A new generation of innovative digital technology is now available for organizations to use to optimize the operations and the supply chain, aligning it to customer demand and the fulfillment of products and services. Utilizing this technology can dramatically improve the value of products and services; failing to embrace them can decrease it. The effective application and use of analytics, collaboration, machine learning, planning and IoT can increase the agility of the supply chain across sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and logistics to ensure full value is realized from the inventory of products.
Ventana Research offers research-based guidance to those in operations and supply chain roles to help maximize the value of products and services through more effective planning and efficient operational execution. We provide education on best practices and assessment and adoption of applications and information. Change is required to ensure efficient and effective supply chains are operating today and will in the future. Ventana Research can help.
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Recent research shows that over half of organizations (57%) are re-assessing how to manage information associated with products. With 48 percent of organizations utilizing line of business IT budgets to fund PIM projects; it is essential to make proj
Planning is a key component to all businesses; but often; the reality does not go according to plans. In businesses; this discrepancy can increase costs and waste time. But with the right tools; organizations can more closely align their plans to the
Realizing an appropriate return on capital spending is critical. Poor allocation of strategic funds can impair the competitiveness and profitability of a corporation; which is why well-run organizations have a disciplined methodology for making thes
Effective product information management is a high priority for most organizations today. And most lack a dedicated approach to PIM. Those that do not invest and improve will fall behind. It's no wonder why. Research shows that PIM can improve effici
The purpose of sales forecasting is to anticipate and facilitate sales activities and help representatives identify opportunities; reach quotas and achieve the maximum potential of their accounts and territories. We find that sales forecasting is of
Over the past decade; markets have grown increasingly global; especially for technology companies. Rising incomes in underdeveloped countries have led to increased demand for a wide range of products. However; this opportunity also brings with it a
Benchmark research that Ventana Research conducted on sales performance management reveals that the top two priorities of sales management are to increase revenue (cited by 72% of participants) and to improve the efficiency of sales processes (57%).
Launching and running a sales program without careful planning is a recipe for failure. Effectiveness in sales starts with planning. To be successful; planning must involve a range of stakeholders from various roles; use a systematic process; incorp
Optimizing the potential of a sales organization requires being able to motivate representatives with appealing incentives and a clear compensation structure. Determining these can no longer be a once-a-year effort because today's dynamic business c
Governance is essential to the management of a corporation. Without it there can be no reliable way to guide the actions of individuals to align them to corporate objectives and requirements. Risk; for its part; comes in many forms; including interna
The business activities known as governance; risk and compliance (GRC) are tightly linked. Governance; risk management and compliance management are separate but closely related activities that take place in any organization. Governance is essential
The business activities known as governance; risk and compliance (GRC) are tightly linked. Governance; risk management and compliance management are separate but closely related activities that take place in any organization. Governance is essential
A continuous planning approach that uses frequent portfolio analyses to evaluate new project demand against in-progress work will help organizations achieve greater agility; flexibility; coordination and accountability in their operations and project
Dedicated planning software has existed in relatively sophisticated forms for more than a decade. Yet our research shows that almost half of all large global companies prepare plans and budgets in time-consuming primarily using spreadsheets. Spreadsh
Long range planning (LRP) is a process and discipline that companies use to determine the best strategy for succeeding in the markets they serve. These initiatives when done well; supports strategic goals and objectives and allow organizations to all
Long-range planning (LRP) is a process and discipline that companies use to determine the best strategy for succeeding in the markets they serve and to ensure they have the capabilities needed to support their strategic objectives; they also must pla
Product Information Management (PIM) is essential to business processes; the customer experience; and ultimately financial performance. It is shared among business units; customers; partners and distributors and may take many forms; including text; v
Effective product information management is a high priority for most organizations today. And most lack a dedicated approach to PIM. Those that do not invest and improve will fall behind. It's no wonder why. Research shows that PIM can improve effici
The enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a pillar of nearly every company's record-keeping and management of business processes. It is essential to the smooth functioning of a business's accounting and finance functions. In manufacturing and distribution; ERP also can manage inventory and logistics.
The enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a pillar of nearly every company's record-keeping and management of business processes. It is essential to the smooth functioning of a business's accounting and finance functions. In manufacturing and distribution; ERP also can manage inventory and logistics. Some companies use it to handle human resources functions like tracking employees; payroll and related costs.
