How Data and Reporting Drives Business
In episode 11 of the “Inside Dynamics Communities” podcast, Ryan Gonzales, Senior Sales Director, Dynamics Communities and Summit NA, and Pam Misialek, Community Director, Dynamics Communities and Summit NA, break down the latest stories happening inside the Dynamics community.
In today’s episode, the hosts explain how data and reporting drive business results. Additionally, Pam and Ryan share customer stories from Netstock and FYIsoft.
This episode is sponsored by Summit North America, the largest independent gathering of the Microsoft Business Applications ecosystem, taking place Oct. 15-20, 2023, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Register today to connect with thousands of users across the Microsoft business applications ecosystem at the for user, by user event.
Highlights
00:07 — Pam kicks off the episode by introducing Ryan. She begins by asking Ryan a question: What is the most important thing in business?
00:37 — In his 28 years of retail and logistics, Ryan believes that having a product — or something to help with day-to-day business operations — is the most important. This can be anything from customer service to supply chain, he explains. In today’s world, “it’s all about service,” says Ryan, and fulfilling a demand for customers.
01:53 — Pam agrees with Ryan, and adds that people are another important factor in the overall equation. Successful business operations come down to reporting, or business intelligence (BI). How do you know if you have the right products? “You need data,” says Pam. How does one know if they have the right business strategy and are executing properly? Data. Ryan adds that the way we collect data is strikingly different from previous methods. Now, users have the ability to capture data through everyday tracking and cookies.
04:09 — Ryan shares some news about Netstock, who worked with pet food supplier Pack Leader Pet Food. Pack Leader was founded by a husband and wife who created food that supported the movement towards pet humanization — treating pets like another member of the family, as opposed to just a “pet.” Today’s world is flooded with pet food, which reiterates the importance of companies needing to distinguish themselves from competitors through their products. Pack Leader Pet Foods is a global company, that needed a global outreach, and a partner who could help them fulfill orders and minimize the amount of Excel spreadsheets being used.
07:43 — Ryan notes that Pack Leader was determined to have a 99% fill rate for clients that were ordering products from them, which in turn, created strong word-of-mouth marketing. However, the issue for the company was finding a partner who understood their growth patterns and could help them scale for the future. The company also releases two new dog food ingredients every quarter, so Pack Leader needed a partner who understood this process and was able to track the data. Pack Leader needed a system that worked for existing business operations but would also grow with the company. This is where NetStock comes into play — Netstock’s system provides various dashboards from Pack Leader that give them real-time tracking of inventory.
09:45 — Pam agrees that this is something the Dynamics Communities audience likely runs into — needing “one version of the truth,” and not disjointed data in various places. She explains that FYIsoft has done exactly this for many customers.
10:19 — Ryan says this exemplifies a need for all companies — not just those operating at a large scale — to reduce costs and time spent by implementing systems, like Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, to track data and report.
10:55 — “There’s the creation of data, or creating dashboards, that one version of the truth, but it’s being able to analyze that,” says Pam. Being that reporting is the cornerstone of any business, focusing on these reports will provide business leaders with insights into where inefficiencies are, where the business strategy execution is failing, and how companies can shift to what is occurring in the market.
12:28 — Ryan shares that the Call for Speakers for Community Summit North America 2022 is still open and will close on April 7. Click here to submit a session!
