For decades, executives have been collecting, capturing and recording all kinds of valuable data in ERP systems, excel spreadsheets and accounting software to name a few. Yet decision making continues to be based on “gut feelings” or “what we've always done.” In fact, McKinsey found that 72% of senior executives thought their companies made bad decisions as often as or more often than good decisions.

On some level, making bad decisions is unavoidable. No one can always be right. But organizations can find ways to make fewer bad decisions. Using rebates as a strategic driver of growth is one way to mitigate bad decision making. Don’t believe us? Here’s how it works:

Adapt a Data-Driven Mindset

There are multiple challenges surrounding data: quality (accuracy and reliability of data), access (data may be siloed and reside in disparate systems), timeliness (is the data outdated or is it real-time?) and usefulness (is the data structured or unstructured?). Even if these issues are resolved, an organization needs to have executives who are clearly data-driven and can influence the culture of the wider organization.

A data-driven organization is one that not only recognizes the importance of collecting raw data but also understands that they shouldn’t make business decisions using raw data alone. Instead, they collect, analyze and derive insights from data to address business problems, identify new growth opportunities and drive profitability. 81% of organizations agree that data should be at the heart of all business decision making.  

According to Gartner analyst Gareth Herschel, ”Organizations must find agents of change, build adaptive systems that will evolve as technology advances, and find ways to extend the influence of data and analytics to all employees and embed data and analytics into every decision.”

What-If Scenario Planning

Normally when executives are faced with important decisions, there is more than one path the organization can take. By applying this extra step of scenario analysis to the decision-making process, the organization can identify and prepare for a range of different scenarios and make decisions with better quality information. Not only will this help protect the organization against any future supply chain risks and uncertainty, but it will also help them capitalize on rebate opportunities.  

Cross-Departmental Collaboration

All the right data and all the best intentions do not amount to much without a culture that embraces collaboration. When executives come together, they spend most of the time debating what numbers are right versus talking about what the numbers really mean. Having access to the same data changes the conversation and the trust you have in the decisions you make.  

To effectively encourage deeper collaboration, executives can begin by immersing themselves in all areas of the organization and listen to other viewpoints which can help to see the situation in a different light whilst making strategic decisions that everyone is confident in.  

Use an Intuitive Executive Dashboard

Most executive teams are good at thinking strategically. They can adapt to rapid changes and improvise to solve problems through innovative but realistic measures. The two things that they value the most are their time and money. Earning opportunities could be missed because there’s no agreement in place or they don’t have time to dig into the data and surface the insights.

In order to save as much time as possible and increase rebate revenue, they need access to an intuitive Executive Dashboard. When data gets too much to digest or instead of relying on other functions to report on disparate sources of data, an executive dashboard presents a visual representation of the company’s rebate performance in real time. So, you can focus on the most important information to drive strategic business decisions.

What Our Customers Say:

"I can give my execs immediate clarity into how our rebates are benefitting us. The insights help me design new innovative strategies." Jeffrey Moyle, VP of Supply Strategy at Rexel.  

“Executive Dashboard makes it easier for our Executive Team and our Board to see a really quick overview without having to do a deep dive and get stuck in. All executives want a simple one-pager, a simple one-screen they can look at to give them an understanding of how we’re performing which is important. ” - Jamie Keyzer, COO Office Choice

Are you ready to look beyond the numbers to garner actionable insights from your rebate data, drive more strategic decisions and unlock revenue opportunities? Get in touch to find out more about Executive Dashboard, or schedule a demo with Enable.