[eBook] The key metrics to measure in the automotive industry

Almost daily, there are headlines about the evolution of the automobile. From electric vehicles, virtual displays and mobile device integration, it’s clear that competition is fierce and automotive businesses need to keep up or risk being left behind. In this eBook, we explore how business intelligence can help automotive businesses get ahead.

NB: This is an excerpt from our latest eBook: The key metrics to measure in the automotive industry'. To download the eBook, click here.

In the modern automotive environment, data is more important that ever. More than 85 percent of business leaders believe data will dramatically change the way they do business, and by 2019, 90 percent of large organizations will hire a Chief Data Officer.

Many automotive industry experts agree that we are in the midst of an information revolution. Business intelligence (BI) tools such as Phocas BI Software, are helping companies turn their data into actionable insights.

So what is BI and how does it work?

BI gathers data from systems and silos from across your enterprise. It consolidates it and provides a single source of truth for your business. BI lets you drill into business information with a few clicks, and get meaningful answers instantly. With the centralized and consolidated information, you can generate reports and immediately make informed business decisions. You no longer have to wait until tomorrow, or next week when the IT/financial report arrives

For many companies, tracking purchases, transfers between warehouses and service centers, returns and all the complexity associated with invoicing and calculations of margins around various discount schemes are daunting, time consuming processes. These are the tasks BI is built to handle.

How BI helps automotive businesses

Your competitors are looking for any and every way to increase their market share.

It’s not a secret that they are looking for weaknesses in your sales approach, product offering, pricing, customer service and other areas of your business so that they can get their feet in your customers’ door.

You need to have a complete picture of your business so that you can maintain and build on your current relationships and fight off the competition. Phocas gives an enterprise-wide view of your business, including these data sets.

Most importantly, BI lets you know your customer. Business intelligence gives you a better understanding of your customers through data like buying trends.

It supports you to make timely, smart decisions across purchasing, marketing, item and inventory management, sales, and ultimately, your financial performance.

Phocas BI - the automotive business advantage

Automotive is Phocas’ fourth largest industry segment (after plumbing and HVAC, industrial supplies and electrical). We help hundreds of automotive businesses across the entire aftermarket and supply chain providing our data analytics solution to manufacturers, suppliers and retailers businesses across the UK, US and Australia.

Phocas has over 15 years’ experience in the automotive sector and has knowledge, integration or partnerships with most of the industry’s popular ERP vendors and buying groups and distributor groups.

A typical return on investment by using Phocas:

• 35-45% increase in sales through opportunities revealed
• 300% increase in reporting speed
• 70% decrease in report requests to IT/specialists
• Up to 40% decrease in administrative costs
• 20-30% reduction in supply chain inefficiencies
• better management through smarter inventory holdings.

If you are in the automotive industry, we invite you to download the full automotive eBook. Click here or the image below to download your copy.