Why Business Intelligence and Analytics feature is a must for SME Manufacturing ERPs

Strong business analytics in the manufacturing industry is both integral and accessible with the right ERP. In a bygone era, successful business intelligence implementation meant having to gather data manually from numerous sources, and work it up in spreadsheets. Results never went much beyond simple static reports. And when you’re dealing with multiple different functional areas within a company, that translates to endless work generating reports that could be irrelevant by the time they’re delivered.

Enter Business intelligence and analytics ERP

Genius ERP includes a range of analytical and business intelligence tools, so it’s not necessary to acquire them separately and integrate them with your ERP system. And there’s more good news: you no longer need to be a data scientist to make sense of or glean useful information from all the information your ERP system has amassed. You can run a tighter ship all-around, boost profitability, or even switch directions more easily with analytics.

With a quality ERP system, you can take advantage of a range of reports at your fingertips—invaluable when it comes to analyzing operations. It will be easier to keep your KPIs in check, so attaining your objectives will be that much easier. Setting targets and measuring your progress with every new job order becomes par for the course. You can also set up alerts to stay on top of your business’s key activities. Live dashboards can display useful information on late jobs, late employees, quote conversion rates, purchase orders with backorders, and lots more, helping to guide any necessary shifts in your priorities!

Advanced reporting capabilities

Business analytics ERP for the manufacturing industry can completely change the way you approach reporting—for the better. Traditionally, it was possible to get a snapshot of where a specific data set stood at the close of the day or week. But modern business intelligence makes all collected data immediately accessible in ways that make sense for every stakeholder involved. Any user, no matter whether they’re a manager or an executive, can speedily access a dashboard customized to your business—one loaded with visual, intuitive data on relevant KPIs to boot. This renders ad-hoc reporting entirely doable as needed. It doesn’t get more convenient than that.

Quick decision-making is easy thanks to real-time data

One of the greatest benefits of business intelligence and analytics ERP is its ability to give managers a real-time glance at the data required to make thoughtful and important decisions. For example, since workers will be entering data as it occurs, a production manager can keep close tabs on the floor’s real-time scrap rate with a glance at the dashboard. The process can be paused if the rate reaches an unacceptable level, and root causes can be identified before too much time or materials are used up. And having this data can of course also be used for long-term analyses geared toward total improvement of the process.

Business intelligence cubes

Business intelligence and analytics ERP uses cubes to facilitate reporting. Simply put, all of the raw data entered through your ERP system is transformed and stored in a hierarchical cube. These cubes, in turn, give users the ability to quickly slice and dice. In other words, users can delve deep into specific cube configurations, and generate very useful customized reports on the exact data they need, all in real-time. Data can also be entered from numerous outside sources, including Excel spreadsheets, or reports from machine-specific software. ERP software can integrate all of your key data into one lone platform. ERP and business intelligence give managers the power required to make informed decisions based on all the data at hand.

According to a survey of more than 2700 business intelligence professionals, the most important business intelligence trend in 2018 is data quality and master data management, which means its link with ERP makes perfect sense. The bottom line: today’s most successful manufacturing and distribution businesses are built on a foundation of good, strong data, and a brilliant place to start is with an ERP system well-suited to your SME manufacturer. Successful business intelligence implementation awaits.

Get started toward better, more holistic data integration today by learning more about the many benefits of Genius Solutions’ business intelligence and analytics features for SME manufacturers here!