Learning management is increasingly vital to businesses for training; compliance; onboarding and performance management. The new research examined the impact of and interest in six next-generation technological advancements on business use of learnin
Ventana Research has delivered the Benchmark Research into Next-Generation Learning Management. The research examined social learning in the broader context of human capital management; evaluated how and where social learning interacts with other HCM
To remain competitive in todays market; companies need happy customers. The quality of customer experience is dependent on the agent who handles interactions. Our recent research shows that organizations are actively deploying new channels of intera
To remain competitive in todays market; companies need happy customers. The quality of customer experience is dependent on the agent who handles interactions. Our recent research shows that organizations are actively deploying new channels of intera
Today; budgeting and operational planning effrots are typically only loosely connected. In contrast; Next-Generation Business Planning closely integrates unit-level operational plans with financial planning. Relying on information technology; it enab
Next-generation business planning closely integrates individual operational plans with financial plans. Supported by dedicated software; it enables companies to plan faster with less effort to achieve greater accuracy and agility.
Business planning encompasses all of the forward-looking activities in which companies routinely engage; such as sales; production and head-count planning as well as budgeting. Among the several benefits it conveys; planning helps to get everyone ont
Ventana Research undertook this Benchmark Research into the Next Generation of Business Planning to examine systems and tools that operate across business processes; influencing the optimal use of information and technology to manage performance. Thi
Budgeting and planning is an area of finance that is long-established yet ripe for change. There is widespread dissatisfaction with the budgeting process. Nearly all business people regard it as a waste of time and resources. Typically; it eats up 10
Nearly two-thirds said it is very important to make it simpler to provide analytics and metrics; and half said they can significantly improve their use of them. In addition; half are not satisfied with the process currently used to create analytics;
The Product and Services Analytics Benchmark confirms that metrics and key indicators are important; and are used most often to evaluate cost- and budget-related factors. And they show that analytics processes are not very effective in most organizat
Organizations need to address limitations in the ways they manage product information; including related attributes and content that describes the products. New types and sources of data often introduce new and inconsistent ways in which products; ma
Organizations need to address limitations in the ways they manage product information; including related attributes and content that describes the products. New types and sources of data often introduce new and inconsistent ways in which products; ma
Organizations need to address limitations in the ways they manage product information; including related attributes and content that describes the products. New types and sources of data often introduce new and inconsistent ways in which products; ma
In the information age; access is key for organizations. This is especially true for product information; where multiple areas in a business need to be able to access the same information; and have it always be up-to-date. And as the number of ways t
Consistent; accurate product information is essential to meet the expectations of today's customers. These demanding consumers want detailed information presented to them through whichever of the various channels; including websites and commerce sys
Organizations find themselves facing increasingly complex global manufacturing and distribution challenges. Customers today; whether other businesses or individuals; want products to be easy to shop for and purchase and be delivered quickly. Busines
The success of sales efforts depends on the performance of the sales team as a whole and each of its members. But sales performance cannot be a matter of guesswork or ad hoc projections; it must be measured.
There isnt an aspect of business today in which people dont claim they use analytics to generate information; typically in the form of metrics and key indicators. But there is much confusion about their usefulness and value to the business and abou
How good is your supply chain business intelligence (BI)? Are you getting the right information you need to do your job? If not; why not? Do you have the right technology to get the answers that will help you improve business performance? How do
Sales forecasting has been an inexact science; often depending as much on gut instinct as on data. Two reasons for this imprecision are a lack of pipeline information and a reliance on spreadsheets to create and track forecasts. The alternatives; sal
Digital transformation is a popular term that encompasses a range of fundamental changes caused or catalyzed by modern information technology. The internet and intelligent mobile devices have changed how people live; work; shop and communicate. Wh
Engaging employees requires more than directing them in what to do; they also need to receive credit for their accomplishments. Such recognition helps improve the employee experience; according to our benchmark research on human capital analytics; a
As the pace of business innovation has picked up; many organizations have found it harder to keep up. Studies show that fewer than half of organizations have accurate project plans and only one-quarter can compare actuals to plans within three business days.
Successful companies are able to generate the maximum value from their investments. But doing that is not necessarily easy. Balancing work efficiency and effectiveness withing business areas and processes is often difficult - and in many instances growing increasingly so.
Our Maturity Index analysis places only 12 percent of organizations at the highest Innovative level of maturity. The research shows that overall businesses tend to rely on traditional cost- and budget-related metrics and use spreadsheets heavily.
