Providing access to data at the level required

Leveraging advances in IT for the benefit of the user is one of the core values at software developer Core Freight. One current example is the prototype of the CoreIntelligence module, says Core Freight’s Glenn Lawson. “While ‘Business Intelligence’ (BI) has been around for some time it has generally required expensive software and development resources – but has nonetheless been pursued because of the potential strategic insight it offers to management of an organisation. Basically BI tools assist in the analysis of data, ref lecting trends and allowing drill-down into specific transactions for explanation as required. They should not determine strategy but provide executive feedback which should be applied to future action in terms of each individual operator’s objectives.” The CoreFreight application itself has over 1000 reports, says Lawson, including excel extracts, but it is difficult to present and assimilate the information in a manner which reveals both the ‘big picture’ and necessary detail required to resolve operational issues. “The idea behind CoreIntelligence is to provide a top-down approach which allows executive management to access the data at the level required. It also fits into the more modern approach to strategic planning where ongoing feedback is integral to monitoring the performance of the company, either confirming that things are on course or giving a heads-up that some remedial action is required,” said Lawson. “The functionality will undoubtedly develop over time and with feedback from our users we hope that it will become integral to the daily routine of management who are intent on optimising their function in the South African supply chain.” INSERT & CAPTION Ongoing feedback is integral to monitoring the performance of the company, either confirming that things are on course or giving a heads-up that some remedial action is required. – Glenn Lawson