With Power BI, the possibilities of Excel are extended to new dimensions. Data visualization goes beyond the usual possibilities, with more visual and informative charts, tables and presentations. And the data source is fully dynamic, able to handle files in a constantly updating folder at the same time, integrating them into a single database with other sources (SQL, Access, web databases, etc.). Power BI itself is already able to use all the Excel functions, which can now easily be used in combination with the database approach. And to add to the range of possibilities, it can also run other statistical analysis software, so that it can perform complex analyses.
Here are some specific purposes for which BI systems are commonly used:
1. Reporting
Such systems are used to produce reports on various aspects of business activity, such as sales, marketing, finance and operations. These reports give businesses insight into their performance and help identify areas for improvement.
- Produce and automate reports and statements on a regular basis
- Inventory control and management
- Recording and managing raw material usage trends
- Simplification of accounting data entry
- Monitoring production efficiency
- Monitoring of production units and shops, taking account of specificities
- Terribly wide and long table, which until now has always been selected with a mouse, but takes minutes to get to the end - a better and faster way
- Creating 'pretty' tables
- Interpreting charts
2. Data Analysis
BI systems can analyse large amounts of data and identify patterns and trends that would be difficult to spot manually. These insights help businesses make data-driven decisions that improve their performance.
- Analyze large databases (finance, labor, social security, plan numbers, application data)
- Inventory management (current assets, consumables, orders, stock, fuel)
- Recording and summarising customer and vendor contacts
- Inventory of goods
- Transfer of data from other systems (departments, plants, suppliers)
- Data selection
3. Performance monitoring
These systems can be used to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and provide real-time updates on business performance. This helps businesses identify potential problems and take corrective action before they impact their operations.
- Sales KPIs - These measure the effectiveness of a company's sales efforts.
- Sales revenue trends by period
- Conversion rate: percentage of targeted customers who become paying customers.
- Average store size: Average amount of sales by units, departments, employees.
- Sales growth: the percentage increase in sales from one period to the next. By total company, departments, employees.
- Marketing KPIs - Measure the effectiveness of a company's marketing activities.
- Return on Investment (ROI) - A proportional measure of the revenue generated from each dollar spent on marketing.
- Cost per Acquisition (CPA): The cost of acquiring a new customer.
- Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of clicks on a marketing message. Whether based on existing customer information (gender, age, location, etc.)
- Website traffic: Number of people visiting your company's website, time spent, pages browsed.
- Financial KPIs – designed to measure the financial health of a company.
- Gross profit margin: The percentage of revenue that remains after deducting the cost of goods sold. This is broken down by product/product group, even over time.
- Net profit margin: The percentage of revenue remaining after deduction of all costs.
- Cash Flow: The amount of cash available to the company to pay bills and expenses and its evolution over time.
- Return on equity (ROE): The percentage return on the investment of owners or shareholders.
- Operating KPIs – measure the efficiency of a company's operations.
- Customer satisfaction: the percentage of customers satisfied with the company's products or services.
- Order fulfilment time: the time taken to fulfil a customer's order.
- Inventory turnover: The number of times a company's inventory is sold and rotated during a given period.
- Downtime: The time a company's equipment is out of service for maintenance or repair.
4. Forecasting
BI systems can use past data to predict future trends and give businesses insight into what is likely to happen in the future. This helps businesses plan ahead and make informed decisions based on expected future outcomes.
5. Data Visualization
BI systems can display data in easily digestible formats, such as graphs and charts, making it easier for business users to understand and interpret the data. This helps businesses communicate insights more effectively and make better decisions.
6. The general principles
When creating any statement, analysis or interface, it is important to keep in mind that it should fit the client's needs and be as user-friendly as possible. We therefore pay particular attention to the following during the preparation process:
- Making the report simple and easy to understand for the user
- To make it easy and intuitive for the user to understand the statement
- Facilitate the correct interpretation of the results
- To meet specific customer requirements regarding formatting of tables/charts, insertion of references
- Linking the above systems and tasks
In summary, BI systems can improve business performance by providing insight into key metrics, identifying areas for improvement, and supporting data-driven decision making.