U.S. Lumber achieves 3,623% ROI with Business Intelligence Solution

Improves productivity, reduces inventory and accelerates accounts receivable
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
Nucleus Research analysts examined the deployment of IBM Cognos 8 Business
Intelligence at U.S. Lumber and found a 3,623% return on investment (ROI) with
payback in only eleven days.

U.S. Lumber is a $325 million distributor of specialty and wholesale building
materials. The company has approximately 6,000 customers and eight distribution
facilities which serve markets in 14 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic States.

As the housing boom approached its apex, U.S. Lumber decided to monitor the
primary drivers of its profitability and cash flow; sales, accounts receivable
and inventory. The company determined that the existing business model was
adequate for the then-strong economic market; however the system would not
enable employees to perform analyses with sufficient speed or granularity in the
event of an economic downturn. U.S. Lumber needed to restructure its methods of
managing sales, accounts receivable and inventory. Maintaining the existing use
of static reports, labor-intensive analyses and poor forecasting would not be
feasible in a faltering housing market.

U.S. Lumber decided to adopt IBM Cognos 8 BI and has benefited from its end-user
driven tools with web and Java-based functionality that improve productivity and
reduce financing costs by lowering the levels of accounts receivable and
inventory. The company reduced financing costs using the new system while
tracking and identifying slow moving items within its inventory. Productivity
improved as a result of the upgrade, bringing tasks that previously required
labor-intensive reports and spreadsheets to a far more rapid tracking and
invoicing process.

"IBM Cognos 8 BI gave U.S. Lumber the visibility it needed to churn its
inventory and AR faster, which both improves cash flow and reduces financing
costs. A real success factor here is that the project champion was able to keep
the project simple, which reduces costs and risks," said David O`Connell, senior
analyst, Nucleus Research.

All Nucleus Research ROI case studies are independent assessments, evaluating
the costs and benefits from the IT deployment. The case study is available at
www.NucleusResearch.com

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is a global provider of IT research and advisory services that
provides CFOs, CIOs and their staffs with the real-world information they need
to maximize business returns from their technology investments, including
successfully executing their IT deployments and determining the business value
of their initiatives. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com.

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