Guide to Business Intelligence and ERP: Benefits and Uses

There’s a lot of buzz about business intelligence (BI) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) lately. But what do these two terms actually mean? And more importantly, how do they work together? What are the benefits and differences between the two?

In enterprise resource planning, data about main business processes is collected from various sources within an organization. This data is then analyzed and used to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Business intelligence takes this a step further by using the data to generate insights that can give organizations a competitive edge.

But data collection without a clear strategy is just that — data collection. In order to be truly effective, business intelligence needs to be integrated into ERP. This allows organizations to not only collect and analyze data but also use it to inform decision-making.

The benefits of integrating business intelligence and ERP are clear. By having a single source of truth for data, organizations can avoid the duplication of effort and data silos that can occur when multiple systems are not integrated. In addition, integrating business intelligence and ERP can help organizations make better decisions — faster.

We’ll start by explaining what BI is, how it works, and its advantages. Then we’ll discuss ERP and explain why it’s such an important part of a successful business. Finally, we’ll explain the differences between the two and show how BI and ERP can work together to give your business a competitive edge.

What is business intelligence (BI)?

Business intelligence is the process of turning data into insights. This can be done through a variety of methods, including data mining, predictive analytics, and machine learning.

Business intelligence is used to improve decision-making by providing organizations with a better understanding of their data. With BI, organizations can identify trends, spot opportunities, and make better decisions.

How does business intelligence work?

In most cases, business intelligence is used to improve existing enterprise resource planning systems. This can be done by adding new features or functionality, or by improving the way data is collected and analyzed.

BI tools play an essential role in helping organizations make better use of their data. By providing a way to visualize data, BI tools make it easier for organizations to spot trends and identify opportunities.

What is enterprise resource planning (ERP)?

Enterprise resource planning is a system that helps organizations manage their resources effectively. ERP systems are used to track and manage information about customers, orders, inventory, and other data that flows through a business during its day-to-day activities.

ERP systems are important because they help organizations automate their processes and improve their efficiency. In addition, ERP systems can provide insights that help organizations make better decisions.

Most ERP systems are typically made up of a number of different modules, each of which handles a specific task. For example, there might be a module for accounting, a module for human resources, and a module for manufacturing.

No matter the size or complexity of the organization, ERP systems can be customized to meet specific needs.

How does enterprise resource planning work?

ERP systems are designed to collect data from a variety of sources and then use that data to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Data is collected from different departments and then processed and stored in a central location. Once the data is stored, it can be used to improve decision-making, spot trends, and identify opportunities. This allows organizations to improve their overall performance.

What is the difference between enterprise resource planning and business intelligence?

ERP and BI are not one and the same. ERP systems help organizations manage and optimize daily business activities through data. These systems, typically software solutions, help integrate an organization’s computer systems. Instead of having to optimize each department’s system for tasks, organizations can access these individual departmental systems through a single interface. It also brings the data into that centralized repository. The data housed by ERP systems is typically transactional and operational, related to finance, supply chains, operations, manufacturing, etc. It is used to enhance reporting, improve processes, and drive efficiencies. 

BI, on the other hand, supports data analysis through tools, methods, and techniques. It takes the large datasets from ERPs and other systems. BI then uses those tools to review, study, and visualize that data. BI helps to find trends and uncover insights to support key business results such as revenue growth, customer acquisition, and personalization of service or product lines. These insights are often displayed in dashboards, which can be customized and used to generate reports. They are most often used by business analysts and data scientists to make decisions around organizational optimization. 

Why is integrating business intelligence and enterprise resource planning important?

Integrating business intelligence and enterprise resource planning is important because it allows organizations to avoid data silos. Data silos occur when different departments within an organization have their own separate systems for storing and managing data.

Data silos can make it difficult for organizations to get a complete picture of their data, which can lead to inefficient decision-making.

When BI is integrated into ERP, organizations can use data from multiple departments at once to make informed decisions quickly and efficiently.

Benefits of using business intelligence and ERP

There are several benefits that organizations can achieve when using BI and ERP together including predictive capabilities, improved customer service, better reporting, data analysis, and more. Let’s take a look at some of the top advantages BI and ERP offer.

• Predictive capabilities 

ERP and BI work together to provide predictive capabilities. ERPs record historical data while BI makes predictions based on this historical data. Organizations can tap into these predictions to improve forecasting, adjust strategies accordingly, and achieve greater results. 

