Hidden Profits Blog

Are you frustrated because you have to wait until after the financial month end close to obtain any information about your company or departments operating results?  This happens in too many companies today!  In my last post, The Real Value of Information Technology, I reviewed the 4 critical areas to create value in Information Technology.  The first was real time information for better decision making.  

Jack Welch retired Chairman of General Electric said   ‘An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.’ 

So how can you as an executives learn fast and translate that learning into action rapidly? 

First, you need to have critical information at your fingertips in real-time.  So what is critical information commonly known as KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).  Every company is different, however, KPI’s are generally financial or statistical values or percentages/ratios that indicate to you when critical operations are moving in the right direction. You know what your KPI’s are and once those are defined then we can define what is required provide them instaneously.  

Information Technology is critical to obtaining KPI’s on a real time basis. 

1.  Use technology to load data at it’s origin.  This can include mobile devices and/or internet to process sales in the field, receive products and inventory, load information from vendors, transfer data from manufacturing equipment or monitoring equipment, load agriculture data, etc. It can also include direct file transfer from customers, vendors and partners. This data is generally then loaded into an ERP system and optionally into a Business Intelligence system. 

2. ERP systems today process data from sub-modules (sales, manufacturing, purchasing, AP etc.) directly into the general ledger and/or job cost system on a real time basis.  An ERP system is a key component to process data and prepare/present information instantly. Processing data instantly is one of the key reasons to upgrade an old ERP system to a new system.

 3. A final puzzle piece in the technical stream to provide instantaneous information is the Business Intelligence system.  These systems provide functionality to dynamically process data into information and present it in numerical, graphical or text format into MS Office products and/or feed directly to mobile devices or web-based applications.  Data can be displayed in numerical or graphical formats and you can drill to detail transactions. Business Intelligence systems and mobile devices are the key components in transforming data into information immediately that enables you to learn, make decisions and act rapidly to make corrections.  As Jack Welch indicated this provides a distinct competitive advantage and the value of the technology used is invaluable!

For more information on how to define KPI’s and implement a fully integrated Business Intelligence system contact LJR Consulting Services at 818-709-6583 or info@ljrconsultingservices.com.

Almost all corporations today provide mobile devices – smart phones, iPad, etc. to employees.  The question is ‘Are they used for more than just phones, email, Facebook and Twitter?’ There are many business applications for which these devices can be used that increase the value to the business and improve business efficiency and performance.

Here are some types of business applications that can add value to the operation.

1.  Key Performance Indicators (KPI), business alerts, and other business information displayed via mobile device.  This could be any piece of key information that is important to executive management in monitoring business activity.  Some examples are:

• Daily sales
• Cash balances
• Key project alerts
• Profitability by key customer
• Manufacturing statistics
• Crop ratings for agriculture

2.  Purchase order/requisition entry and approval. One of the key reasons that company’s have for not using electronic purchase orders is that it is inconvenient to be at a computer when making a purchase. For industries in which employee’s that need to make purchases and do not easily have access to a computer providing a mobile device application to create and approve purchase orders greatly enhances the efficiency of the company and the AP department.

3.  Purchase Order receipt – for companies such as construction or agriculture that receive product deliveries in locations without computer access, the ability to receive PO via mobile devices reduce manual data entry and provide more accurate inventory control. 

3.  Delivery orders and authorizations for product delivery companies.  Many companies that deliver product such as food, uniforms, beverages, etc.  or provide on-site service such as plumbers, HVAC repair, electronic repair, still print the delivery orders daily for drivers.  Once the product is delivered the customer signs the paper order and often companies then scan those documents into a system for access by customers.  By downloading the orders to mobile devices the addresses can be input to GPS automatically for directions, the actual cost of the delivery or service calculated on the mobile device, customer authorization recorded and the completed order uploaded to the corporate ERP system and made available to customer facing applications.  All this is done with no data entry which can significantly reduce time and cost.

 4.  Customer Orders.  Company’s with sales reps that take orders in the field the entry of the order and contract signing can be competed on the mobile device. 

5.  Customer facing applications – many companies have already added the applications that are already available on the web to mobile devices.

These are just a few ideas on how to use mobile devices to improve corporate efficiency.  If you would like your organization’s systems reviewed  and  opportunities for mobile device applications identified, contact me at 818-709-6583 or by email lynda.roth@ljrconsultingservices.com