Download PDF
Pinnacle Saves 2,000 Hours & Countless Headaches on Annual Audit
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Pinnacle’s business and demands on finance were growing too fast for its existing FP&A software to handle. Ad hoc reporting and analyses were too cumbersome for the FP&A team, especially during audit season. Reconciling and re-reconciling accounts across 8 companies made the close process frustrating.
About The Customer
Pinnacle Agricultural Holdings is a major player in the agricultural retail and wholesale distribution sector, operating across 27 states in the United States. With a revenue of $1.5 billion, Pinnacle serves a wide range of customers, from small farmers to large agricultural enterprises. The company has a robust financial structure and relies heavily on its finance team to manage complex financial processes, including financial close management, account reconciliations, reporting, and audits. Pinnacle's finance team consists of 19 users who were previously using Dynamics GP for their financial planning and analysis (FP&A) needs. However, as the company grew, the existing software could no longer keep up with the increasing demands, leading to inefficiencies and frustrations, particularly during audit seasons.
The Solution
Pinnacle implemented Vena’s platform to address their growing financial management needs. Vena’s database and GL integration provided instant access to historical data going back 12-24 months, which was crucial for accurate financial reporting and audits. The platform's workflow automation ensured that all financial close tasks and reports were completed accurately and on time, reducing the manual workload on the FP&A team. Additionally, Vena’s drill-down features allowed accountants and auditors to self-serve and access detailed information behind summary numbers, making the audit process more transparent and efficient. This comprehensive solution not only streamlined Pinnacle’s financial processes but also provided the finance team with the tools they needed to manage their growing business effectively.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Intelligent Farming with ThingWorx Analytics
Z Farms was facing three challenges: costly irrigation systems with water as a limited resource, narrow optimal ranges of soil moisture for growth with difficult maintenance and farm operators could not simply turn on irrigation systems like a faucet.
Case Study
Greenhouse Intelligent Monitoring and Control Solution
Farming Orchids is the most successful form of precision farming in Taiwan, and also the most exported flower. Orchids need a specific temperature and humidity conditions to grow and bloom, and its flowering time may not be in line with market demands, so the price collapses when there is overproduction. Therefore, some farmers began to import automated greenhouse control systems for breeding and forcing, which not only improves quality, but also effectively controls the production period and yield to ensure revenue. In 2012, an orchid farmer built a Forcing Greenhouse of about 200 pings (approximately 661 Square Meters) in Tainan, Taiwan. The system integrator adopted Advantech’s APAX-5000 series programmable automation controllers to build the control platform, coupled with Advantech WebAccess HMI/SCADA software, to achieve cloud monitoring. The staff of the orchid field can monitor important data anytime via smart phone, iPad, and other handheld devices, and control the growth and flowering conditions. System requirements: In the past, most environmental control systems of orchid greenhouses in Taiwan used PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) with poorscalability and control, and could not be connected to the Internet formonitoring from the cloud. For advanced database analysis and networking capability, the PC platform must be adopted. Therefore, PAC Systems (Programmable Automation Controller) with both PLC programming capabilities andPC functions is a better choice.The environmental control of the Orchid greenhouse switches on and off devices like fan, shade net, cooling/heat pump, liquid flow control, water-cooling wall etc. It is controlled by a control panel of electric controllers, and is driven by a motor, to adjust the greenhouse temperature, humidity, and other environmental conditions to the set parameters.
Case Study
Enabling Internet of Things Innovation in Agriculture
DigiBale, wanted to apply technology know-how and IP from implementations successfully to more agriculture sectors including cotton, forestry, sugarcane and cattle. However, farmers and growers still have worries about the connected technology.
Case Study
Precision beekeeping with wireless temperature monitoring
Honeybees are insects of large economic value and provide a vital service to agriculture by pollinating a variety of crops. In addition, bees provide us with valuable products such as honey, beeswax, propolis, bee venom, etc. Monitoring of honeybee colony health, population, productivity, and environmental conditions affecting the colony health have always been exceedingly difficult tasks in apiculture. Research has shown that even small deviations (by more than 2°C) from the optimal temperatures have a significant influence on the development of the brood and the health of adult bees.