In recent years, companies are zeroing in on data by taking a closer look at data trends and analytics to create action plans with measurable and attainable goals. In this blog, we will be focusing on benefits of data-driven decision making by referencing articles from TechTarget by Margaret Rouse and Dave Turbide.

Data Analytics
Real-time data, dashboards, and analytics are commonly used for data-driven results. Service providers are including or adopting real-time analytics. As stated by management guru Peter Drucker, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Reports are needed for comparison and review if companies are going to have a better understanding of their business processes, expenses, and transactions.

What is data analytics? “Data analytics (DA) is the process of examining data sets in order to draw conclusions about the information they contain, increasingly with the aid of specialized systems and software” (Rouse). Evaluating data increases business performance. As noted by Rouse, “Data Analytics initiatives can help businesses increase revenues, improve operational efficiency, optimize marketing campaigns and customer service efforts, respond more quickly to emerging market trends and gain a competitive edge over rivals.”

DataTrans Solutions WebEDI Data Analytics and Dashboard empowers our customers by:

• Monitoring discrepancies in real time
• Allowing the ability to manage by exception
• Focusing on key matrices that impact supply chain
• Finding specific issues that need to be addressed
• Comparing transactions and reporting any differences to the appropriate contact

Data is easily and readily available to our customers. Access to data through business intelligence leverages their overall experience. These dashboards as seen above, save time and money. Sifting through large amounts of data, several spreadsheets, and time consuming comparisons can now be accessed through business intelligence with just a few clicks of a mouse.

“Business intelligence has been around for many years, and it is the evolutionary successor to simple reporting. Generally associated with dashboards and other forms of visual presentation, BI creates value from large amounts of data by grouping, organizing, analyzing and packaging large quantities of individual facts into a form that brings our underlying truths, patterns, trends and relationships – in a word, intelligence” (Turbide).

For employers, here are a few tips to consider:

• Use data analytics and real-time dashboards as a stepping stone to leverage your business and make the necessary adjustments.
• If outsourcing your services to a software provider, ensure business intelligence is an available feature.
• Train your staff on regularly checking these reports to find any discrepancies that can be immediately addressed.

Make sure your company is taking the correct measures to be ahead of your competition. As Margaret Rouse states, “Data Analytics technologies and techniques are widely used in commercial industries to enable organizations to make more-informed business decisions.” The answers are in the data, it is up to you to take advantage of them.