6 Best Practices for Making Data-Driven Business Decisions

Everyone in the supply chain from manufacturers to retailers collects data, but is everyone using that data to make effective and impactful business decisions?

The following list highlights six best practices that business leaders should consider prior to using data to make goals or initiatives.

1. Gather All Parts of the Business

Every department has different goals, but all departments work together for the betterment of the organization. Get leaders together to align as you build a data-driven strategy together.

2. Make Clear Data-related Goals

Goals should be concisely stated and quantifiable. Establish if goals are clear and measurable first. Make changes to have specific outcomes for each goal. Then determine appropriate benchmarks and milestones that can be checked and supported by data.

3. Organize and Clean up the Data

Without an organizational system, data becomes meaningless. Whether using internal team members or leveraging external experts, find ways to organize your data to gauge progress.

This step may involve some data hygiene to streamline information gathering processes. ALWAYS take the time to get your data clean. Otherwise, results will not reflect the reality of your business.

4. Gather, Review, and Analyze

Using the business intelligence and analytics tools that fit your business needs, gather the data points and begin reviewing that information in relation to your goals. Analyze the data to answer questions about what has happened and why it continues to occur. Data visualizations will prove most helpful in explaining your data story.

5. Measure Success and Find Opportunities

After spending a predetermined amount of time gathering and analyzing the data, measure your results against your goals. Point out your successes and determine how to re-create or improve on those elements. Consider opportunities for improvement and identify the root causes that led to a goal not being reached. Use the data to make changes and pivot in real-time.

6. Evaluate Goals, Reset, and Repeat

Create a regular cadence to evaluate goals related to the data-driven decision-making process. Adjust plans as needed to grow and reset goals to meet business expectations. Repeat the steps listed above for every cycle to ensure that continuous improvement and appropriate data models are driving your business decisions moving forward.

Looking for More Resources on Data and Analytics?

Check out the following BlueVolt Blogs:

• Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Analytics Dashboards
  
• Delivering Robust Analytics Starts with a Good Partnership
• What Are Analytics and Business Intelligence?

*This blog was originally published by BlueVolt in May 2021. It has been updated and additional resources added.