Better results at all levelsMercur Business Control

Better data for decision-makingImproved profitability

Face the challenges in a fast-moving world

Successful business often boils down to making the right decisions, with the right timing and on the right basis. But how do you go about it? Efficient business intelligence quickly provides better support for draw ing the right conclusions. And in fact, repeated customer surveys have shown that as many as 97 percent are of the opinion that Mercur Busi ness Control is such a system. It handles the challenges of a fast- moving world, where you are often expected to deliver more in a

shorter period of time and with ever diminishing resources.

Focus on the core operations

With Mercur Business Control, manual and time-consuming processes for data collection, processing and presentation are no longer needed. The system simply lets you focus on what is important to your opera-tions, such as organizing planning processes and promptly providing your organization with relevant and customized information. This is cru-cial as better planning, reporting and analysis are key to growth and achieving good results.

More successful business, put simply.

P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S P A G E 3P A G E 2

B E T T E R D A T A F O R D E C I S I O N - M A K I N G – I M P R O V E D P R O F I T A B I L I T YB E T T E R D A T A F O R D E C I S I O N - M A K I N G – I M P R O V E D P R O F I T A B I L I T Y

BOTH BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Unique solution creates securityMercur Business Control is a secure solution for

those wanting a short take-off run and fast results,

through better processes for:

• Reporting

• Analysis

• Budgeting and Forecasting

• Simulation and what-if analysis

This unique solution offers a large number of standard

functions that have been combined with several possi-

bilities for customization, and this is precisely what is

need ed for quick implementation. It is often the case

that, as a customer, you are forced to choose between

a system of purely standard functions and adapt to that

particular system, or a tailored system created to suit

only your company. Mercur Business Control offers real

flexibility. It provides you with the functionality and up-

dating intervals of the standard system, while also en-

abling you to make customizations that are unique to

your company.

Save time for analysis and decisionsMercur Business Control is easy to learn, use and

administer. This provides your corporate management

and staff who are responsible for results or costs with

a uniform, feature-rich and complete system that will

streamline their work. As a result, it will give you more

time for analysis and decision-making. The admin-

istration can take place independent of consult ants.

Combined with fast implementation, this allows for

predictable and lower costs.

Mercur Business Control is developed to handle

numerous users as well as large amounts of data.

Regardless of the size of your organization, which in-

dustry it belongs to and which ERP systems you use,

the system handles your requirements. In case there

are both Windows and Mac users among your staff,

it may be useful to know that the system handles

diffe rent operating systems.

A comprehensive solution for all levelsMost organizations today work with extensive decen-

tralization of financial responsibilities. A large number

of people with different backgrounds are each respon-

sible for their own part of operations. The differences

between these people may be substantial. By that we

mean that the financial reality is often different in the

central finance function compared with how it is in,

for example, subordinate units – from production and

sales units through to individual service units.

With Mercur Business Control, all of these units

have access to a solution supporting its specific busi-

ness model and can utilize the system on the basis of

its own particular requirements, regardless of whether

it relates to a function or business area.

Even if an organization is decentralized, many of the

critical decisions are made centrally. With the automatic

consolidation in Mercur Business Control, you receive

the correct view of the entire operation at all levels.

Business intelligence for improved performanceWith Mercur Business Control, the entire organization

can have a common solution to business intelligence.

Through combining information from different data

sources, it is much simpler to analyze causality and

gain a greater understanding of the prevailing condi-

tions. In the long term, participation increases and staff

become more motivated and results-orientated. Mercur

Business Control’s advanced authorization system en-

sures that each user is given access to precisely those

parts of the system that they require.

More efficient performance management – Mercur Business Control 7

This gives you real flexibility.unique possibilities for customization.

Standard functionality combined with

A solution that covers both business intelligence and performance management processes provides a better information value and a higher business value for the organization.

REPORTSSTANDARD-REPORTSAD HOC-

DOWNDRILL-

TIONVISUALIZA-

ANALYZIS

CASTINGFORE-

SIMULATION OPTIMIZATION

BUSINESS

MANAGEMENT

INTEL

LIGENCE

PERFORMANCE

BUSIN

ESS

BUSI

NESS

VAL

UE

INFORMATION VALUE

P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S

M O R E E F F I C I E N T P E R F O R M A N C E M A N A G E M E N TM O R E E F F I C I E N T P E R F O R M A N C E M A N A G E M E N T

P A G E 5

Gain control over the entire operation

Mercur Business Control compiles information from different sources and offers role-based functionality so that different managers at all levels can collaborate in a common system without needing to compromise their own planning

models, reports and key performance indicator analyses for specific requirements. Each user is given access to precisely the information that they need in order to complete their parts of the organization planning and performance

management processes. In addition, administrators at different levels can monitor and guide the processes with the aid of the system’s work process control.

