DATA WAREHOUSE AND EXTRACTION

Unlock Power Over Your Data

A transition is underway in wholesale distribution as more and more distributors are focused on using big data to advance their goals. Unfortunately, many distributors face big challenges with big data. ERP systems typically only provide stock reports and KPIs and lack the ability to report the unique performance metrics necessary for your business, strategy and experience.

The Tridex DataWarehouse can solve many of these issues by allowing your company to move Progress data into a SQL Server database and thereby expand your reporting capabilities. You can report still take advantage of your Progress data structure with existing or new and more powerful reports, but you can also manipulate data into a SQL Server reporting database. You can secure your data with Active Directory security to maintain data integrity. Our methodology was designed with the intent of giving your company the power to control the data elements needed for your reporting requirements.

We focus on the development and deployment of business intelligence reports that capture and present your specific KPIs, allowing you to manage our business with greater detail. We help you succeed with installation, implementation, training, consulting and support services. By removing many of the expert-level and time-consuming tasks from your own team, you will increase accuracy and eliminate data manipulation errors, allowing you to spend more time on top line growth.

  • “We are concerned about mergers and acquisitions in wholesale distribution. I don’t want to tie-up a lot of resources by buying servers and hiring more IT talent when I’m trying to show consistent EBITDA growth.”
  • “Our system is becoming richer and more robust, but that is also increasing the complexity and challenges in managing my IT solutions.”
  • “We’ve been using our software for years, and our hardware shows it. It’s old and I’m not looking forward to replacing it.”
  • “I’m opening new locations and I’d rather have access to my systems from anywhere in the cloud.”
  • “We’re spinning off a division and that makes both organizations leaner and meaner. I don’t want to add more to my support and maintenance costs.”
  • “I need to know that my infrastructure is going to grow with my company.”

Struggling with your data? Tridex Systems can help.

The Right Data

Distributors face an amazing opportunity to create new business, improve their operations and generate loyal customers if they are able to generate actionable insight from the data in their businesses. A wholesale distributor business offers an abundance of data that is valuable to employees, customers and your vendor partners. But how do you sort through that sea of data points to find the insight you need?

Much has been written about the power of “Big Data,” to drive your business forward; but it’s not so much about “big data,” as it is “the right” data. The data you collect and examine must be entirely relevant to your business. It is not cost effective to sort through every raw number that passes through your ERP and CRM systems. Your data plan needs to match your operational plans and goals and that data must be viewed through the lens of your unique business experience. Your ERP system is extremely powerful; however, no two distributors operate with exactly the same set of strategies, and thus no two distributors should be forced to rely on the exact same prepackaged reports.

In fact, the biggest challenge to data relevancy is that the data many distributors are collecting are not directly related to their particular business strategy. It is usually not an issue with having too little data since most distributors are overwhelmed with data, collecting mass amounts in a completely unstructured way. To really unlock the value of your data, you must make sure you are collecting the right data.

First, clearly outline your business objectives. The data you collect must align to your strategies, timelines and desired outcomes. Then with each objective, ask yourself:

  • What are the fewest data points to measure these objectives?
  • How frequently do I need to analyze the data?
  • Do different customers, product lines and geographies require different types of data?
  • Do I have special needs for different vendor programs?

Unfortunately, distributors unnecessarily struggle trying to implement a solid analytics program. Tridex Systems gives distributors the expertise, technology platform and sophisticated toolsets to get the most from their ERP data.

Our experience helps you collect the right data for immediately actionable reports and dashboards that will impact your performance in your first month of partnering with us.

Aligned Metrics

Your DataWarehouse becomes the center of the business intelligence that adds value across your entire business. Your ERP system has many built-in reports for particular areas of your business such as inventory control, finance, and basic sales reporting. Unfortunately, most ERP systems approach data in silos related to these areas.

To help you align your entire team, the metrics your track and report must match your unique strategy. The metrics must be cross-functional and custom crafted to suit your needs. For your leaders to work together effectively, they need metrics, reports and dashboards the fit together and support each other.

Without aligned metrics, your teams may be identifying issues on their own without realizing the common problems that can lead to a solution. For example, it can be difficult for a distributor to identify that a single root cause like late shipments might be contributing to problems all across your organization. Your finance team may track late-paying customers. Your customer support team may identify customers with the most calls. Your sales team is identifying churn. Your operations team is reporting on delivery times. Unfortunately, if you do not bring all of the data together with the right history, mining capabilities, pivots, reports and dashboards, you may not recognize the links between all of the issues and solve the core problem of late deliveries.

Every distributor is different. Your goals and strategies should not be driven simply by the reports that come standard in your ERP system. Nor should you fly blind by not have the data you need to make important leadership decisions.

Tridex Systems can help you set up your DataWarehouse and establish metrics and dashboards that fit your business. In addition to being data mining experts, we’re also experts specifically in distribution business technology. That means we can help you focus on the key concentration areas that matter to you as a distributor and help outline the requirements for success.

For example:

  • Can you report on your product lines with standards that match customer segments?
  • Can you align your services and delivery processes to improve efficiency and create new value-adds?
  • Are your billing processes accurate to minimize customer disputes and speed up cash collections?

Implementing aligned metrics requires much more than standard reporting, It requires you to develop consensus on your team for your products, sales strategies, inventory levels, service and delivery and more. An aligned metrics dashboard gives insight to your operating plan that allows your leaders to demonstrate their level of responsibility. They will be aligned with your financial performance and growth goals and will be able to link your high-level goals to their individual employee performance.

With Tridex Systems’ DataWarehouse, you will trust that your information is up-to-date, accurate and aligned so you can line up your business processes with your strategic objectives.

Operational Efficiency

Every distributor is overwhelmed in a sea of data. The amount of data your organization produces and collects is growing every day. As your business speeds up with growth, so does your data. And your best and brightest are placing new demands for the way they want to consume and report that growing store of data. All of this puts new strains on your operations and IT teams.

A DataWarehouse is by far the most efficient way for distributors to analyze their customers, vendors, supply chains, sales, operations and cross-functional performance. And you can get to this data faster than ever, include new data sources you may not have considered from systems outside of your ERP system – social, marketing content, mobile – and support a wider range of business insights without straining your IT team.

Distributors are finding that a data warehouse is more important than ever in maintaining their competitive advantage:

  • Accelerated data performance for faster, customized and more effective reporting
  • Turn complex analysis into simplified, real-time reports and dashboards
  • Track market insights faster than ever
  • Take advantage of the Big Data in your systems to make competitive pivots faster than other distributors
  • Establish a data model that can scale with your business growth
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