The Intelligent Enterprise Blog

Top Features To Look For in a Business Analytics & Reporting Solution
AN EXCLUSIVE GUIDE FOR MID-MARKET MANUFACTURERS For mid-market manufacturers, the … Read More »
Why a Data Hub Is the Secret Weapon Behind Great Dashboards
Data visualization tools like Power BI have transformed the way … Read More »
What Today’s Modern BI Systems Do That Legacy Reporting Tools Can’t
Analytics and business intelligence (BI) are no longer optional—they’re essential. … Read More »
6 KPIs That Influence Inventory Optimization
Inventory is the lifeblood of any manufacturing business. Get it … Read More »
Beyond the Dashboard: Data Management Struggles with Visualization Tools
Power BI and similar visualization tools excel at providing quick … Read More »
The Power of a Data Hub for BI & Analytics
In today’s data-driven business environment, organizations generate vast amounts of … Read More »
Integrating AI with BI – The Benefits & Data Challenges
Business intelligence (BI) has become a cornerstone of enterprise decision-making. … Read More »
Is Your Structured Data Ready for Analytics & Gen AI?
In 2024, both analytics and generative AI (GenAI) adoption reached … Read More »
How CPG Brands Can Harness the Power of POS Data
For Greater Product Performance Visibility and Improved Sales & Demand … Read More »
Is Your Data Ready for AI and Analytics?
A recent Deloitte survey found that 51% of CEOs consider … Read More »
A Strategic 8-Step Approach to Successful Business Intelligence Deployments
Management’s ability to consistently make timely and accurate business decisions—at … Read More »
20 Essential Financial & Operational KPIs for Manufacturing Businesses
Performance tracking using metrics and KPIs can often be perplexing … Read More »
Why a Modern BI Platform is Needed for Predictive Analytics
In an era where data is the new oil, businesses … Read More »
How Manufacturers Can Leverage AI & Analytics For Strategic Decision-Making
Across the globe, manufacturing businesses are navigating economic uncertainties with … Read More »
Harnessing Data Analytics to Fuel Business Growth
Data stands as the cornerstone of the global economy, offering … Read More »
The Benefits of Integrating Operational Reports with Strategic Analytics
Today’s business applications are capturing, processing, and storing unprecedented volumes … Read More »
The Advantages of Using Self-Service Business Intelligence (BI) Tools
In today’s data-driven business environment where the volume of business … Read More »
How to Successfully Onboard a New Business Intelligence & Reporting Solution
The right business intelligence and reporting software can significantly enhance … Read More »
How To Move Your Business Data To a New ERP System In a Risk-Free Way
Thinking about replacing your current ERP system with a new, … Read More »
4 Factors Fueling the Growth of Modern Data Hubs for Business Reporting
As the volume of data and requirements for gaining access … Read More »
Cascading KPIs To Drive Business Performance
The practice of “cascading” KPIs aligns strategic objectives with business … Read More »
Empowering SMBs with Reporting and Analytics
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have traditionally been slow to … Read More »
Supporting S&OP with Stakeholder & Supply Chain KPIs
KPIs are essential in S&OP as they provide a quantitative … Read More »
10 KPIs for Effective Accounts Payable Management
In today’s business landscape marked by supplier shortages, demand fluctuations, … Read More »
How to Define a Performance Measurement Strategy
While clearly important in today’s constantly changing business environment, so … Read More »
5 Balanced Scorecards for Manufacturers
The balanced scorecard is a powerful tool for helping companies … Read More »
Improving S&OP with Forecasting Analytics & Business Intelligence
Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is a consensus-based communications process … Read More »
Using Analytics to Measure S&OP Effectiveness
Having a strong Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) strategy ensures … Read More »
The Value of Linking KPIs with KRIs
In today’s post-COVID era, emerging risks will continue to impact … Read More »
How Data Hubs Foster Better Business Visibility
A core element of digital transformation is the ability of … Read More »
18 Ways to Get SALES Involved in Demand Planning
Collaboration between Sales and Operations professionals in the demand planning … Read More »
21 KPIs for Measuring & Improving Warehouse Performance
As a financial executive or warehouse manager, you no doubt … Read More »
Best Practices for Migrating Data to a New ERP
While Fostering a Continuous Reporting Environment for Users If you … Read More »
Using Analytics To Address Supply Chain Challenges
Supply chain challenges stemming from the pandemic and other global … Read More »
Supply Chain KPIs & Metrics: Our Top 24 for Manufacturers
Supply chain performance KPIs are invaluable measurements that support the … Read More »
Why Fortify Spreadsheets with a Data Hub & Analytics Strategy? – Part 2
Accurate data that can be analyzed on its own and … Read More »
Why Fortify Spreadsheets with a Data Hub & Analytics Strategy? – Part 1
