{"id":1197,"date":"2019-02-06T11:34:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T16:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2022-06-06T18:08:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T22:08:31","slug":"data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Dashboards: Visualizing Healthy Supply Chains"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"m-entry__feedback\"><div class=\"m-feedback-prompt\">\n\t\t  <h4 class=\"m-feedback-prompt__header\">Was this article helpful?<\/h4>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__social m-feedback-prompt__social_thumbsup yes\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-up\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt_form no\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-down\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a><br>\n\t\t  <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__social yes\">\n\t\t    <p class=\"m-feedback-prompt__text\">Awesome, share it:<\/p>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon facebook fa fa-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon twitter fa fa-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains\/&text=Data Dashboards: Visualizing Healthy Supply Chains\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon googleplus fa fa-google-plus\" href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Google Plus<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon linkedin fa fa-linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains\/&title=Data Dashboards: Visualizing Healthy Supply Chains\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t  <\/div>\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__form no\">\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"thanks feedback-nodisplayall\"><h2>Thanks!<h2><div class=\"m-contact\"><p>Thanks for getting in touch with us.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t    <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"new_support_request\" action=\"\" accept-charset=\"UTF-8\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t    <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"6951482529\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\" \/>\n\t\t      <input value=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/data-dashboards-visualizing-healthy-supply-chains\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\" id=\"currenturl\">\n\t\t      <input value=\"Data Dashboards: Visualizing Healthy Supply Chains\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\" id=\"currenttitle\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Help us improve. Give us your feedback:<\/label>\n\t\t      <textarea class=\"p-input__textarea\" name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\"><\/textarea>\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your Full Name:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"feedbackfullname\" id=\"feedbackfullname\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your email address:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"mailinglistemail\" id=\"mailinglistemail\">\n\t\t      <div class=\"feedback-message\" id=\"feedback-message\"><\/div>\n\t\t      <div class=\"__submit\">\n\t\t        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" value=\"Submit\" class=\"p-button\" id=\"submit-contact-form\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n\t\t      <\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/form>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>Data dashboards\u2014digital tools that provide a visualization\nof key performance indicators (KPIs) of process\u2014are quickly becoming a\npreferred tool for supply chain management. Dashboards can be used at any stage\nof a supply chain or process to assess its performance. In order for a\ndashboard to effectively support a supply chain, it must measure the\nappropriate KPIs, including orders fulfilled or products produced in a time\nframe, and display data in an easy-to-interpret format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many areas within a process from which supply\nchain managers can glean data, and these areas vary from industry to industry.\nFor example, a call center might track the productivity of its operators so\nthat managers can tell if certain operators are falling behind on their goals.\nA bakery, on the other hand, might track rates of usage for ingredients and\nrates of sale for different items so that their inventory and rates of sale\nstay in sync. The goals, key metrics and reporting needs in these industries\ndiffer, so dashboards should reflect these differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Same data, new look<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKPIs aren\u2019t new,\u201d notes Jim Boutilier, National Supply\nChain Engineer at Airgas, an Air Liquide company. \u201cData dashboards are simply a\nnew way of displaying the information in the supply chain more intuitively.\u201d\nSome popular KPIs in the industrial gas business include cylinder inventory\nmanagement, usage rates for gases, usage rates for personal protective\nequipment and other hardgoods, spend per area and spend per project.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Boutilier, \u201cDashboards are becoming more and\nmore prevalent. With smartphones and trends towards visual media, the visual\nrepresentation of data is becoming more popular in industry and business.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Improvements to dashboards show promise for maintaining\nefficient and effective supply chains. No matter the industry, dashboards are\nan excellent way to bring your spreadsheets to the next level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>But I like my\nspreadsheets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While spreadsheets can display more data than dashboards,\nthe data is harder to understand and interpret. Without dashboards, supply\nchain managers must sift through spreadsheets that hold all of the data that is\ntracked as part of a process to find the most relevant and telling information.\n\u201cYou\u2019d have to try to identify those KPIs within the spreadsheet,\u201d said\nBoutilier. &nbsp;\u201cYou might have some sort of\nspreadsheet control tool or macro to interpret the health of the process, but there\nwould not be a visual representation of the data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dashboards and spreadsheets can work together to provide a\nlot of information in an easy-to-interpret way. Despite the sophistication and\nease of use that dashboards boast, spreadsheets are still the engines behind\ndashboards, fueling them with data. If, for example, a dashboard shows that\nsomething is wrong within a process, the supply chain manager can look \u201cunder\nthe hood\u201d of the dashboard to get a more in-depth understanding of the\nunderlying issue. According to Boutilier, \u201cThe dashboard uses the same data\nthat you would find in a spreadsheet to give a snapshot of how a process is\noperating. Dashboards help to eliminate the interpretation step of the\nequation, but you can still take a look at the more specific numbers if you\nneed to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because dashboards vary between applications, they are fully\ncustomizable to specific needs. \u201cDashboards are built based on a customer\u2019s\nspecific requirements and needs, giving customers a line of sight into the key factors\nthat impact their businesses,\u201d said Boutilier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Best practice tips <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve already adopted a dashboard as part of your supply\nchain, ensure that your system is working optimally to make your job easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Choosing the right KPIs is essential to effective dashboards.\nIf a supply chain manager decides to track data that isn\u2019t relevant to the efficiency\nof the process, the dashboard would not be an accurate tool for intercepting\nproblems and maximizing efficiency. Tracking these KPIs can help ensure that\nprojects are finished on time and within budget. Despite the wide range of KPIs\navailable for tracking on a dashboard, an effective dashboard requires that a\nsupply chain manager prioritize certain KPIs over others. After all, a\ncluttered dashboard defeats the main objective of clean and clear visuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Tools for data collection<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having strong data collection tools at key touchpoints\nthroughout a process is another important component of a dashboard. For\nexample, a bakery must consider how it will measure its ingredient inventory\nand sales. In order for a dashboard to maximize the efficiency of a process,\nits data collection tools should also be efficient. If the data fueling the\ndashboard is inaccurate, the dashboard itself is also inaccurate. For example,\nmeasuring ingredient inventory with a broken scale makes the whole dashboard\nuseless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Looking to the future<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to taking the pulse of a process, dashboards can\nalso help supply chain managers anticipate problems before they arise. A\nwell-designed dashboard can alert a supply chain manager to an upcoming\nshortage based on usage and inventory rates, which makes it possible to find a\nsolution before the problem even arises. \u201cIf you design the dashboard to include\nforecasting, it\u2019s not just a snapshot of where you are. It becomes a tool that\nallows you to be more in control of your process by understanding historical\ndata,\u201d said Boutilier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As dashboards reach mainstream adoption in both industry and\nbusiness, advancements are sure to continue. For now, daily updates are more\nrealistic than real-time updates, but as dashboards become more widespread,\nit\u2019s likely that the technologies supporting them will become more\nsophisticated and support supply chain managers in their goal of providing\nbetter overall insights for the individual user\u2019s supply chain requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Was this article helpful? &nbsp; &nbsp; Awesome, share it: Share Tweet Google Plus LinkedIn Thanks! 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