’m able to pull up numbers off the cuff.”

Navigating Success

Eichenauer has been able to fulfill their reporting needs as a result of implementing Davisware Analytics , including:

• Ability to drill down into data for fast analysis
• Familiar Excel-interface allows freedom of creativity, without the fear or risks of working directly in SQL
• Query Designer capability makes “building reports a lot easier”