What Makes a Business Profitable?
Is it sales? Cost control? Inventory management? Manufacturing? Customer service?
Depending on your business, it might be any, all, or none of these. Every business is different. So how do you get ahead?
A lot of businesses are working harder and making less profit. They're finding out that busy and profitable are two different things.
We believe that if you're going to work hard, you should get big returns. But how do you make this happen?
If you're looking for a way to control inventory, improve customer service, become more efficient, increase your profit, and reduce costs, our Profit Tools white paper will give you some ideas that may help. Part of the answer might be improving your accounting and logistics processes, ERP system use, or business intelligence information. At Data Guidance Group, our specialty is helping companies with issues like these. You can order your copy right now by entering your email address and first name at the left.
The 2AM Infomercials Make Profitable Business Sound Easy
If you're up at 2 am, you'll hear a lot of offers to help you revolutionize your business and change your life. But you will probably have a suspicion that someone is about to try to sell you something. They seem to have the silver bullet that solves all problems.
I have bought things from seminars to consulting with the promise that they would provide the answer to end all questions. I've gotten a lot of useless products and worthless advice. Maybe you're in the same boat.
You'll be glad to hear that Data Guidance Group doesn't have a silver bullet. We can't solve every problem you have in a single telephone conversation or leap tall fire plugs in a single bound.
We help with complex problems, and we can't help all businesses. We hear some common things in talking to clients. You may have some of these issues:
- You may need to improve your business processes. Perhaps your current computer system is outdated, or your employees are having trouble using it. Maybe your suppliers want more information from you like barcode, EDI, or vendor-managed inventory.
- Efficiency may be low in your business. Because margins are tight and being pulled tighter, you may be having to do more with less. Business process improvements and computer systems used in different and creative ways may be the answer
- You may not think you have the information you need to manage. There are several signs of this: fluctuations in profit that aren't because of seasonal sales changes or economic trends; inventory that's too high or too low; customer complaints; and excessive returns or credits. These are just a few examples of things that you might be struggling with. Most of them can be resolved with a bit of information that may already be in your computer system.
- Technology in your enterprise may be aging. You may be deciding how or whether to update, dealing with too many computer failures, or running out of capacity with your present software.
If you'd like to see several examples of how technology can benefit business, the DGG white paper Profit Tools will provide the knowledge you need. The answers may not be appropriate for your business, but you may find just the solution you're looking for.
How Is Change Affecting Your Profitability?
You may have noticed that business is changing. Jobs and manufacturing are moving overseas. Your customers demand more service at lower prices.
Technology is driving some of the change. Consolidation is driving other changes.
Whatever the source of the change, you may feel the pressure. But you don't want to wait until operational, financial, or technology problems are so severe that you have to change.
Would you like to know the issues and options for dealing with them? Profit Tools: Five Business Challenges and the Technology Tools to Overcome Them will give you some food for thought; it may be just what you need to solve your most pressing problems. You can order it right now; there's no obligation and no cost.
In this DGG white paper, we discuss five major challenges that face businesses today. This list is based on our experience, information from studies done by vendors we work with, and our observation of the day-to-day business challenges that our clients face.
We cover these five challenges:
- Technology issues.
- Sales and marketing issues.
- Inventory carrying pressures.
- Delivery, operational, and logistical issues.
- Cost issues.
You'll want to be familiar with the challenges and solutions in each of these areas. Solutions to your most challenging issues are often just an idea away.
One challenge many businesses face is the amount of information they need to manage business today. Accounting information looks backward; it is about events that have already happened. Much of the business intelligence information available today is also backward looking. You need information about the yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
You know how hard it is to keep your finger on the pulse of the details of your business. Computer systems are supposed to make things easier and more automatic. But you may find your computer system spends more time getting in the way than helping you. That's where the Profit Tools white paper can help. It points you to techniques and technologies that will help you get the most from your business.
But what if you've waited too long? What if you already feel boxed in by your current system. It's hard enough to keep up with business these days with a computer system that works, let alone one that doesn't. Perhaps it's not that your system doesn't work; it just doesn't do everything you need for it to do.
Sometimes a system that almost works is better than a system that just stops working. It's hard to justify replacing a system that still seems to be doing the job-at least most of the time. Sales, operations, costs, distribution, inventory, shipping, quality control, and purchasing: all of these are critical areas of your business that demand your attention every day.
If you're trying to figure out how to solve just some of these issues, order a copy of Profit Tools. We'll deliver it instantly. You can't go wrong with just a bit more information on the key issues that may affect your business.