Key Takeaways
- Real-time data improves speed and accuracy for decisions.
- Custom dashboards empower each role with specialized insights.
- Drill-down capabilities improve data transparency.
- BI and ERP integration tools unlock the most advanced analytics.
Enterprises use powerful software systems to manage large quantities of data generated from many sources and across departments, even entities. ERP systems provide the digital tools needed to consolidate these efforts without losing capability.
How do you choose the right ERP?
You can start by focusing on the business intelligence (BI) capabilities generated by a potential ERP solution. To help you compare vendors, here are five critical ERP BI features any enterprise should prioritize.
Real-Time Data Processing
Fast data schedules will never match genuine real-time processing. When you can see all of your data and insights in real time, you get faster, better informed insights. With this information, you won’t miss financial opportunities.
You can rapidly catch inventory discrepancies, and your forecasting grows more accurate.
When evaluating ERPs, look for real-time updates, live dashboards, and immediate refreshes. Overnight processing is the enemy of real-time data.
Customizable Dashboards and KPIs
Different components of your organization have different needs from your ERP. A CFO needs financial reporting, while the operations manager relies on fulfillment metrics. Static reporting and dashboards hardly satisfy these needs.
Instead, you can look for role-based dashboards. Let each department or area input their needs to receive a dashboard that prioritizes the information and metrics they use most.
With drag-and-drop customization, non-engineers can work on their own customization to ensure they’re getting valuable reporting.
Enhance the experience with KPI configuration and visual reporting that goes beyond basic presentation to make information interactive and intuitive.
Drill-Down and Data Transparency
High-level reports allow decision makers to see information quickly and make decisions. When something looks off or merits a closer look, drill-down capabilities allow individuals to zoom in on any specific data or data source to see beyond the overview.
Without drill-down tools, users have to export data into spreadsheets or manually investigate issues. They may outsource analysis to IT or other teams, creating costly delays.
Drill-down capabilities can start from the largest overviews and allow deep data dives from the same presentation. An officer can trace financial figures to source documents and individual receipts.
This presentation increases transparency and builds trust and confidence in every decision.
Advanced ERP BI Tools
Advanced analytics can take you beyond built-in reporting tools. Powerful ERP systems can combine data with your other essential systems, like CRM or external datasets.
When you take advantage of open APIs, you can consolidate powerful tools into a single platform with clean integration. Doing so unlocks advanced data modeling and cross-platform reporting. Your executive-level analytics pull data from all corners of the organization, giving you a better overhead view of operations and trends. Paired with drill-down reporting, leadership can rapidly see anything they need to run a clean operation.
Without these integration capabilities, your ERP BI can turn into a data silo, hardly justifying the investment. The APIs available in Acumatica allow for powerful and meaningful Acumatica integrations.
User-Friendly Reporting
Powerful intelligence can offer amazing information and analysis, but none of it matters if you cannot use the information. Reporting tools determine how you view and utilize results from your BI and ERP.
Many ERP platforms create technical burdens on your end users. They may require some level of coding, database expertise, or many other technical challenges, all of which create bottlenecks and limit how well you can utilize your ERP BI.
The right system offers low or no-code reporting tools, enabling customization without the technical barrier. Initiative interfaces further lower barriers to entry, and self-service reporting features allow each user to customize their own experience with the system.
These elements reduce your reliance on IT, saving on costs and training while accelerating adoption and the ROI that comes with it.
ERP BI as a Strategic Advantage
Business intelligence offers more than just reporting. It creates a competitive edge.
With the right ERP you can identify trends faster. This allows for rapid decisions that ride trends and adopt business adjustments that satisfy customers and improve your bottom line.
Your ERP can also improve your forecasting accuracy while offering insights for operational optimization. All of this lowers risk while you enjoy profitability.
Systems like Acumatica shine because they put IB into your daily workflows.
Explore Acumatica With Etticus Solutions
Acumatica is an industry-leading ERP designed for cloud infrastructure. Etticus Solutions is a dedicated support resource that focuses solely on Acumatica planning, deployment, and support.
When you partner with Etticus, you get experts who will examine your operations and get to know your business. With that knowledge, we can customize an Acumatica build that brings you all of the benefits you need in the ways that you need them.
Deploying an ERP represents a major task, but with experts on your side, you can get better systems that improve your operations and bottom line. Contact us today to discuss your options and see what a future with Acumatica could bring.
FAQ
Do all ERP systems include built-in BI tools?
No. Plenty of systems do not offer built-in ERP BI tools. With that said, the practice is growing more common with modern options.
Even when built-in BI tools are available, the depth and usability of those tools vary considerably. Some systems rely more on third parties while others have native capabilities.
To get the most powerful business intelligence from Acumatica, work with Acumatica experts with your system. They can help you navigate native options and integrate third-party tools to greater effect.
Is real-time reporting always necessary?
In a literal sense, real-time reporting is not always necessary, but for modern enterprises, it is becoming an industry standard, and for good reason. Any delay in reporting can introduce errors to decision making and actions. Those delays can interrupt opportunities or leave problems unresolved.
Faster reporting, when the reporting is accurate and actionable, leads to stronger decisions that mitigate losses and seize new opportunities when they arise.
How important is BI and ERP integration?
Integrations combine ERP data with other systems. Those systems could include CRM, warehouse management, logistics management, or any other essential system that helps your business function.
ERP BI integration ensures that your ERP and essential management software can see and share data with each other. With that, you can design your analytics and reporting. Your ERP can show you everything you need in a single dashboard. It can also help you manage your other powerful systems from that single point.
Most importantly, your ERP becomes the central piece that allows all of your integrated systems to communicate and cleanly share data. This exponentiates potential analytics and insights, and it ensures that presentations remain digestible for quick, effective action.
How technical do users need to be to create reports?
This depends on the platform and its implementation. Even within the same platform, customized builds may vary, and the user experience will also vary accordingly.
Modern designs tend to reduce technical burdens. User-friendly reporting allows anyone to create a report with basic drop-down menus.
Beyond that, Acumatica ERP support teams can provide coding resources for non-technical personnel. Your teams can explain what they need and work with specialized experts to ensure the ERP provides those needs. This allows an effective no-code interaction for your teams while enabling the most powerful design and development options.
One way or another, you can implement an ERP BI solution that works the way you need it, and you can minimize technical barriers to entry for your users.
