erp-big-data-analyticsAs we’ve mentioned before, using data to drive your business is an industry standard in today’s enterprise industries. Electronics manufacturers, machine parts distributors, and many more are using the plethora of results from their Big Data collectors (such as their ERP system) to make effective business decisions and innovate existing business process. This has become especially apparent among the Oil & Gas industries, who use a variety of new sensors connected to their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to produce strategic analytics data throughout their operation life-cycle.
However, with all this information coming from Big Data, it can be a challenge to establish an effective analytics program that delivers agile and actionable business intelligence.
ERP DATA: WHAT DO YOU NEED?
Although having all this information about your business from bottom-to-top is invaluable, one of the main problems with Big Data is that it can be hard to understand exactly what data is most important. The Oil & Gas industries, for example, have all these exciting new sensors connected to their ERP business intelligence applications that can develop insights into their organization and help improve processes – but they also have to spend a lot of time configuring the system to determine which data is most important as it grows exponentially.
Another difficulty faced by large enterprise industries is that some of the data provided by their analytics systems is unstructured or undefined, meaning that there are goldmines of useful data left unused and buried amidst the sea Big Data. Capitalizing on these nuggets of valuable business data is the next step in gaining a competitive edge over other industries.
Even though these are unfortunate challenges of using and understanding business analytics in your ERP, the benefits of mastering them are huge. Analyzed efficiently, the information provided by your Big Data can have a beneficial impact on both operational effectiveness and revenue generation.
USING ERP AND BIG DATA TO IMPROVE
NON-PRODUCTIVE TIME – Quite simply, if you can use the data and analytics gathered from your ERP business intelligence systems to single out areas of waste, you can save billions of dollars by eliminating unnecessary processes/practices and increasing productivity and effectiveness. Maintenance reports, drilling notes, productions schedules, and many other forms of unstructured content can be integral to giving your business intelligence systems the information you need to understand what, why, and when certain things are occurring. From there, it’s just a case of predicting how to accommodate for these situations and plan accordingly.
REDUCE HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS – Incidents and accidents on your plant floor and elsewhere in your organization can add up to millions of dollars lost in both time lost and expenses paid out. However, by collecting and analyzing data related to these issues – such as weather patterns, number of employees on site, recurring problem-sectors, etc – your ERP can effectively recognize and report on trends that may reduce these incidents. Keeping your workers safe and healthy isn’t just the moral thing to do, it’s also a cost-savings practice.
These are just a couple of examples of the myriad of different results you can squeeze out of the Big Data collected by your Enterprise Resource Planning systems and related software. By taking the time to analyze your Big Data, your organization can become smarter, faster, and more productive while keeping you informed of any and all trends that might become important down the road.