Normalize Data and Terminology Often separate departments have their own data terminology and structures.

Normalize Data and Terminology Often separate departments have their own data terminology and structures. These act as a barrier to enterprise-wide analytics. By making all data uniform, across all platforms and departments, information can be processed and understood much more easily, resulting in faster and more efficient decision making.

Ensure Reasonable and Achievable Goals The potential of supply chain analytics means organizations can over-reach when establishing their implementation. Business executives should clearly outline goals in areas such as revenue, sourcing, and customer service that each department can practi- cally achieve. Look for goals that can work in tandem to multiply their value.

CHAPTER 7 Ten Tips for Using Analytics to Optimize Your Supply Chain 57

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Start Small but Think Big Implementing analytics successfully isn’t a simple process. It takes time and effort to create the correct data structures and technical infrastructure to enable effective analysis. As with any IT project, start small and look for those quick wins. However, you should have a wider strategic goal for how you can extend analyt- ics into other areas of your supply chain. Start planning now.

Organize the Data Necessary for Business Growth

Not all data is created equal — some information is inherently more valuable to a company’s priorities. You must identify your top business priorities. Work out what data is needed to help meet those priorities, where it’s stored, and how it can be retrieved. Work out how you want the analysis displayed and how much drill-down is required into any specific data set.

Prioritize and Streamline Your Analytics Reports

Don’t try to do everything at once. Start off by prioritizing your goals and efforts in order to optimize the data. You should concen- trate on the top-line items before moving on to additional analy- sis in order to best understand the data and forecasts. Encourage the analytics team to include no more than ten metrics for any business process to avoid “paralysis by analysis.”

Turn Data into Decisions After you’ve analyzed the data, act on the results. The purpose of data analytics is to prescribe an actionable insight to the decision maker. Effective analysis highlights inefficiencies within your supply chain, and executives must be prepared to capitalize on the opportunities that the insights suggest.

58 Supply Chain Analytics For Dummies, OpenText Special Edition

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Be Flexible, Be Agile The success of a supply chain relies on the ability to be more effi- cient and informed. Intelligent analytics is necessary to provide deeper visibility across the entire supply chain. However, business is dynamic and increasingly global. You must ensure your analyt- ics capability continues to measure the right things or be able to quickly introduce new metrics and KPIs as business changes.

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Notes

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Notes

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

WILEY END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT Go to www.wiley.com/go/eula to access Wiley’s ebook EULA.