CONTROLBUSINESS

MERCUR

MANAGEMENTOPERATIVE

MARKETING

SALES

PRODUCTION

PURCHASING

ADMINSYSTEM

BUDGETING

REPORTINGFORECASTING

WORK

PROCESS

CONTROL

LINE MANAGERS

DEVIATION ANALYZIS

COST

CONTROLDETAIL

PLANNING

DATA WAREHOUSES

SAP

DYNAMICS

IFS

JEEVESAGRESSO

LAWSON

ERP SYSTEMS

...etc..

PRODUCTION

CUSTOMER

SURVEYS

HR SYSTEMSCRM

OPERATIONALSYSTEMS

FILE BASEDIMPORTS

MANAGEMENTCORPORATE

SCORECARDS

MANAGEMENT

PERFORMANCESTRATEGIC PLANNING

CONTROLFINANCIAL

INCOME

STATEMENT BALANCE

SHEETCASH FLOW

P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S

G A I N C O N T R O L O V E R T H E E N T I R E O P E R A T I O NG A I N C O N T R O L O V E R T H E E N T I R E O P E R A T I O N

P A G E 7

“Mercur simplifies the planning work at all levels.

The users at our car dealers appreciate that a great

deal is prepared with inbuilt logic for different calcula-

tions. For controllers and managers at different levels

this means that automatic consolidation together with

dynamic reports lead to large savings in time.”

Hans Bertéus Group Controller Bilia AB

“The flexibility in connection with organizational changes is

completely fantastic. Without Mercur we would not have

been able to handle the rapid organizational development

of the last few years.”

PG Nordahl Controller Securitas Sverige(Sweden)

“We appreciate the flexibility with Mercur Business Control

and the possibility of modifying the system to our different

business areas. In addition, we experienced that Mercur’s

consultants could quickly familiarize themselves with our

problems and provide suggestions for solutions.”

Camilla Evertsson Financial ManagerDalarnas Försäkringsbolag(Insurance Company)

P A G E 6

Clear views and process support

Mercur Business Control provides an overall view

and has clear menus. This means that it takes less

time to learn and that it is straightforward to work

with. When you launch the system, a dashboard with

your key performance indicators, reports and dia-

grams is shown, or a “to do” list with your work duties

and the current status and deadlines for these. These

tasks can, for example, be a sales forecast for a

product cate gory or a project budget to be approved,

de pend ing entirely on your role in the organization.

With support from the integrated work process

control, managers at all levels have a broad idea of

how the work is proceeding, and can easily identify

at which stage of the process that each staff mem-

ber is. This is of great help as there are often many

people contributing to the planning work. Working

with several processes simultaneously, forecasting

and budgeting for example, is not a problem either.

You can also save different versions of every sub-

process, such as revised budget, “best case” and

“worst case”.

Plan with better control and higher quality

Since the input of forecasts and budgets is entirely

integrated with the system’s reporting and analysis

functions, users can drill down to detailed information

and transactions in the planning process. This sup-

ports the user's estimations of the future. Option al

history can be presented as reference information or

form the basis of automatically forecasted budget

or forecast drafts. Allocation keys provide support in

connection with input and the user has the option to

comment on individual records and attach explana-

tory documents.

Currency conversion and distribution of centrally

input records can occur automatically, accord ing to

the rules which the customer defines, e.g. in accor-

dance with consumed internal services, area in

square meters or similar. Immediately after input,

consoli dation of the figures happens completely

auto matically so that they are instantly available for

analysis at all levels.

Comprehensive support for reporting and analysis

Mercur Business Control becomes your primary

instrument for reporting and analysis in the organiza-

tion and fulfills the requirements for standard reports,

flexible reports, and report packages. The results

from the planning process are presented quickly and

clearly together with the outcome data from your ERP

systems. The system is supported by an integrated

report generator and a multidimensional database

which is optimized for input, dynamic analysis and

report generation.

An appreciated standard function in all reports,

is the possibility of drill down analysis down to trans-

action level, and to view scanned invoices. The user

marks one or more optional report rows or columns,

and gains more detailed information such as cost per

product, customer, cost center and detail account.

