What if every account manager were alerted to account problems as they started to occur? What if each brand and marketing manager were alerted whenever a product wasn't selling well-or as well as it could be? What if they could be alerted to performance issues and could address them immediately?
Some of the word's most renowned consumer goods executives provide their managers with accurate information about problems as they arise. With accountability, there tends to come steady improvements in business performance.
If you measure performance and give immediate feedback, performance tends to improve. Such accountability initiatives (also called total enterprise performance management or EPM initiatives) are one of today's strongest motivators. Of course, these initiatives only work provided that the staff gets the tools they need to see, in near-real time, where performance is lagging. When employees perceive that they are succeeding and being appreciated for it, they work harder and like their jobs more. Turnover shrinks. More satisfied employees yield more satisfied customers. And happier customers improve your competitiveness.
Personalized KPI Dashboards
With EPM, you receive a dashboard personalized to the key performance indicators (KPIs) in your area of responsibility (e.g., a customer region or district, specific products, promotions, sales, cash flow, etc.). In the past, it would take days, weeks, or months to get this kind of information to managers. Now, it takes minutes or, even seconds.
Whenever actual performance varies by more than a pre-set level, the dashboard automatically alerts you with either a red light on the computer screen, an email, or a phone call. You can then click on a series of links to get details about the performance aberration, diagnose the problem in minutes, and take corrective action immediately.
Your supervisor also receives reports and alerts according to predetermined triggers or thresholds. Executives can use EPM to simplify the task of gradually changing anyone's performance measures for continuous improvement to financial results each year.
Business Objects works with numerous leading consumer product goods companies on EPM initiatives to develop a basic set of dashboards for many types of key account managers. These are quickly configured to meet organizations' individual goals, roles, measures, merchandise, and manager preferences.
Analyze Changes in Advance
The EPM approach creates a top-down/bottom-up collaborative framework for:
- Aligning strategy and plans
- Aligning plans and execution
- Improving goals and plans over time and based on execution
What if executives could know in advance the calculated effects of potential changes in strategy or policies before committing to them? The EPM system can be used to pretest or model new strategies and policies to identify and solve potential shortfalls. Senior management can calculate the sales, gross margin, and expense results in advance of instituting any change.
In fact, numerous senior managers use EPM systems to streamline the entire budgeting and business planning processes. Why? Because every manager is working from the same single version of the truth. As a manager in one department makes changes, the cross-functional effects of those changes can be reflected in other managers' plans. It's all about getting actual results and highlighting the opportunities and priorities for improving those results.
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