• Improved customer service

Customer service is essential to the success of a business and customer expectations have never been higher. Organizations can use the data provided by uniting BI and ERP to customize their service and product lines and personalize their marketing efforts. Insights about customer data can be used to predict buyer behavior and analyze trends. 

• Better reporting

Organizations can bring together large amounts of data for analysis for improved reporting through ERPs and BI. Stakeholders can customize reports and use dashboards to analyze data in an accessible way without needing a technical background. These dashboards can also be customized to display specific KPIs, metrics, and supporting visualizations for relevant goals. Stakeholders can also access reports themselves without having to request them from business analysts, saving time and resources. 

• Enhanced data analysis and decision-making

ERPs bring together massive datasets while BI uncovers the insights found in that data. This combination allows for better data analysis in real-time. The data used by BI can be maintained in real-time so organizations are always reacting to the most up-to-date information, enhancing strategies, campaigns, and initiatives to improve processes, drive revenue, and acquire new customers.

How BI and ERP integration can help your business 

When BI and ERP are integrated, you’ll have a complete picture of your data, which will give you a competitive edge over businesses that don’t have BI-ERP integration.

If you’re looking for a way to give your business a competitive edge, consider integrating business intelligence and enterprise resource planning. BI-ERP integration will allow you to make better, data-driven decisions — faster.

Examples of ERP and BI integration

There are a few key ways that business intelligence can be integrated into enterprise resource planning to improve decision-making.

One way is by adding new features or functionality to the ERP system. For example, you could add a reporting tool that would allow you to better visualize your data. Doing so makes data more accessible, displaying key information in a digestible way. This increases transparency and helps to support a data-driven approach in an organization.

Another way to integrate business intelligence into your ERP system is by improving the way data is collected and analyzed. For example, you could implement a new data warehouse that would make it easier to collect and analyze data from different departments. Manufacturing organizations can use an ERP system with BI to improve each stage of the production process. Doing so helps to optimize operations and reduce waste. 

A specific example of BI-ERP integration is using it to monitor the performance of your sales team. For example, you could use BI tools to track which products are selling well and which ones are not. This information can then be used to make decisions about inventory levels and pricing. If a product is selling well, you can purchase additional inventory or cut back on purchases if a product is not popular with customers. 

Additionally, business intelligence can be used in conjunction with enterprise resource planning to more effectively monitor customer behavior, such as buying patterns. These insights could be used to make better decisions about marketing and product development efforts. Likewise, a retail organization could analyze customer buying patterns through a BI-ERP integration. That information could be used to predict trends and ensure inventory is ready to meet upcoming demand, such as seasonal buying patterns. 

You could also use BI to monitor industry trends and make changes to your business accordingly. For example, if you notice that a new competitor is starting to gain market share, you could use BI to adjust your pricing or marketing strategy. That way you can stay ahead of the competition and continue to attract new customers. 

The key: Combining ERP and BI

As you can see, there are a number of ways that business intelligence can be used to improve enterprise resource planning.

The key is to combine the two strategically to get the most out of both systems. If you don’t develop a strategic plan for integrating BI and ERP, you may not be able to take full advantage of the benefits that they can offer. With proper planning, you can ensure that your organization will achieve the greatest return on investment (ROI) of ERP-BI integration.

Here are a few tips on how to utilize both systems to their fullest potential:

• Define your goals: What do you want to achieve by integrating BI and ERP? Connect these goals to high-level organizational initiatives. 
• Develop a plan: How are you going to achieve your goals? What tools and technologies will you need?
• Implement the plan: This is where you’ll put your plan into action. You’ll need to implement the right tools and technologies and train your employees on how to use them.
• Evaluate and adjust: After you’ve implemented your plan, it’s important to evaluate its effectiveness and make adjustments as needed. This will help you ensure that you’re getting the most out of both systems.

If you follow these tips, you can develop a strategic plan for integrating business intelligence and enterprise resource planning.

The bottom line

The introduction of ERP systems has been a game-changer for businesses. By automating many of the tasks that were previously done manually, ERP systems have made it possible for businesses to become more efficient, productive, and profitable.

When combined with business intelligence, ERP systems can give your business a competitive edge. BI-ERP integration can help you make better decisions faster based on the most up-to-date data.

Gain a competitive edge fast by integrating business intelligence into your ERP system.