Forrest Gump uttered the phrase that seems to be as familiar as the character played by Tom Hanks.
“Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you are going to get!”
Does it feel like accessing data from your financial reports, your ERP, or the rest of your business is this unpredictable at times? If so, we are here to propose five questions you should be able to answer based on your business and your ERP, regardless of the packaging.
How long will it take me to close the books this financial period?
Let us address something fundamental – how efficient is your current closing process? Are you taking untold amounts of time to close a financial period; or is it 2 days one month, and more in the next?
Certainly, organizational procedures can influence the process, but the real source of delays and inefficiencies is due to not having insight into ALL of your data. If you want to change this experience, do it in a fact-based way. Point to the data and show managers and staff how poor data management is leading to inefficiency. Who knows, maybe this inefficiency bleeds over into the ability to provide all types of reports.
You need efficiency and that starts with having a full range of reliable financial reports AND analytics, that will routinely give your organization insight without the requirement for large amounts of manual data manipulation to do so. That is one of the reasons why we love Sage Data & Analytics (SD&A)!
Can I explain where we are now compared to where we were last week/month/year?
If you do not have the best ability to distribute information spanning over periods of time, the reports and analytics you use today may not be particularly intelligent. SD&A has time-specific intelligence built in to allow for asking questions about the current period AND what happened the same time last month or last year.
Where this becomes powerful is when you want to pose the next question, like “How has our P&L evolved over the last 12 months?” or “Were the percentages of purchases made this Summer equitable to the percentage made last Summer?”
If your business is seasonal, so are your downtimes. Seeing this seasonality is a good indicator for progression towards your peak times. And nothing is more satisfying than having a sense of where your business is going.
Are my best customers really my best customers? Are these my best products? Do I know what is REALLY best?
So often, we focus on one facet of the customer relationship (i.e. Sales) but we do not consider the relationship in total. That might be because your analytics today do not allow you to see the whole picture OR more likely do not include ALL the data you need.
Many organizations with Sage X3, also have other data in other systems. These other systems often deal with customer related processes or product related information. Things like CRM, third-party Customer Care systems and even Excel spreadsheets. Consider what insights you may be missing out on?
SD&A works with ALL your data, not just your ERP information, so analytics can be leveraged that view your entire business from spreadsheets to cloud applications.
How do I give all my people MORE information?
If you are serious about getting good information in the hands of people in your business that need it, and you cannot do so effectively today, this is a question WELL worth pondering!
No matter what the flavor of the chocolate, EVERY person in your business should have the information they need to do their job and contribute positively to the right outcome. “Dashboards for Everyone”? Maybe, but more likely compelling analytics and reporting content which derives from dashboards delivered out of the box to offer detail that people need.
How do you put it in their hands? With SD&A, there are many ways to engage a diverse audience of users. You can deliver reports on a scheduled basis or send out updates in response to certain “data events” which require a different level of attention. Users can interact with SD&A in many ways from simply getting emails, to using browsers securely anywhere they have access and even on portable devices like tablets and mobile phones.
Start giving people information and you will find your organization’s data sweet tooth!
Our current approach to data is Less than a sweet experience, how long would it take to arrive at a sweet ending?
Sage Data & Analytics is changing this experience for many Sage X3 customers. Even those who may have invested in something else, are realizing life is a bit sweeter with encompassing data and better insights!
And the real surprise for Sage X3 customers is just how quickly they can achieve satisfaction. Days to see your own data, and weeks to having all your insights the way you want them and where you want them.
So that leaves us with one question… Do YOU want a sweeter experience with your data?
Sage Data and Analytics is the solution where you know exactly what you will get! Get started on your sweet experience today! Ask us about a demonstration and the opportunity to efficiently explore what better data and insight can do for your business.