It’s a common mistake in business: managers think they can see their whole company laid out in a single Excel spreadsheet. They expect to see budgeting and expenses, sales forecasts, HR tasks, inventory numbers, purchasing and shipping activities, etc. – and they think they can use it to make important company decisions.

But this is impossible. Even if a single Excel spreadsheet could hold so much information, it would not be the best method for making important decisions.

Better Tools

Why? Because new tools, like Sage’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, have what is known as “business intelligence (BI).” Business intelligence tools offer up-to-date information on current company statistics; prior to BI, managers looked at static data in order to make business decisions. That method cannot offer true insight because the information is not dynamic – that is, it isn’t continually refreshing to show the most current data. With BI solutions, executives can watch changes as they occur, allowing them to make better decisions.

Better Data

Using a method that offers static data means that executives are making decisions on, at best, incomplete and, at worst, inaccurate, data. For example: a decision about inventory is made using static data and, with that information, it is a sound decision. In reality, however, a big shipment left the facility ten minutes after that data was collected and the decision about inventory would have been modified had that information been available.  

This is especially true when companies have multiple offices. It is critical that each location has the latest, most up-to-date information for several reasons: to make better decisions, as we said, to save time, and to offer better customer service. Spending time searching for information is a waste of employees’ time as well as having the possible effect of changing the entire timeline of a project. For customer service purposes, if a customer placed an order at Location A but calls Location B for returns information, it will contribute to the customer’s satisfaction if they aren’t asked to hang up and call Location A instead.

Integration

Sage’s ERP platforms use business intelligence to integrate company data seamlessly into a central database that is constantly updating to reflect the most recent company statistics. More businesses are taking advantage of this technology as the amount of data they deal with increases every year.

Contact Southeast Computer Solutions to learn more about enterprise resource planning systems and business intelligence. Our team of professionals can help you choose the best software and move your company to a higher level of performance.

About Southeast Computer Solutions

Southeast Computer Solutions is based in Miami, Florida, and has additional operations in Mexico. For over 30 years, we have positively impacted the success of small and mid-sized businesses with effective business management implementations that improve our clients’ operations. We listen, we are accessible, and we care. Learn more by visiting our website or calling 305-556-4697.