Spreadsheet apps like Microsoft Excel are very capable tools for … Read More »
How Manufacturers Are Capitalizing On Sales Metrics & KPIs
In today’s dynamic business environment, a well-designed sales analytics program … Read More »
32 KPIs That Drive Inventory Optimization
Inventory can be a manufacturer’s most important asset. Too little … Read More »
28 Procurement KPIs That Optimize Supplier & Buyer Performance
The past few years have created a lasting impact on … Read More »
40 Manufacturing KPIs That Optimize Production Performance
Controlling and optimizing the production process while keeping maintenance costs … Read More »
What CFOs Need to Drive Business Performance
CFOs are under pressure. They need to be able to … Read More »
Why a Data Hub is Essential for Power BI & Excel Reports
There’s no doubt. Power BI is powerful. It’s highly visual. … Read More »
Supply Chain Dashboards – Key Metrics For Manufacturers
As I mentioned in my previous post, Sales Dashboards – … Read More »
Sales Dashboards: 16 Metrics For Manufacturers
As a provider of business intelligence and reporting solutions, Silvon … Read More »
Operational Analytics and A Modern Data Hub Help Suppliers Meet Walmart’s OTIF Standards
Recently, Walmart upped its requirement for the on-time, in-full (OTIF) … Read More »
Why a Modern Data Hub is Crucial for Visualization and Other Analytic Tools
Data visualization and other analytic tools make it very easy … Read More »
KPIs That Purchasing Executives Need
Companies that focus on strategic sourcing can generate substantial economic … Read More »
Are Your Business Analytics and Reports in Distress?
For businesses that use dashboards and other types of analytics … Read More »
Why Businesses Need A Data Hub For Analysis & Reporting
It’s true that a business’s success depends on accurate, fact-based … Read More »
Value of Analytics for Wholesale Distributors
Analytics can help wholesale distributors maximize profits, but it isn’t … Read More »
Using Analytics to Manage Inventory
It’s true that inventory management is a challenge for both … Read More »
Performance Reporting and the Operational Restructuring Process
When companies begin to struggle financially and decide to institute a restructuring … Read More »
Using Data To Align Your Sales and Supply Chain Teams
Ensuring that your sales and supply chain teams are in … Read More »
The Value of Business Intelligence and Transparency
One of the biggest benefits that analytics can have on … Read More »
Business Intelligence: Think Outside the Box When It Comes To Your Data
Almost any company that has a business intelligence application uses that … Read More »
3 Critical Factors For A Successful Demand Forecasting System Implementation
A Demand Forecasting system lives and dies by how well … Read More »
Using “Show and Tell” to Drive Business Intelligence Adoption
In the 30 years that my company has been in … Read More »
Proven Way To Increase User Adoption of Business Information
All BI managers want their users to adopt and benefit … Read More »
Operational Analytics: The Benefits Are BIG For Manufacturers
Recent benchmark surveys of C-level executives at manufacturing businesses indicate … Read More »
5 Attributes Of An Effective KPI System
In my two most recent blog posts on Key Performance … Read More »
Statistical Demand Forecasting: Some Things To Consider
While statistical demand forecasting provides a more sophisticated method of … Read More »
Defining KPIs That Are Optimal For A Manufacturing Business
Defining effective Key Performance Indicators (or KPIs) that are optimal … Read More »
KPIs: The Basics & Why Non-Financial Metrics Matter
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) provide an organization with a high-level … Read More »
Using Dashboards to Drive Operational Performance Improvements
Operational dashboards are used to monitor all aspects of the … Read More »
Data Quality in BI: It’s More Than Putting Lipstick on a Pig!
Data quality is one of the biggest challenges that enterprises … Read More »
Self-Service BI May NOT Be What You Think
One of our sales reps recently asked the IT director of … Read More »
Data Visualization Brings Business Intelligence to Life
While business intelligence tries to make sense of all the … Read More »
Strategies to Effectively Use Dashboards
The way that companies use dashboards varies greatly from business … Read More »
Today’s Reporting Challenge – Catering to Different Users in Different Ways
Today’s business user expects immediate access to their data for … Read More »
The Importance of Providing BI for All Types of Users
Providing BI for all types of users is critical, especially … Read More »
How Reporting And Analytics Differ and Why They Are Both Important: Part 2
In part one of this series we took a look … Read More »
How Reporting And Analytics Differ and Why They Are Both Important: Part 1
This is part one of a two-part series. Even though … Read More »
Improving Demand Forecasting: Is It Worth the Effort?
The attitude of manufacturers has changed over time for many … Read More »
5 Ways a BI Competency Center Adds Value To The Business
According to the Gartner Group, a Business Intelligence Competency Center … Read More »
How Do You Evaluate the Performance of BI?
