We’ve used the adage “Time is Money” forever, at just about every management level, looking to sum up the complex path to success. This still applies in today’s business models; however, leading, and industry-changing businesses have recognized now that access to real-time data, and the instant insight that can be drawn from it, can mean real and substantial increases in profit. 

Successful leaders and their organizations understand the key information components that yield improved profit through real-time information availability and the rapid decisions conceived from this information. In many cases, automated information collection and rapid access to it are the core reasons these organizations dominate their field and will continue to do so in the future. 

This demand for instant actionable information about operational processes or conditions serves as the building blocks for learning efficiency, points of waste, changing statuses, and profit and loss in many forms. With businesses operating in the reality of the Internet of Things, possibilities come from virtually anywhere in the world, we are positioned like no other time in history to have actionable information readily available to use and drive change activities. Whether we derive the data from a piece of automation at a supplier, mine it from operator-driven data capture, glean it from quality defect processes, inventory, or supply chain control activities, management teams must have accurate data to establish costs and ultimately prove return on investment to the bottom line from making a change. Truly, we are at the point where instant insight is profit. 

Real-time actionable information is the key to driving profit
It is easy to understand the value of real-time information. However, for many, the mystery is how to capture that information and what to do with it once you have it. The key to profit is using that information easily and effectively. We call this concept actionable information. An automated business intelligence solution is a tool that gives you actionable information to help you identify and clarify pain points in your organization.

A pain point is an event that disrupts productivity or waste of materials. For retail applications, it could include problem areas in tracking inventory, supply chain issues, and point-of-sale transactions to name a few. Manufacturing pain points could be as simple as having trouble locating raw materials in your facility, finding bottlenecks in your workflow, or tracking finished goods through shipping. 

An automated business intelligence system will identify key trends and patterns in your organization’s data and allow you to make connections between different areas of your business that may otherwise seem unrelated. Understanding these connections, in turn, drives your decision-making process. This will allow you to make improvements in your processes and eliminate your pain points. As you alleviate your points of pain, you will see improved efficiency and increased productivity, in other words, profit!

 Who needs to know and how do they access information? 
Selection of the proper devices to integrate your data with the right software solution ensures you or your clients the optimal user experience as well as optimal information delivery. Whether you are linking your team or clients to your business processes, data sources, or you want to create applications for users to view on remote devices, such as tablets, PC’s, and smart phones; understanding the device on which the solution will be delivered is paramount to a positive and robust user experience.

• Tablets & Smart Phones - Android or Apple
• Mobile and Vehicle Computing
• Smart Cabinets or Closets 
• Portable/Crash Carts 
• Kiosks – for employee access to inventory or retail business interface 

To provide insight into strategic items, or transaction-based information, there is a variety of identification technologies available. The determining factors include an item’s physical properties as well as the pertinent data points related to it. The type of information and the type of knowledge that a business wants to gain that information will drive the technologies used to support a robust, ROI based solution. 

The goal is to engage technologies that deliver accurate, timely, and actionable information to improve your efficiency and bottom-line. Technology is the solution, and it is relevant to the specifics of the application so that you can have important accurate information wherever you are. 

Integrators can choose from the latest automatic item identification by using iBeacons, QR codes, biometrics, radio frequency identification, or RTLS (Real-Time Locating Systems), to meet your specific application. If your company is involved in supply chain, manufacturing, WIP tracking, warehousing, logistics, retail, or property/asset management, any of the following technologies may be appropriate for your application depending on the clients’ required information.

• iBeacon
• GPS 
• RFID 
• Barcode 
• Auto-ID 
• QR Code 
• Biometrics 
• Bluetooth BLE 
• ZigBee 
• OCR

Using data to make educated decisions
Information related to client and user interactions can often provide valuable basis for production, planning, finance, material, and merchandising decisions. The dashboard that is used to deliver the information as well as the logic decisions behind the data can lead to cloud based solutions. Sometimes the insight is derived from customer loyalty programs. In other instances, it can be based on linking your application to social media applications. 

Source: Northern Apex. For information, call 260-619-9820 or visit northernapex.com.