There is a lot of information within your enterprise, and being able to analyze that information is crucial to decision-making and to managing your business and predicting results with efficiency and accuracy. But, when it comes to information, the average business may have quite a bit of data within its walls but, it often falls short of painting a complete picture because the data it needs is not maintained within its internal systems.
Using marketing and advertising dollars to target the general market is not a wise use of funding. Every business today is challenged to do more with less and marketing budgets are no exception. In order to reach the right target and convert prospects into sales, a business must create and distribute messaging to the right target audience, in the right way, at the right tie.
Perhaps the greatest risk to a lending organization is that presented by loan applicants who are unprepared to fulfill the long-term obligation of paying off a loan. Banks and other lenders spend a lot of time and energy trying to identify the perfect profile for a borrower so they can make the right decision and avoid costly loan defaults and the expense and resources required to take legal action.
You probably know how much it costs to recruit and hire a team member but, do you know how long that team member is likely to stay in your employ and what factors will cause them to stay with the company or seek greener pastures? If you can’t anticipate the need for resources, you are likely to be short-handed at the wrong time, or to experience frequent turnover that will significantly impact your business success and your ability to get the job done.
Even with an unlimited budget, it would not be a wise decision for a business to target every customer in the market. If an enterprise is to succeed, it must understand its products and services and it must know the profile of the customer it is targeting.
Businesses do not want to be surprised by downtime, equipment failure or the cost of unanticipated equipment replacement. If the enterprise can anticipate the need for equipment maintenance and downtime, it can plan more effectively for product output, resource requirements and expenses.
If a business wishes to optimize inventory, production and supply, it must have a comprehensive demand planning process; one that can forecast for customer segment growth, seasonality, planned product discounting or sales, bundling of products, etc. In order to predict and forecast and assure product or service availability, the business must also look at the dependability of suppliers, shipping and the purchasing of parts that make up the products. It must also plan for appropriate resources and training and, where necessary, plan for new products.
It is easy to understand the importance of producing quality products and services and the impact of poor quality on business reputation. If your business does not have adequate quality controls in place, it will lose market share and may even expose the enterprise and its team to legal liability.
Fraud costs businesses millions of dollars per year, and the resources and effort required to mitigate fraud can take precious focus way from core business initiatives. But enterprises must address this critical issue, if they are to protect their interests and the interests of their partners and customers. While one may think of fraud most commonly associated with financial and banking organizations or IT functions or networks, industries like healthcare, government and public sector are also at risk. And fraud can take many forms and affect the supply chain in numerous ways.
