fbpx Skip to content

US Coatings Developer Bridges the Gap Between Oracle and More Familiar Applications Using GL Wand

Tnemec uses Reports Wand and GL Wand to create a variety of reports, enabling the phase-out of Oracle Discoverer.

Tnemec Hero

Challenge

Tnemec, a Missouri-based manufacturer of architectural and industrial coatings, has been transitioning from a legacy IBM AS400 system to Oracle over the last eight years. Users and developers alike encountered a steep learning curve when the early modules for Financials were first installed. Challenges were especially obvious for reporting tasks, driving accounting and information services (IS) to explore tools to bridge the gap between Oracle and more familiar applications like Excel.

Enter GL Wand by insightsoftware, an Excel-based reporting tool that links directly with live Oracle Financials data. GL Wand was a resounding success with accounting and finance users. But as Tnemec was expanding its Oracle footprint outside of Financials and into Order Management, the company realized it needed to make reporting easier from other Oracle modules. Reports Wand, also from insightsoftware, has bridged another Oracle gap for Tnemec by meeting reporting needs from a range of modules while allowing the company to capitalize on existing user and IS expertise with Excel.

Solution

“I built our financial reporting package in GL Wand, which is comprised of 20-25 financial statements in a single workbook that I refresh each month with only a few mouse clicks,” said Ken Lloyd, Operations Controller at Tnemec and a GL Wand superuser. “Each statement is in a separate tab and contains formulas that point to a single parameters tab.”

GL Wand provides real-time, drillable access to financial data in the Oracle General Ledger module. 

With the success of GL Wand for financials, Tnemec decided to trial another insightsoftware product in summer 2012. The Reports Wand tool could provide access to live data in a variety of Oracle modules via an Excel interface and supported the easy creation of customized queries.

User acceptance of both Reports Wand and GL Wand has been excellent.

“GL Wand is an intelligence tool because it is helping us do what we want to do the way our company wants to do it. We are leveraging the existing knowledge and skills of our staff.”

Ken Lloyd Operations Controller

Get a Demo & Pricing