Learn how to manage the performance of the BI environment … Read More »
BI: Simple, Fast and Complicated(?)
While working with a customer on one of our latest … Read More »
Business Intelligence: Where Do I Start?
In my role as a business intelligence software marketer, I … Read More »
What’s Your Dashboard “Type?”
To stay competitive, organizations need Business Intelligence (or accurate, actionable … Read More »
Driving Category Management with Sales & Marketing Analytics
Category Management is a function that helps suppliers develop a … Read More »
What Do BI Tools Really Do For You?
After years and thousands of deployments, it’s time to … Read More »
Driving Business Performance with Analytics
Have you investigated ways to improve your company’s operational performance … Read More »
Are Retailer-Demanded Price Cuts Killing Your Bottom Line?
Here are some cost reduction tips to help offset the … Read More »
CFOs: Taking Charge with Analytics
So much has been written about the promise of business … Read More »
Good Visibility Drives Enterprise Performance
There is an old cliché that says “If you can’t … Read More »
Are Customers Getting Ready to Stray From the Fold?
6 Ways That Manufacturers Can Exploit Business Metrics To Maintain … Read More »
The Problem with Spreadsheets for BI
All of us at times have extended the use of … Read More »
Dashboard Design: 5 Pitfalls to Avoid
As the benefits of performance measurement become more broadly known, … Read More »
Supply Chain Agility: How Important Is It?
Agility (or the ability to move quickly and easily) is … Read More »
5 Steps To a Successful Business Intelligence & Reporting Implementation
Implementing a business intelligence (BI) solution can be a game … Read More »
Why We Struggle To Optimize Inventory
Optimization is defined as making the “best” of anything. The … Read More »
Getting SALES To Cooperate With Forecasting (Gulp!)
There are 2 and ½ good reasons to gain input … Read More »
A Demand Forecasting Checklist That Can Save Your Career
Embarking on a demand forecasting project is usually a somewhat … Read More »
Debunking the Myths of Demand Forecasting
Putting a new forecasting system in place usually meets with … Read More »
Why Have a Supply Chain Information Repository?
Big data and corporate data warehouses have been expanding exponentially … Read More »
Analyzing and Managing Supply Chain Risks
The financial health of an enterprise today is directly dependent … Read More »
Creating and Executing an Inventory Plan
Inventory is one of the largest assets on the balance … Read More »
5 Steps To Bringing Operational Analytics Online
There is an increasing emphasis on leveraging operational analytics throughout … Read More »
Setting Sail With Sales & Operations Planning – Part 2
In Part 1 of “Setting Sail with Sales & Operations … Read More »
Setting Sail With Sales & Operations Planning – Part 1
A number of business challenges are driving more and more … Read More »
Flash Reporting: Tips For Monitoring Your Business Daily
Companies use flash reports to see how the business … Read More »
Using Analytics to “Trade Up” on Promotional Programs
Marketing professionals are finding more and more creative ways to … Read More »
Determining the ROI of Forecasting Systems
Estimating the Return-On-Investment (ROI) for a new demand forecasting system can … Read More »
How Sales Analytics Can Drive Productivity
The volume and complexity of sales information that resides in … Read More »
Forecasting Information Hub Drives Supply Chain Efficiency
From a manufacturer’s perspective, the effectiveness of relationships with suppliers … Read More »
Good Data Visualization Makes for Better Business Decisions
In a recent study of more than 400 IT organizations … Read More »
Measuring The Impact of Absenteeism on a Manufacturing Business
Employee absence is expensive. It’s an area that’s not often … Read More »
Dashboards: Linking key metrics across the enterprise
How dashboards can help you gain greater visibility into corporate … Read More »
Supply Chain Performance is closer to the bottom line than you think
Managing the Supply Chain dynamics that exist in many companies … Read More »
Common Scorecarding Obstacles to Avoid
Scorecards are a key component of a performance management initiative, … Read More »
Supply Chain Metrics: Just How Important Are They?
The value of Supply Chain metrics depends on your Supply Chain objectives … Read More »
3 Business Intelligence Myths
With everyone jumping on the Big Data bandwagon, business intelligence … Read More »
Manufacturing Metrics that Matter Most
In today’s manufacturing enterprise, executives and line of business managers … Read More »
Demand Forecasting Should Be a Core Competency
For many US manufacturers, the business landscape has changed dramatically … Read More »
Understanding Your Suppliers with Business Analytics
Recent studies show that the ability to produce hard cost … Read More »
The “Roles” of Business Intelligence
Many organizations use business intelligence technologies to drive their businesses … Read More »
3 Ways Business Intelligence Can Improve Your Sales and Marketing Efforts
With today’s business intelligence dashboards, end users in every department … Read More »
Should You Acquire BI Technology From Your ERP Vendor?
