The past few years have been characterised by a rapid succession of crises. First there was the coronavirus crisis during which companies had to learn to deal with a new way of working. This initial shock was soon followed by a period when supply chains came under pressure from the restart of the economy. Moreover, the coronavirus crisis was hardly over before the war in Ukraine with the ensuing energy crisis was already upon us. A crisis characterised by general inflation that continues to be felt in every sector to this day. It has made us realise that we need to embrace uncertainty as the only certainty.
Uncertainty as an opportunity
Still too often, uncertainty is seen as a threat against which a company must arm itself. People usually ask themselves “How can I as a company survive this crisis?” However, a crisis also presents an opportunity for companies to distinguish themselves from others. Moreover, a company that navigates a crisis successfully has a greater chance of being successful in the long term.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste” - Winston Churchill
Navigating a changing environment requires a thorough understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what does and does not work in a new situation is crucial to making the right choices. This is where good implementation of business intelligence (BI) can make the difference.
Business intelligence - the right numbers...
Business intelligence is more than the implementation of a tool that provides a clear overview of a few figures. It is a complete process in which the information available within a company is transformed into meaningful management information.
The meaningful element is crucial in a successful BI process. The whole process therefore starts with the identification of a company’s so-called key performance indicators (KPIs). These are the measures that best reflect whether a company is achieving its goals or not. By reporting on these KPIs on a regular basis, you, as an entrepreneur, gain an insight into the extent to which you are able to deal with the changing environment.
... at the right time
In the past, reporting was mainly approached as a static event whereby a report was drawn up on an annual or quarterly basis. In today’s volatile environment, information on these KPIs is only valuable when it is also available at the right time.
Fortunately, technology has not stopped in recent years either. Integration possibilities with the various business systems have been continually expanded. It is therefore important to make the right choice in this proliferation of BI tools. After all, a good BI tool not only meets the reporting needs of the various stakeholders, but can also be easily integrated into the existing IT infrastructure. Only by means of a well thought-out choice can a company efficiently have timely and correct information at its disposal to make the right decisions in these uncertain times.
More than just looking back and describing
There are still growth opportunities for companies that have already taken the first steps in the world of BI. Business intelligence is, after all, a growth trajectory whereby the so-called descriptive analysis is started in the first phase. This means that, in the first instance, we look back at the past. The focus is therefore on a description of what happened in the past. In a volatile environment, the value of this is rather limited because such an analysis does not seek an explanation for the observed developments.
The second phase in this growth trajectory is diagnostic analysis. In this phase, the main question is “Why was this evolution observed?” Specifically, certain patterns, derogations and relationships are searched for in the data. Understanding these relationships will also lead to better informed decisions in a volatile environment.
The third and fourth phases are the so-called predictive and prescriptive analysis.
Predictive analysis uses data from the present and past to predict the most likely future developments. This allows a company to anticipate developments that may occur in the future.
Prescriptive analysis goes a step further and also tries to determine how the company can achieve the best result based on the most likely scenarios.
Within the context of a volatile environment, the diagnostic analysis phase is therefore the minimum that must be sought within a BI process.
- Does your reporting no longer meet your needs?
- Do you lack relevant insights & Information?
- Is your organisation ready for the next phase in its BI growth trajectory?
If so, please contact the BDO Smart Business Solutions Team: SmartBusinessSolutions@bdo.be