The findings offer fresh research-based information on companies attitudes toward workforce analytics. They confirm that metrics and key indicators are important for workforce and talent management; used most often to evaluate performance and determ
The Workforce Analytics benchmark assessed organizational maturity by examining the adequacy of people; process; information and technology competencies required to make the most effective and efficient use of analytics. The findings offer significa
Sales organizations, especially in small businesses, are under pressure to take advantage of every revenue-generating opportunity. Feeling they have to move fast, sales management personnel
By itself data isn't useful for business. It requires analytics to transform data into actionable information. Analytics of one sort or another has long been a core competence of finance departments; applied to balance sheets; income statements or c
CIOs and senior IT leaders such as directors of global applications and enterprise architects constantly face the challenge of reducing technology costs while continuing to deliver consistent value to the business. The IT organization must always be seeking opportunities to automate the infrastructure and processes used throughout the enterprise to improve efficiency.
Performance management is a strategy and a set of methodologies and processes for managing the performance of the organization and its business network; its purpose is to achieve a common set of goals and objectives. At its core, then, performance management is about aligning day-to-day processes and activities with organizational strategy. This makes it of obvious value to savvy executives and finance professionals: It communicates to all stakeholders an agreed-upon strategy and helps align the organization around it.
Unfortunately, they’re unlikely to be able to do so by relying on the spreadsheets that our benchmark research into analytics in manufacturing finds are being used in almost two-thirds of organizations (63%). A substantial majority (92%) use them universally or regularly, yet the research found that doing so leads to analytics that take longer to generate and are less accurate.
Business analytics today involves far more than reports and spreadsheets. But despite significant investments in business intelligence (BI) software, many midsize banks continue to operate with a limited set of analytic capabilities, focused largely on querying and reporting.
Ventana Research defines product information management (PIM) as the practice of using information, applications and technology to effectively support product-related processes across an organization. When PIM is deployed, it employs a wide range of information, including images and videos and other visual and descriptive content, to market and sell products.
Product information management (PIM) landscape has changed drastically over the last few years, and many businesses are still trying to grapple with it.
Managing profitability effectively is especially important in today�s constrained pricing environment. Shifts in market structures; including globalization and better informed customers; have made it difficult to raise prices.
Many Organizations today are applying predictive analytics. 83% of participants in our research said that predictive analytics is important to their organization, and nearly all executives said they consider predictive analytics important.
If you are not confident in what your organization is doing in work and resource management, it is time to consider a better path to enabling accountability and optimal productivity. Over the past decade, our firm has seen this failure consistently undercut business potential, frustrating the leadership of almost every organization.
Marketing organizations have yet to grasp fully the value of managing product information efficiently across marketing for all business channels. Education on effective product information is critical; organizations must be able to use information to have a full understanding of products in order to maximize their value.
We are observing a radical change in consumer expectations about purchase-related product information. In this age of instant online response, consumer patience is in precipitous decline. This is forcing organizations to modernize their use of product information management to provide a more rapid and improved digital experience across all engagement channels. The timing is good: Digital innovations and robotic automation and intelligence are demonstrably able to improve product information quality and also make the information available in forms never before considered.
People have been complaining about budgeting forever. Technology helps the CFO and finance organization produce a detailed budget and analyze “the numbers” with less effort than was required in the past. Dissatisfaction remains, however, because technology hasn’t addressed the challenge of increasing the business value of budgeting, especially to the budget owners. It hasn’t changed the conversation to a dialog centered on the business plan first rather than concentrating on the financial outcomes of that plan.
The software industry’s evolution toward cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) has changed how and where organizations operate not just their software but their business. Almost every business application – across customer-facing functions, the office of finance and the supply chain
Ventana Research uses the term predictive planning to describe an agile, high-participation process that builds on innovative technology to achieve business objectives. Predictive planning uses a shared computing environment to enable cross-functional collaboration and rapid planning cycles. It takes advantage of technologies such as in-memory computing to make interactive planning and budgeting feasible and advanced analytics to provide deeper insights into results and more accurate forecasts.
Today more than ever, organizations must prioritize customers and focus on both existing and new relationships in order to increase the value of the interactions with them. A spreading awareness of the importance of customer experiences and interactions has transformed how organizations view not only managing relationships but valuing them. Existing approaches to customer relationship management (CRM), however, are not up to the task of enabling organizations to achieve the best possible results from their processes.
Organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to address the changing demands of work in a way that optimally utilizes resources to deliver improved results while controlling levels of financial investment. C-level and executive teams must ensure that the strategic projects and programs they launch to increase market and business potential are both well-designed and well-managed.
This presentation by Ventana Research's Mark Smith shares research details on pitfalls organizations stumble over in their supply chain, why these problems do not get resolved, and ways for businesses to finally break the cycle of mistakes. Mark also discusses the role technology plays in breaking bad habits, and ways to ensure the tools used align with the people and processes of your organization.
Organizations need more transparency than ever in their supply chain and operations in order to minimize costs and improve margins. How effective is your operations management and supply chain? Take the self-assessment and see areas that you can improve.
The mission to assure the health and safety of workers is essential and requires policies and processes to help reduce risk and injuries in working environments across industries. Efficient certification in ISO 45001 brings challenges for organizations but technology can help them manage all the supporting information and metrics that support the processes the standard requires.
Companies do a lot of planning: They plan sales, determine what products and services they will offer, decide what they will charge and what these will cost. They plan the headcount they’ll need to run the business and how to organize distribution and their supply chain. They also produce a budget, which is a financial plan.
More effective management of pricing usually is the biggest profitability lever available to corporations. Yet, senior executives often cannot manage pricing effectively because they encounter five common obstacles. First, they lack visibility into actual pricing performance and the analytics to identify issues and opportunities. Second, their organization is unable to implement pricing decisions quickly and consistently. Third, the pricing approval process takes too long and is inconsistent, leading to lost business. Fourth, their sales organization lacks the process and tools to limit margin leakage. Fifth, they lack the process and tools to optimize pricing for individual customers and products. Technology can be the catalyst that enables senior executives to achieve higher profitability through more effective management of their organization’s pricing.
Technology has steadily advanced the analytic techniques that enable businesses to undertake the challenge of supply chain optimization. These have evolved from basic inventory optimization routines to more complex algorithms that address multiple objectives and constraints simultaneously. Analytics facilitate even complex scenario analyses to provide a more complete picture of the future. They have moved beyond merely being descriptive, explaining what just happened, to being able to prescribe one or more options. Prescriptive analytics suggest decision options and calculate the consequences that follow from each. This allows executives and managers to accelerate decision-making cycles because they can rapidly explore alternative courses of action and identify the best options because they understand the impacts of each. Being able to speed up decision cycles by quickly getting answers to “what if” questions can give companies a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic markets.
Providing the level of success your organization deserves across business requires accurate product information that is used consistently across all channels. Organizations must work to overcome common challenges to realize the benefits of investments in product information.
Companies with multinational supply chains must become more agile and resilient to adapt to a more challenging environment driven by a new world trade order and the need to manage to sales and profitability targets. Software is critical to achieve such agility and reduce risks associated with a lack of adaptability to the current environment.
Collaborative enterprise planning is a methodology that connects all planning activities of a company’s departments and business units, enabling them to share their plans and to plan collaboratively. This form of planning uses technology to rapidly assemble, analyze and report plans and budgets as well as compare results to these plans. Technology also allows business units to plan and review the “things” that matter to executives and managers (such as headcount, units produced and occupancy rates) in parallel with the monetary consequences of essential things such as revenue, expenses and cash flow. Gathering all planning activities on a single dedicated platform breaks down silos that prevent effective collaboration and supports rapid planning cycles that promote operational agility.
As an organization considers business ideas and initiatives it now must be more methodical in how it manages strategic planning. Under-the-covers strategic planning requires that organizations translate initiatives into the programs and outcomes that organizations need – this includes not just visibility but the agility to act and improve. A successful approach to continuous planning means an organization can quickly compare actual results to plans and adapt and make rapid improvements. None of this is possible without technology designed to support the strategic and continuous planning processes, from executives to managers.
Ventana Research maintains a rigorous approach to its areas of research expertise through a methodology of processes and activities to ensure we provide the best possible insights on technology across business and IT. This is represented in our Research Agenda, which is a foundation for providing actionable information and guidance to help you identify opportunities for improved competitiveness and effectiveness. Other industry analyst firms lack methodology and a publicly available research agenda and are easily biased by clients and the industry. We take pride in our reputation for independence and provide our research calendar and agenda for visibility into the upcoming months of activity.
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