It is important to start working on reports and the BI stream early on, along with the rest of the functional areas. Most of the time, reporting requirements are not addressed as part of the requirement analysis phase. However, one of the most important goals of a new ERP implementation is to get good real-time visibility into the business.

To start this process, work with the business to compile a list of reports – dashboards, KPIs, and operational reports – that are currently used to run the business. Document their use and the actions that are driven by those reports. Also, spend time learning about the vision of the business leaders and the information that they would like to see, which they don't have currently. A combination of the current and future states will help you define the BI/reporting road map. When gathering and documenting reporting requirements, make sure you ask the business users the following questions so that you can evaluate the needs and be prepared to offer alternative solutions:

• Who's using the report?
  • Be mindful of your customer's needs.
  • Focus on the end user experience. The audience will drive your delivery methods.
• What information is needed?
  • Avoid information overload
  • Find the right balance
• How is this report data used?
  • Categorize reports as operational, business documents, regulatory reports, financial reports, or analytical reports
• What actions are driven by this report?
  • Are you going to explore the data to gain insights?
  • How will the results be shared with others?
  • Is there a fixed document structure for the target output?
• Is this report even necessary in the new system?
• Can we consolidate multiple reports?

As part of the requirement gathering process, collect report samples that are used in the current system, as well as manually generated reports. This will help in mapping out of the box reports and identifying the gaps. All the reports that are identified should be documented and categorized with the report name, the type of report, whether the report is internal or an externally used report, and how the report will be supported in Finance and Operations.

Remember, no longer needed with the new system is viable and, often, the preferred solution!

Pay extra attention to mapping each column and formatting external-facing reports, such as invoice templates and customer statement extracts going to banks. Invoice templates may show different information based on the product lines, customers, and so on.

The next step after gathering the reporting requirements is learning how to address these reporting requirements within the Finance and Operations application. In the next section of this chapter, we will deep dive into various reporting scenarios and tools that are available within Finance and Operations that can be used to address various reporting requirements.