About the company
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Baker & Taylor, Inc. is a global information and entertainment services company that distributes books, videos, music, games, and services to libraries, educational institutions, and retailers. In business for over 180 years, the company has developed long-term relationships with major suppliers, including book publishers, movie studios, and music labels, shipping more than one million unique stockkeeping units annually. Baker & Taylor is the single supply source of US book needs for international customers, including libraries, retailers, wholesalers, and a variety of other international partners. To learn more about Baker & Taylor, visit www.btol.com.

Setting the strategy
Several years ago, Baker & Taylor purchased web-based financial performance management software from Infor™ to empower decision-makers by making information available anywhere, anytime. Having achieved that goal by applying Infor™ Corporate Performance Management to key functional areas, Baker & Taylor looks to the future to continue streamlining its operations and increasing profits.

When Baker & Taylor first implemented Corporate Performance Management, the application served as a management reporting and analysis system for the entire enterprise. General ledger and sales information resided in one place to provide managers immediate access to a common database and one set of numbers that linked detailed sales data with financial information. “We moved from a problematic spreadsheet-based budgeting system to an integrated one that we developed and refined over the years,” says Rob McCloskey, director, financial system and reporting. “Then we added more than sales and general ledger data.”

We now generate a sales budget, which we flow into an inventory budget, and in turn flow that into a warehouse budget or operations budget. We actually track from beginning to end what we’re going to sell, how that affects our inventory, and how that affects our warehouses.” Baker & Taylor defines its budget process according to customer market segments, with a sales team being responsible for each slice. The company’s two markets include institutional and retail business, which require different budgeting approaches. “We model these two types in a completely different way so we can determine how many pieces are needed from an inventory or operations perspective,” says McCloskey. “The inventory side of budgeting is complex, but with Corporate Performance Management, we’re able to get a customer slice definition, which is critical in deciding what follows.”