Hello? Is Anybody Out There Reading All Those ERP Reports?
Updated: May 29, 2020
ERP Admins are constantly being asked to generate reports for Sales Teams and Executives in a variety of “slice and dice” views.
Territory A’s manager wants to see it this way while Territory B wants to see it another way. The President has data he needs to see and the CFO, of course, needs a totally different perspective. Oh, and don’t forget that most of these staff members don’t have easy access to the ERP system... (Or in many cases, don’t actually want access which requires connectivity, training, and time.)
And so the endless cycle goes on for Admins to not only create and maintain the reports and their content, but also configure and manage a simple method for sharing these reports with everyone.
The cost of generating all of these reports can be significant. However, the investment can be justified if these reports are actually being used to aid in better decision-making across the organization.
And there’s the catch. Is anybody really reading these reports? And if so, are the reports formatted in a manner that provides actionable intel for decision-making? In my 30+ years of industry experience, I’ve found that reading PDF’s of Excel charts doesn’t hold many people’s interest for very long. Most skip right to the bottom and look at one or two totals; totally missing the opportunity to learn the who, what, when, and how aspects of true decision-making.
If this is your company’s behavior, you’ve wasted a LOT of money on an ERP system when it comes to one of the primary reasons for making that investment: providing data to assist in better decision-making and enabling continued growth.
So, how do you fix this? It’s quite simple, actually. Take advantage of the new Business Analytics tools on the market today that can:
a) Provide data in a multitude of drill-down formats.
b) Allow users to personalize the data to their needs
c) Utilizes a single platform.
d) Offers a variety of viewing methods.
This frees up the admin’s time to address more pressing matters while giving report users the ability to view their data when and how they need it.
As for boring spreadsheets, imagine viewing your data like this from the web or delivered to your Inbox on a pre-defined schedule:
This image is from the Business Analytics solution that IHS has found to be most effective while providing the best value on return: Analogyx BI.
Analogyx BI is a web-based product that allows both ERP and non-ERP users to interact with the data they need to see 24/7/365 from wherever they may be. Each user has the ability to easily drill-down or sort their required information by simply clicking on data results, labels, drop-down selections, click and drag, etc, with no technical training required. It already contains over 100 dashboards and 500+ charts out-of-the-box with more being added daily.
For example, you’re the Sales Territory Manager for the Eastern U.S. In the dashboard above, you can see aggregate value of all Sales Orders in your territory. But, what part of that is due to 1 or 2 specific salespersons? By simply selecting their name from the drop down, or easier yet, clicking on their name in any chart, Analogyx BI will quickly update ALL charts with data specific to your selection.
Yes, it’s really that easy.
You no longer need to remember all the spreadsheet commands and gyrations needed to interpret the numbers. If you’re a data junky, however, that needs their daily dose of spreadsheet manipulations, have no fear! You can easily view and/or export the data behind each dashboard and chart. (You’re welcome.)
The new BA tools on the market today have removed the barriers between users and the data they need to make better decisions. You owe it to yourself and your company to check them out.
Interested in Analogyx BI? Click here for a Free 7 Day Trial and information about our Free Demos!
Also check out our ABI Role Call series below, where we dive into the ways Analogyx BI can help every role and level of your company to Get Visual.
ABI Role Call: