The term predictive analytics refers to the analysis of existing data to create forecasts that when properly applied, help avoid future problems. While kaizen helps spot problems live on the manufacturing floor, using predictive understanding methods provides an opportunity to:
Business forecasts only do so much. They cannot tell you the exact times of day you’ll likely serve the most customers. They merely let you know the average number of customers per day you’ll serve and an average of how frequently. A simulation, however, can replicate the real-world event in a computer model or, in some cases, a live-action role-play.
Field service management has always been challenging, as you rarely know exactly what’s happening when your personnel are on the job and interacting with customers. This can introduce a great deal of variability in service levels, which doesn’t always lead to great customer experience. From system inputs to scheduling, see how the structure of Six Sigma or lean manufacturing can be leveraged to provide efficiencies and improve service for field staff.
You’ve spent weeks or perhaps even months going through the strategic planning process, often burning through hundreds of hours of staff time to craft ideal strategies. Yet, within only a few months you find that plans are beginning to morph and slowly shift direction away from your hard-won strategies. Without clear ownership of the project, executive buy-in and consistent communication, it’s difficult to drive for successful implementation of your strategies.
Your suppliers comprise a key component to your success. You can’t run a product-driven business or a service-oriented business without positive vendor relationships. That’s why vendor management really means relationship management. It can present challenges, but effective management results in a stronger business.
While problems may seem unavoidable, you can avoid pitfalls and ensure the success of your large capital install projects. Your current projects can provide a learning experience if you identify the pitfall or failure it’s experiencing, then re-focus to get it back on track. You can then start your next project out right the first time. Read on to find out how.
Reverse logistics occurs after the sale. It includes an array of potential activities that recapture value and extend the lifecycle of the item. For example, consumers in many states participate in bottle return of glass soda pop bottles. Returning the bottles nets them a few cents and enables the manufacturer to cut costs by recycling the bottles. That small discount adds up to customer loyalty.
Using cloud solutions opens your workforce to using virtually any Internet-connected device to access and process data. That means everyone gets to use the computing tool with which they feel most comfortable whether it’s the office’s iPads or a Windows computer. Another benefit is your office can purchase exactly the number of licenses it requires, then add to it as it hires office staff.
Organizations across the world are finding themselves with increasingly complex supply chain processes to manage. While in the past most commercial enterprises were local, modern enterprises cannot survive in this way. Many modern businesses are finding themselves having to develop new technologies to manage these strategies — one of which may become the blockchain.
Current supply chains are still using management and logistics processes that were developed a long time ago. These are very streamlined processes that involve a small number of components. But supply chains are operating internationally now; even organizations that only deal in local trade are often sourcing their materials from another country.
This introduces many logistical concerns. Supplies and assets must now change hands a multitude of times, shifting responsibility from one organization to the other. Supplies need to be able to be tracked by multiple vendors and businesses, which can be difficult when they are traveling such tremendous distances. Blockchain technology may be able to help.
Blockchains provide a completely transparent and consolidated transaction sheet, which can comprise a multitude of different transactions and verifies each transaction with all other users of the system. In the blockchain, a transaction can be logged and then immediately propagated throughout the system, carrying with it information about the transaction and verifying that the transaction did take place.
As a consolidated but decentralized system, blockchains provide for superior security as they cannot be controlled by any one individual. Data cannot be lost because this data is held by anyone who uses the blockchain, and consequently suppliers don’t need to worry about issues such as securing and managing their own transactional data.
All transactions can be traced easily back to the original source through blockchain, and each entity in a blockchain can be tracked through multiple transactions. This has opened the door for companies such as diamond companies to track their individual assets throughout the entire supply chain, from initial mining to customer purchasing. Not only does this heighten security and streamline logistics, but it also provides vital data throughout the customer purchase process.
The blockchain is a relatively new and disruptive technology, but it has been around long enough that many companies are now seeing its true value within their organization. Through the blockchain, supply chains can enter into a new generation of scalable, consolidated, and decentralized solutions.
Companies will be able to track extremely complex supply chain management protocols with complete transparency and organizations will be able to work together with transparent and easy to access data. All of this will reduce supply chain overhead and costs and make it easier for companies to thrive. For more information about business intelligence and data analytics, contact the experts at Starr & Associates.
Many businesses rely on data analytics to help them improve customer satisfaction and lower their costs. But when paired with artificial intelligence, or AI, data analytics can further help your business. Here is some information about data analytics, artificial intelligence and how they can work hand-in-hand to benefit your business.
Data analytics are pieces of data that are used by managers, business owners, and marketing managers to help them determine their customer base and how to grow their business. Data analytics can show you who visits your business, who is interested in your product, what price point your product can best sell at, how engaging your advertisements are and who your target customer should be.
Artificial intelligence takes your data analytics and kicks it up a notch. Much of your data is achieved through actual testing. For example, if your target market is females aged 18 to 25, you may have tried to market to those who are younger and older to see what their interest was and failed. This helped you determine that those in this age group are most interested in your services. Artificial intelligence uses predictive behavior to predict that those who were older or younger wouldn’t have been most interested in your product. Ultimately, this predictive behavior helps the trial and error that goes into the pricey and time-consuming testing that goes along with data analytics.
Data analytics and artificial intelligence work hand-in-hand because your data analytics are fed into the AI system to give a basis for the predictive behavior that AI is able to determine. Artificial intelligence relies on data analytics to provide a full and accurate assessment for your business.
The biggest benefits associated with using artificial intelligence in data analytics is the cost and time-savings. Artificial intelligence is able to more accurately predict consumer behavior based on your data analytics, helping to ensure that you don’t have to go through the trial and error process of testing new products or defining your target audience. This helps you to save both time and money, ultimately allowing your business to grow faster and more rapidly.
Are you looking to incorporate artificial intelligence in your data analytics in the greater Atlanta, Georgia area? If so, we at Starr & Associates would love to assist you. We understand how to use the tools of business intelligence, analytics, and data mining to improve process efficiency and customer service, while also creating effective strategies for improving the end-customer experience and lowering costs. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.