The Ledger

Inventory Control: A Key to Success

Inventory insight is crucial in the manufacturing and retail industries. For a manufacturer, it is imperative to keep the production lines running. To do so, it’s critical to have all the right raw materials available for the product that’s scheduled to run. Production will stop if you’re missing or run out of even one ingredient, such as a spice. Having accurate inventory also helps you avoid inventory write-off, ensuring that aging inventory is addressed before expiration or obsolescence, and saves you space and money. There are seven keys to success that can help businesses manage their inventories successfully.

Read More at Strategic Finance Magazine >

What Are You Gaining From Your Big Data?

There is a lot of hype around Big Data and the technologies that help businesses decipher what data is relevant to their strategy, and what is not. They accomplish this through advanced analytics with these big data technologies. The ability to store vast amounts of data in any format provides businesses with types of data that they could not have leveraged a decade ago. Companies that invest in their big data technologies are outperforming the competition with the ability to improve service, decrease expenses, or increase revenue.

Read More at CIO Applications >

Remaining Profitable in a Millennial World

Retail has changed a lot over the past decade due to the generation driving demand shifted from the baby boomers to millennials. It is clear that millennials want completely different things from the companies they purchase from.  Legacy brands and retailers are struggling to adapt to those differences while younger, more nimble companies are adapting and prospering. The companies that are successful with millennial retailers are the ones who act more human than the ones who don’t. Meaning, companies that are well defined and almost niche businesses, have a stronger millennial customer base. Successful retailers also have mastered the transition from retail to mobile.

Read More at Forbes Magazine >

Who Knew FP&A Could Be…..Fun?!

“Technology is eliminating grunt work and boosting the value of financial planning and analysis.”

As with many corporate processes, technology is driving fundamental changes in FP&A. Thanks to a new generation of tools, the drudgery factor is lessening and practitioners are spending more of their time doing actual planning and analysis. This new business environment drives a greater need for strategic input. More than half of the work in FP&A used to be full of data-driven and monotonous tasks, but thanks to new tools, the role encompasses a plethora of strategic activities, from budgeting and forecasting to management reporting, and business-decision guidance.

Read More at CFO Magazine >