Monitor Your KPIs with Business Intelligence Software

BI Software Articles : Monitor Your KPIs with Business Intelligence Software by Kip Kuyper

Finding the focus of your business and monitoring your success in that particular area is the key to success in today's diverse market. You can monitor how well your company is maintaining strategic focus by defining your Key Performance Indicators and investing in a business intelligence software program that will help you keep track of your progress. Your Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, can show you which areas you're executing well and which need improvement.

Choosing Your KPIs
Depending on your business' focus, your KPIs will be different. Once you narrow down which KPIs are important to your business you can set up your business intelligence software to start collecting the necessary data you need to keep track of your strategy.
• Cost-focused Businesses - The KPIs for cost-focused businesses include cost measurement, cycle time, ability to conform to market standards, quantity, and quality. • Product-focused Businesses - You'll be looking at new products in the pipeline, research and development, time to market, and product customization when you select your KPIs for a product-focused business. • Customer-focused Businesses - Your KPIs will be knowledge of customers, environmental appearance, complaint management, employee empathy, product expertise, and responsiveness in a customer-focused business.

A cost-focused business might benefit from having some knowledge of its customers, but it is not an important KPI for the company overall, while the opposite is true for a customer-focused business. You can mix and match these KPIs if you find it necessary, but most of the time this categorization will hold true.

Setting Up Your Business Intelligence Software
Armed with KPIs specific to your business, you can set up your business intelligence software to collect the data that will show whether or not you are on track with your company strategy. For cost-focused businesses, you will need to collect data that shows cost for the entire process, from materials to labor. Product-focused businesses will need to collect data that shows how the company is moving forward with new products and customer-focused businesses will have to collect more information on customer satisfaction. This will require the business intelligence program to mine different data sources, depending on the information required.

It may even be useful for you to determine your KPIs before you purchase your business intelligence software. That way, you'll be able to purchase the best package for your data tracking requirements knowing what you need to collect.

About the Author
Kip Kuyper is a computer guy.

Source: BI Business Intelligence software articles at goarticles.com

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