By the user being able to save the report in a drilled-

down state or in a state for spontaneous graphics,

the need for different reports is minimized. Within a

functional overall framework, Mercur Business Con-

trol adapts efficiently to the requirements of all users.

A world of graphicpresentation possibilities

Mercur Business Control offers comprehensive support

of different types of diagrams. Deviations can be de-

picted with the help of conditional formatting of values

or background, or with the help or indicators such as

traffic lights or speedometers. In order to strengthen

the visual impression further, you can also work with

themes for different formats and background images.

It conveys an attractive impression to the recipient.

Reports with key performance indicators for performance manage ment

Scorecards are used to help companies present

business-critical information clearly and to manage

operations towards objectives with different perspec-

tives – finance, personnel, customer and en viron-

ment perspectives, for example. In the same way

as with the reports, you can then perform additional

work with functions for deeper analyses, and see the

details behind different deviations.

Fast and accurate planningThe right information to the right person at the right time

P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S

T H E R I G H T I N F O R M A T I O N T O T H E R I G H T P E R S O N A T T H E R I G H T T I M EF A S T A N D A C C U R A T E P L A N N I N G

P A G E 9P A G E 8

A living and adaptable solution

Competence that takes you into the future

If you choose Mercur Business Control, you will re-

ceive a market-leading solution for financial planning,

performance management and business intelligence.

The system has been built to meet the stringent re-

quirements of medium to large size companies and

organizations. Mercur Business Control is based on

broad knowledge in fields such as business planning,

reporting, management information and financial

analyses.

And on top of that, you get Mercur Solutions as a

partner. Our consultants have extensive skills in both

finance and performance management processes,

project management and technology. We fully under-

stand the needs and demands that your company has.

In this way, we can adapt Mercur Business Control

down to the smallest detail so that your users derive

the maximum benefits from the solution.

Advanced technology with the user at the center

One of the main characteristics of Mercur Business

Control is that the system offers an easy-to-use and

intuitive interface for the user, despite the technol-

ogy behind the product being extremely advanced.

For example, authorization administration and report

construction is performed by users without SQL,

programming or other specific IT skills. Another

example is the database Mercur Veloxic, which has

been designed to be entirely maintenance-free at the

same time as it provides high flexibility and good per-

formance for large data quantities and many simul-

taneous users. In addition, the underlying framework

Mercur Performance Engine offers a dynamic plat-

form for fast establishment of client-specific function-

ality without needing to sacrifice the advantages of

standard applications in the form of rich functionality

and constant development.

From a presentation to a ready-to-run system – in a flash

The work of implementing Mercur Business Control

is carried out according to a tried and tested proj-

ect model. Your system is up and running quickly

and can create tangible results in the form of cost

savings, better data for decision-making and more

efficient planning and performance management

processes.

Mercur Business Control is a flexible system

which you can continually adapt to changes both in-

side and outside your organization. To a great extent

this can be handled by your organizations system

administrator. If more extensive changes are needed,

our consultants will of course always be there to help.

Take the first step towards more efficiency and better business intelligence

We hope that our presentation has aroused thoughts

and ideas, that it is clear how the standard Mercur

Business Control system can be adapted to your

operations with a large number of functions, and

that therefore it is virtually the only system for perfor-

mance management and business intelligence that

you and your company need.

Keen to run your business more efficiently and to

build a long-term relationship with a partner who

speaks your language? Contact Mercur Solutions

and we will introduce ourselves in more detail.

You can reach us on:

Telephone: ......................................+46 8 459 69 00

E-mail: ............................................sales@mercur.se

Internet: ......................................www.mercur.com wherever you are.Mercur Business Control

You can use

P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S P R O D U C T P R E S E N T A T I O N M E R C U R B U S I N E S S C O N T R O L V E R S I O N 7 • B E T T E R R E S U L T S A T A L L L E V E L S

W H E R E V E R Y O U A R EA L I V I N G A N D A D A P T A B L E S O L U T I O N

P A G E 11P A G E 10

With our own software and consulting services

Mercur Solutions AB offers solutions for perfor-

mance management and business intelligence.

The Mercur Business Control software is the re-

sult of over 30 years of development and together

with our consulting services it aims directly to im-

prove the profitability of our customers.

Many of our customers see our system as in-

valuable. Mercur Business Control is used by

companies and organizations all over the world.

Our head office – with development, support and

sales – is located in Solna (near Stockholm).

Mercur Solutions AB

Mercur Solutions AB. Vretenvägen 13, SE-171 54 Solna, Sweden. www.mercur.com. Telephone +46 8 459 69 00.