Are you looking for business intelligence software? Business intelligence thrives on a steady stream of data collected from systems and departments throughout your company. Many companies seeking a BI solution assume that it incorporates supply chain data, but not every BI system can handle that request.

Having an uninterrupted “supply chain” of data ensures that the inputs into the BI system provide accurate inputs for reports, data visualizations, and the outputs required to build a comprehensive picture into your business’ operations.

Companies know their supply chain management can make or break profitability. Good supply chain management is often the backbone of a solid business. Enhancing supply chain management through the use of data from the BI system is one way in which companies can use data to improve decision-making.

Know the Source of Your Data

When managing your supply chain, it’s important to confirm data sources with your vendors. “Vendors” may reflect departments in your organization that provide data inputs into the BI system or external vendors linked into the system itself.

Ask these questions to ascertain the source of your data:

  • Which groups in our company have data that we need?? Some common departments that produce valuable business data include accounting, finance, warehouse management, operations, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. The more processes that are automated through your integrated ERP system (with an integrated database), the easier this step will be. Remember, however, that data may exist outside of the ERP. You may need to find ways to integrate additional data streams.
  • Do we have data governance rules? Data governance guides how data is managed within your organization. Quality guidelines ensure that data enters the system consistently and correctly. Clean data, or data that follow the data quality and governance guidelines, are trustworthy data.
  • Are there legacy systems that need to integrate with a new system? Legacy systems may require additional work to integrate them into new BI or ERP systems. Now is the time to explore the systems within your company and to gather as much information as you can so you can plan adequately for additional time and steps to integrate older systems into new ones.

The Data Champion: Roles and Responsibilities

A data champion is someone in your company tasked with the responsibility to manage and guide the database. They may establish the rules related to data fields, how data is entered, who initiates changes in the database, and more.

A data champion typically attends more training sessions with the software vendor, gaining more in-depth knowledge about the system and its reporting features. Champions may be trained on how to create custom reports, how to update fields, and how to do custom programming. In the future, when requests arise, data champions can then handle them in-house.

Lastly, data champions are the internal problem solvers and answer people for the new system. After the initial roll-out of the system is complete and the initial training sessions are over, users tend to remember the features they use most frequently and forget those used infrequently. The data champion can answer questions and retrain users on the system features they may have forgotten.

Your data can be used to enhance your company’s ability to manage its supply chain. The right approach to integration and management of systems and data can lead to better efficiency across all systems, including your supply chain.

Accounting Systems Incorporated

Accounting Systems Incorporated (ASI) provides ERP, accounting, and other software and systems to help your company grow. We focus on helping small to mid-sized companies improve operational efficiencies through the power of software and technology. Software such as Acumatica ERP or Sage 100 can provide the business intelligence you need to grow your company. For more information, visit our website, or call us at 803-252-6154.