Business intelligence (BI) is a high priority for many organizations. … Read More »
How Different Members of Your Company Can Use Predictive Analytics
As part of a business intelligence system, predictive analytics process … Read More »
Uncovering Supplier Savings Opportunities with Business Intelligence
In order to optimize vendor relationships and ultimately cut spending, … Read More »
Using BI to Up Sell & Cross Sell
Cross-sell / up-sell programs are a key tactic for growing … Read More »
Business Intelligence Software BuyerView 2014 Highlights
As a business intelligence software provider, Silvon is always looking … Read More »
Guidelines for Estimating the Payback of a Demand Forecasting Solution
Most companies that make the decision to move to an … Read More »
An Evolutionary Approach to BI
Phased deployment is a strategy that favors an incremental approach … Read More »
Assessing the Lifetime Value of Your Customers
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a critical concept for virtually … Read More »
The Right Processes Will Make or Break Demand Planning
Managing an effective demand planning process is challenging even in … Read More »
Data Consistency is Key to Analytics
Whether it’s “simply” the data that gets generated by the … Read More »
Business Intelligence: The “Build vs. Buy” Debate
The debate between building a business intelligence system from the … Read More »
Using Business Intelligence to Determine Customer Profitability
Can you answer these three questions about your customer base … Read More »
Why Retailers Should Care About Data Mining
In an increasingly competitive market space, retailers need to know … Read More »
Improving Demand Forecasting
Every major company decision, from financial planning to project execution, … Read More »
What Business Intelligence Software Can Do For Manufacturing Companies
Manufacturing businesses are constantly driving for better performance in multiple … Read More »
Comparing Performance to Plan with BI: It Should be Simple… (Part II)
In my last post I discussed getting your plan into … Read More »
Is That Dashboard Really a Dashboard?
If your dashboard tells you that sales are down, but … Read More »
Using the Right Tools in the Demand Planning Process
Demand planning in the intelligent enterprise requires the “right tool … Read More »
Creating a More Collaborative Supply Chain
New sales channels powered by the Internet, build-to-order scenarios, increased … Read More »
Why Do So Many BI Initiatives Fail?
The benefits of a successful business intelligence initiative are hard … Read More »
Using Business Intelligence Software to Improve Inventory Levels
A significant cost to many manufacturing and distribution organizations is … Read More »
The Successful BI Project – Start Small … Think BIG
Embarking on a Business Intelligence project can be intimidating. For … Read More »
Mining the Manufacturer’s CRM
Many companies, but particularly manufacturers, are removed from their end-users … Read More »
Rationalizing Supplier Relationships
Organizations today are spending as much as 60 percent of … Read More »
Importance of the Right Data in the Demand Planning Process
The operational side on the intelligent enterprise is driven by … Read More »
Comparing Performance to Plan with a BI Solution: It Should be Simple…
To plan or not to plan … this is not … Read More »
Increasing Customer Value with CRM Analytics
Today, the availability of econometric, demographic, lifestyle and psychographic data, … Read More »
How Manufacturers Can Be More Efficient with Business Intelligence
Manufacturers today are facing more complex business challenges than ever … Read More »
The Supply Chain Side of Business Intelligence
Getting a 360-degree view of their supply chain is critical … Read More »
Self-Service BI – Fill It Up!
The concept of self-service business intelligence has been around for … Read More »
4 Roadblocks to Strategic Spend Management
Manufacturers and distributors often begin a spend management initiative by … Read More »
Flexible Information Delivery – FID, for short (Part II)
In my earlier post on Flexible Information Delivery (or FID), … Read More »
Supply Chain Business Analytics Provides Better Vendor Management
A key factor of supply chain vendor management is collaboration … Read More »
Turning the Sales Team Into A Sales “Force” with Analytic Applications
Do you know how effective your company’s sales efforts are? … Read More »
Flexible Information Delivery – FID, for short (Part I)
In any business intelligence system there are ultimately two objectives, … Read More »
Using Business Intelligence to Match Supply and Demand
In order to run a lean and agile supply chain, … Read More »
Operational Excellence in the Intelligent Enterprise
What does intelligence in the enterprise imply? If we think … Read More »
Using Business Intelligence to Identify New Sales Opportunities
The long-term success of the sales organization largely depends on … Read More »
Understanding Your Customers
The amount of data that a manufacturing company can collect … Read More »
Dashboards Give Executives the Green Light for Business Visibility
A major challenge facing manufacturers and distributors today is the … Read More »
Welcome to Silvon’s blog – The Intelligent Enterprise.
It’s our pleasure to launch this informational resource to Sales, … Read More »