Cash-to-cash cycle time (also known as cash-conversion cycle or order-to-pay cycle) measures the days between (1) the purchase of materials/inventory from a supplier and (2) payment collection for sale of the resulting product(s). A company’s operating capital generates no value if it is tied up in inventory, making cash-to-cash cycle time a critical analytic for finance.

We need 4 things to become a data-driven culture.

1. A data-driven culture needs data. Makes sense, right?

2. We need the tools by which we can analyze our data.

3. We need the skill sets to be able to use the tools to analyze our data.

4. We need a mindset shift to get people thinking about and using data for practical decision-making.

Turnover is an easy concept to grasp but can be elusive to measure. Three of the most important factors in measuring turnover can be gleaned from the definition. First, we need to determine “what” we are measuring as the baseline or denominator in the equation. Are we measuring employees or employees and contractors? Do we include interns?

As states of emergency were declared and stay-at-home orders obeyed, some companies declared analytics useless. For these companies, the primary goal was to keep the company operating. For several of my clients, the metrics and analytics that we had put in place in the last 6-12 months became the data tools by which they managed their business decisions during the pandemic closures. Here are their stories.

Every company that carries inventory wants to have enough to be able to fill customers’ orders but have a minimum amount of cash tied up on the shelf. Unfortunately, one half of that statement wants you to stock more items and the other half wants you to stock less items. You need… just the right amount. 

Big data and data analytics are two of the hottest topics out there today. They come with promises of delivering business insights and high returns, but they also come with challenges for those new to the field. As a consultant in analytics, the most popular comment I receive from companies is, “we have so much data but we don’t know what we should be analyzing.” This article will provide business leaders with several tips on where to apply data analytics in order to impact the bottom line. The key thing to remember is that the value of analytics is not in the data. It’s in what you do with that data to make better business decisions or solve business challenges.

Those that operate in the learning space are familiar with The Kirkpatrick Model® for measuring training effectiveness. This article will outline a simple method for evaluating online and on-site workshops. 

You purchased high levels of inventory to cover long lead times of overseas shipments and to leverage quantity discounts… and then it happened.

Taking the time to assess supplier performance is crucial since suppliers can make or break your business. Supplier reliability and flexibility have become performance factors that are just as important as price in order to protect your business reputation and top line. Setting up a method to monitor key supplier performance factors and studying demand patterns can help provide insight into supplier issues and set up a good path for reducing risk of the supply base on your company.