Alternative Delta Report

The Alternative Delta report in Capex Strategy provides a detailed comparison of strategic initiatives by highlighting their differences relative to the Base Alternative. This powerful tool allows you to assess the variations in key metrics and identify what sets each alternative apart.

By using the Alternative Delta report, you can ensure your evaluations are data-driven and aligned with your strategic goals. It's an invaluable resource for making informed decisions across all initiatives.

  • What the Alternative Delta report shows

  • Creating an Alternative Delta report

    • Prerequisites

    • Steps to generate

  • Understanding the report

    • Delta values

    • The Accumulated column

    • Switching variables

    • Filtering alternatives by status

  • Refreshing an outdated report

  • Exporting the report

  • Using the report for decision-making

What the Alternative Delta report shows

The Alternative Delta report is structured as a table where each row represents a Strategic Alternative and each column represents a year within your selected time range. An additional Accumulated column aggregates the delta values across all selected periods, giving a total view of cumulative impact.

The report compares each Strategic Alternative against the Base Alternative, which represents the current business trajectory without strategic change. All delta values show the difference between the alternative's result and the Base Alternative's result for the same variable and period.

Creating an Alternative Delta report

Prerequisites

Before generating a report, ensure the following are in place:

  • At least one active Strategic Alternative must exist.

  • A Base Alternative must be configured in Capex Strategy.

  • At least one series (variable) must be available for the selected alternatives.

Steps to generate

  1. Navigate to Capex Strategy and open the Reports section.

  2. Select Alternative Delta from the list of available reports.

  3. Click New Report or the [+] button.

  4. Select the Strategic Alternatives you want to include in the comparison.

  5. Set the time period by choosing a start and end year for the comparison range.

  6. Select the series (the financial variable, such as EBITDA or CapEx) you want the report to display.

  7. Click Generate to run the report.

A progress bar will appear while the report is being calculated. For large sets of alternatives or long time ranges, this may take a moment.


Understanding the report

Delta values

Each cell in the report shows the delta for a given Strategic Alternative, variable, and time period — that is, the difference between the alternative's value and the Base Alternative's value.

  • A positive delta means the alternative generates a higher value than the Base Alternative for that period.

  • A negative delta means the alternative generates a lower value than the Base Alternative.

  • A zero delta means there is no difference between the alternative and the Base Alternative for that period.

What a positive or negative delta means in practice depends on the variable. For cost-related variables, a negative delta may indicate a saving; for revenue-related variables, a positive delta indicates an upside.

The Accumulated column

The Accumulated column sums the delta values across all selected time periods. Use it to quickly assess the overall impact of each alternative over the full planning horizon, rather than focusing on any single year.

Switching variables

Use the variable selector at the top of the report to switch between different metrics. Each selection updates the table to display deltas for the chosen variable. Only one variable can be displayed at a time.

Filtering alternatives by status

Use the View dropdown to control which alternatives appear in the report:

  • Active only – shows only currently active Strategic Alternatives.

  • Deactivated only – shows only deactivated alternatives.

  • All – shows all alternatives regardless of status.

Deactivated Strategic Building Blocks (SBBs) and Strategic Alternatives are excluded from calculations and will not contribute values to any active report view. If an SBB within an alternative has been deactivated after the alternative was created, it will appear with a strikethrough in the alternative list.

Refreshing an outdated report

If the data underlying your alternatives has changed since the report was last run, the report will display an Outdated status. This means the values shown may no longer reflect the current state of your Strategic Alternatives.

To refresh the report:

  1. Open the report showing the Outdated status.

  2. Click the Recalculate button.

  3. Wait for the progress bar to complete. The report will update with the latest values.

Recalculating replaces all previously calculated values with updated figures based on the current state of the data.

Exporting the report

Follow these steps to export an Alternative Delta report:

  1. Select the variable to export

    • Click on the variable you want to export from the variable list in the report.

  2. Click the Export button

    • Locate the Export button in the top-right corner of the screen and click it.

  3. File naming

    • The exported file will be automatically named using the following format: [Report Name], [Variable Name] [Date]

    • For example: Alternative Delta, EBITDA 2024-12-14

Once exported, the report will be available in your downloads folder, ready to share or use in your presentations.

You can only export one Alternative Delta report at a time, so ensure you've selected the correct variable before exporting.

Using the report for decision-making

The Alternative Delta report is designed to support structured, evidence-based investment decisions. Here are some recommended approaches:

  • Focus on the Accumulated column first. It provides the clearest single-figure summary of each alternative's total impact. Use it to shortlist the most promising scenarios before drilling into year-by-year detail.

  • Compare across multiple variables. Run the report for different series (for example, EBITDA and CapEx) to build a multi-dimensional view of each alternative's trade-offs.

  • Anchor steering discussions around deltas. Rather than presenting absolute values, deltas help focus conversations on what actually changes between strategic paths, making it easier to justify recommendations to stakeholders.

  • Use it alongside the Sensitivity summary. The Alternative Delta report shows the differences between alternatives; the Sensitivity summary shows how those differences respond to changes in assumptions. Together they provide a more complete basis for strategic decisions.

When you open an Alternative Delta report, calculations are performed based on the last saved state of the data. If any alternatives have been modified since the report was last generated, refresh the report using the Recalculate button to ensure results are up to date.

You can only export one Alternative Delta Report at a time, so ensure you’ve selected the correct variable before exporting.

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