Conflicting messages are pitched by vendors and consultants alike: wait until you finish ERP, leverage the cloud, wait for the next version of Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), put it all on an appliance, buy more software, make it mobile—many organizations need help to cut through the puff and focus their investment. Even seasoned practitioners are challenged to make the right decision.
Three common misperceptions impair organizations from extracting value from existing investments:
1) An enterprise data warehouse(EDW) must be deployed prior to realizing benefits
2) Data governance must be an enforced program before extracting value.
3) Enterprise reporting, data mining and analytics tools are necessary prior to deployment
Information Assets Already Exist (EDW or Not)
Thousands of transactions are recorded in back-office and ERP systems every day, which provide the raw material to understanding business performance. In the past, limitations to processing power and analytical systems required significant investments in data transformations, software and hardware to extract value. Today, new low-cost architectures coupled with on-demand storage and processing allow rapid analysis of huge volumes of detailed data, significantly reducing time to value. These rapid changes allow for a “build and iterate” approach to refining business strategies and identifying the necessary information to deliver improved performance. The months or years-long EDW development cycle is dead.
Many organizations have experienced comprehensive, enterprise data management as a never-ending quest, filled with millions of investment dollars in software licenses and custom development fees, which rarely seem to deliver the expected value. There is a better way. By linking specific business value to targeted investments, organizations can reap substantial improvement without committing to years-long information management investments.
Data Governance: Action Over Assessment
Consistent, trusted master data is a key foundation for analysis of enterprise data. However achieving consensus is difficult, particularly when cross-functional and cross-organizational agreement is needed. Rather than waiting for everyone to conceptually come to agreement, rapid prototyping can quickly identify errors and inconsistencies in source data, giving leadership a clear path towards improving data quality. In many cases data can be fixed directly in the source systems, and accompanied by improved data entry processes to permanently increase data quality. Alternatively, rapid development of Master Data Operational Data Stores provides a bridge between current processes and future consensus. Liberty’s tactical approach accelerates achieving actionable intelligence by exposing data quality issues as an impediment to business decision making, rather than an academic exercise.
Enterprise Tools: Focus on Actionable Intelligence
Traditionally Business Intelligence has focused on providing more information to more people, thus pushing decision-making out to the front lines. However, not all information will provide equal returns and information that cannot drive decisions is noise. Rather than deploying decision support for the masses, Liberty focuses on uncovering and distributing information that has direct impact on profitability, rapidly influencing enterprise performance.
Rapid Path to Value
Reduce the risk and time to market for analytic investments while accelerating the returns. Let Liberty store the data, apply the relevant analytics on our hardware using our ProfitBOX™ technology, and deliver the actionable information necessary to increase performance. After reaping the benefits, the system can be incorporated into either enterprise environments or Liberty and can continue to run without encumbering IT. Either way leads to success.
Liberty’s ProfitBOX™ technology and battle-tested approach focus on applied analytics to identify high benefit areas that improve profitability by increasing operating income. Combining existing data assets with our proven technology and approach will quickly yield increased enterprise performance. We’ve delivered significant value in:
- Price Margin Analytics: Identify inconsistencies in pricing which quickly allow for increased margins and profit improvement. Also known as Yield Management.
- Pricing Improvement: Identify optimal list pricing for all products, customers and markets to maximize profits.
- Direct Spend Analysis: Identify optimal costs for raw materials, subcontracted manufacturing, components, etc. by assessing alternative vendors, global sourcing, and negotiating volume purchase discounts.
- Indirect Spend Analytics: Analyze indirect spend across the enterprise voice/network, leases, travel, insurance, legal & professional services, etc.) re-negotiate contracts, significantly reducing costs.
- Lost Business Analytics: Analyze purchasing behavior to proactively prevent customer churn, increasing customer retention and stronger relationships.
- Sales Effectiveness: Analyze sales and customer data to prevent discount slippage, increase share of wallet, expand product mix, etc.), increasing sales.
Rapid Bottom Line Results
Join the growing community of organizations who reject investing millions on analytics before reaping a dime. They leverage external tools, technologies and processes in diverse applications as: 1) a cost-effective substitute for building out internal capabilities 2) a method for accelerating value extraction before internal initiatives are complete, or 3) simply a rapid way to pilot and prove the power of analytics.
Liberty’s approach, combined with our innovative ProfitBOX™ technology, leverages targeted investments that deliver material benefits to the bottom line. Liberty does this with your data on oursystems, thus significantly accelerating benefits and reducing enterprise risk. In fact we don’t talk about the benefits, we put our money where our mouth is. By embracing pay for performance and gain share opportunities, we get paid when you get results.
Our client experience speaks for itself — at one manufacturing client, we were able to double their $10 Million EBIT to $20 Million in just 2 years.
Contact the seasoned professionals at Liberty to show you how to increase profitability and business performance, through the intelligent application of analytics.
