If you let it, your accounting data can tell you a story about your
business - including where you are doing well and where you need
to improve.
But you need to have the right tools in order to "hear" it.
Traditionally, companies have used spreadsheets and pre-defined reports
to analyze their data and understand what is happening in their business.
For example, the sales department may run a report at the end of
the month listing their top customers based on sales from the previous
month. Certainly good information to know, but how does this help
them improve sales in the future?
Business Intelligence tools, available to companies of all sizes,
allow you to "interpret" the information that is already
in your accounting system to tell the story of your business. Then,
using your accounting data alone, or in conjunction with other relevant
information, you can now devise a plan for the future.
Let's take a look at a real-world example of a cigar manufacturer
that sells high end cigars primarily through specialty retail locations.
They know that their target audience consists
primarily of males, 40 to 65 years old, with an average income of $80,000
to $120,000 per year. As we discussed earlier, they also know from
their standard sales reports how much they are selling to each of their
retail customers. But how do they know if the amount of business they
are doing in each geographic area represents their normal market share?
Well, this is where the Business Intelligence part comes in. As one
example, wouldn't it be great if they could pull up a map
on their computer screen that highlighted the geographic areas they
should look at and then let them drill down into the specifics of each
one, all on a real-time basis? Better yet, wouldn't it be helpful to
identify geographic areas that have a significant amount of their
target market, but little or no retail presence? Something they could
never tell by simply looking at their historical sales data alone.
Using such a tool, the sales department can now devise a plan of
action to develop or strengthen the retail relationships needed in
the identified areas.
Of course, you are probably thinking that a tool like this must be
difficult to implement and require a technical staff to maintain.
Well, that's the beauty of Business Intelligence tools. Their primary
value is that they already understand how to work with your data and
they do so in a way that allows you to look at your information in
ways that spreadsheets and report writers cannot. In fact, they are
so simple to use that most users are up and running with just a few
hours training.
Want to "hear" your business story? Let us know. We'll be happy
to arrange a demonstration of how Business Intelligence can help you
understand your story and create a great ending to your analysis needs.
