QlikView and Fourier give TFMC a window on its future
Wessel van Heerden, professional engineer at Fourier Approach, explains how the Qlikview/Fourier partnership came into being.
"Fourier Approach uses 3D simulation and modelling to run various scenarios and 'what-if' analyses for clients, providing detailed decision support for improvements to operations, capital expenditure decisions, continuous improvement programmes and other undertakings," says Van Heerden.
Using FlexSim simulation software, the company can construct, in a 3 Dimensional environment, client operations, allowing it to break out, analyse and optimise discrete systems by tweaking various parameters and testing the effects.
Accidental partners
When Fourier moved to simulate the call centre operation at TFMC - a QlikView customer - the opportunity for a collaborative development partnership with the vendor became apparent.
"Ordinarily we would run the analyses, but TFMC was able to do it themselves when we front-ended the simulation model results in QlikView, an environment that is familiar to them. In the end we integrated the software in a combined offering."
Davide Hanan, MD of QlikView SA, says like other QlikView clients, TFMC prizes QlikView's in-memory architecture and associative query logic, which supports powerful and rapid user-driven business intelligence from any data source.
The joint solution approach entails Fourier making its simulation data available to QlikView, enabling customers of both to run various analyses as needed and plan proactively, he says.
Hanan says the company embraces the idea of a simulation and scenario planning component to its software as a high-value extra dimension.
The companies will jointly market the combined solution. As a QlikView reseller, Fourier Approach will market it to its client base, even if they're not already QlikView clients.
Test case
TFMC (Total Facilities Management Company) provided the ideal opportunity to show the power of the combined solution in its call centre operation, which offers in-bound and out-bound first-line support and maintenance services to clients.
Subject to strict service level agreements (SLAs) based on time to answer calls and log requests, TFMC wanted to proactively test the impact of various scenarios on its call volumes, such as the on-boarding of a new client or the advent of peak season.
In addition, it wanted to evaluate the impact of potential capacity interventions on resource scheduling and capacity, SLAs and costs, which would inform new design interventions.
Using FlexSim, Fourier simulated the environment, and proceeded to write the simulation data to a database. It then developed a QlikView app fronting the data. Now TFMC could analyse scenarios within the familiar QlikView milieu.
Benefits
As a result of the five-week project, TFMC was able to model various new call volumes, clients and contingencies, determine their resourcing impact, and design and test interventions to enable adherence to SLAs, including call pooling, new shift patterns, alternative agent resolution channels such as email, etc.
Wider application
Fourier and QlikView continue to model any new scenarios as the client profile changes or new projects emerge.
The solution, effectively an original equipment manufacturing partnership for both QlikView and Fourier Approach, can be used to perform similar analyses across all industries, the companies say.
"From mines to factories, branches to processes, organisations can model operations in 3D and use QlikView as a front-end analysis for future business decision support, saving real costs on fact based spenditure ," says Van Heerden.
