Manufacturing companies face many information challenges. Data is often stored in disparate systems, leaving business decision makers frustrated by the lack of reliable, meaningful, up-to-date information.
The information needs are also widely varied, as various managers seek to control costs, better manage supply chains, optimize production, manage the workforce, meet regulatory requirements, improve service levels, minimise waste, interpret trends or exceptions and gain visibility into key drivers of revenue and profitability performance.
IBM’s Information Management and Business Analytics technologies provide an exceptional opportunity to manufacturers to create and utilize information assets in cost effective ways.
Focus has helped many manufacturing organizations – large and small – to:
- create a single, integrated performance management framework
- bring together data from different operational systems into a trusted source of information – where summary KPIs are readily related to detailed reports
- create dashboards that communicate performance and identify exceptions
- distribute consolidated and unit level reporting of actuals, budget, forecasts and variances
- analyze customer, product, market and channel profitability
- replace cumbersome, error-prone spreadsheets with integrated, distributed, business planning and financial planning solutions
- forecast demand along with supply chain and production plans, and test alternative cost scenarios