That’s the question many senior executives ask themselves regularly about data is how to harness it for practical use? You have hundreds of thousands of SKU’s from hundreds of manufacturers and sell them to thousands of customers. You have a mountain of data inside your ERP, a data lake, and on spreadsheets.
We wanted to share this article and add takeways and comments from Jared Riter cofounder of Off Square One who contributes to Channel Marketing Group Trends publications with guest columns.
The Data Burden vs. Data Empowerment
Picture this. A plant manager stays late again, piecing together production reports from spreadsheets, emails, and disconnected systems. The leadership team needs insights, but getting to a clear picture requires hours of manual work. If this sounds familiar, you may be working for your data instead of having it work for you.
Good data doesn’t just sit in systems waiting to be pulled; it has the potential to tell a story. When structured well, it reveals insights that drive better decisions and improve business health. Data can make you look like a dud and conversely, it can make you look like a rockstar. The key is making data collection fluid and integral to the business rather than an afterthought. It’s time to banish the days of an overloaded Excel sheet to answer simple questions.
The Problem: Why Many Organizations Work for Their Data Instead of the Other Way Around
Many industrial and manufacturing companies struggle to extract real value from their data. Here’s why:
Siloed Systems and Manual Workarounds
Different teams pull reports from different platforms, each with its own format. Data must be manually combined, leading to errors and wasted time.
Lagging Indicators vs. Real-Time Awareness
By the time data is cleaned and analyzed, it is already outdated. Decision-making becomes reactive instead of proactive.
Misalignment Between Data and Business Goals
Collecting massive amounts of data doesn’t help unless it is mapped to business objectives. Without clear alignment, data becomes noise instead of insight.
Lack of Strategic Conversations About Future Vision
Without pushing internal dialogue around what stories would be revolutionary to be able to tell in the future state, there are not enough reasons for starting the collection of key data elements.
Ownership and Stewardship Often Unassigned
When organizations do not actively encourage individuals or teams to grab the reins over certain systems or data collections, they become an unmanaged resource free to sprawl.
The Shift: Making Data Work for You
Define What You Actually Need to Know
Instead of tracking every possible metric, focus on what matters most. Ask key business questions like:
- Are production cycles efficient?
- How much downtime is impacting output?
- Where are our biggest cost drivers?
For example, a maintenance manager drowning in reports could shift focus to a simple Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) dashboard. By tracking just a few core performance metrics, they gain a clear picture without data overload. These should represent significant business value.
Embed Data Collection into Core Processes
Data should flow naturally within workflows, not require extra steps that employees see as a burden.
Example: Instead of requiring operators to log downtime reasons in a spreadsheet at shift end, install automated machine sensors that feed directly into a centralized dashboard. This reduces human error and provides real-time insights.
Simplify Access and Visualization
Stop relying solely on spreadsheets. Modern dashboards, real-time visualizations, and mobile-friendly tools make data instantly useful. If, within just a short glance, you can recognize your speed, fuel level, engine temp, and a number of other indicators while going down the highway at 70mph we should aspire toward the same dashboarding outcomes. Allow for the opportunity to drill down but do not require it to make it meaningful.
Example: A supply chain manager uses a real-time inventory heat map instead of waiting for a weekly stock report to make purchasing decisions. This allows for proactive restocking and fewer disruptions.
Building a Culture of Data-Driven Storytelling
Train Teams to Read and Use Data Effectively
It’s not just about having data; it’s about knowing how to interpret it. Train managers and frontline employees to spot trends and take action.
Example: A production supervisor sees a pattern of micro-stoppages and proactively addresses root causes instead of waiting for a monthly report to highlight the issue.
Encourage Data Conversations in Leadership Meetings
Move beyond static reports and focus on discussions around trends and patterns.
Example: A weekly operations meeting transitions from reviewing spreadsheets to using live dashboards. Instead of just identifying problems, the team discusses solutions in real time.
Conclusion: The Data You Actually Use Is the Only Data That Matters
So ask yourself again. Is your data working for you, or are you working for your data?
The goal is to make data an enabler, not a burden. By defining key metrics, embedding data collection into processes, and ensuring easy access to insights, your organization can move from data overload to clear, actionable storytelling.
Start small. Pick one process to streamline today and build from there. The sooner you shift from wrangling data to using it, the more powerful your business decisions will become.
Takeaways from Channel Marketing Group
In my distribution experience as Jared outlines the biggest hurdle is siloed data and simplified data visualization. Building the systems and process to send the reports to your channel leaders is often the easier task, but getting the right reports that are simple to use and take action off of is the hardest part. You have to make the reports using your mountain of data usable and actionable.
What reports get used by your team and make a difference? For example; One of the distributor pricing and data teams I joined as a leader was creating 15 weekly reports for use by the field when I joined. It was impressive work….but when I asked do our associates actually use them, I got a lot of “I think” they do answers. So, for the next few weeks, we just started not sending the reports as a test. Week 1 we turned off 5 reports and heard the sound of crickets. The Week 2 we removed off 5 more and so on….by the time we were done we found only 2 of 15 reports were being used. We improved and enhanced the 2 winning reports with better grpahics and visualization and they became the two reports that drove our pricing and inventory positions forward. By going from 15 reports that basically no one used to 2 that we enhanced we dramatically drove more sales and margin dollars with better data visualization.
What are those two reports that you can improve to drive your business forward.
As always we appreciate your comments and support
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