*******************************
WHAT IS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
*******************************
Business Intelligence is a very interesting subject field. It allows you to use data in your business to measure aspects of your business and make informed management decisions on that information.
In our business, on a daily basis, there is data available. We simply need to collect it. Analyse it and then design a dashboard to visually show us what the information tells us. From there we can set up KPI’s to measure against our stated goals.
There are different methods you can use to collect the data. From complex and sophisticated systems to a simple excel sheet. The important thing is, your data must be correct and reliable. In other words garbage in, garbage out. Also the collection of your data needs to be consistent. If you collect the data daily, you need to stick to the schedule, otherwise it will not provide you with the correct information. If you collect monthly, you need to set aside some time on a monthly basis to collect it.
I would recommend you start with Microsoft Excel and collect data on something specific in your business. Set a specific KPI (Key performance indicator) and analyse your data to see if it matches your KPI.
Your KPI could be anything, like the number of units you want to sell on a daily basis. How many units are produced on a daily basis. How many kilometres do my drivers drive daily. Anything you want to measure.
As you can see there are a number of things you can do with data. You need to collect daily and measure it consistently.
The Wealth Builder Final Thought: Start to add business intelligence capabilities to your business in a small way and make informed business decisions form your data.