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Business Management Software?

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Blair H

Blair H

Green Pea
May 3, 2019
4
0
First Name
Blair
#1
I don't even know if that's the correct terminology. What we're looking for is a program that we can take all of the many data sources we have and put them into one spot and create measurable metrics once the data has been ran against similar relevant data.

We just have so many different avenues that data is being collected, it's like drinking through a fire hose.
- Marketing
- CRM
- DIS
- Purchasing
- Service

I could go on but those are the main ones that we want to be able to put into a system, tell that system the guidelines we want to fall within, and be able to at a glance, in real time, notice if there's an issue before it's too late.

Thank you very much!
 
#3
I saw this thread's title and came here hoping that someone actually gave a link for working business management software. Powerbi is good, but it's quite complicated to work with it, TBH. I don't know, maybe it's only my problem. Or it isn't? Anyway, sometimes even working with Excel is easier. For example, not so long ago I've found timesheet template Excel and made a timesheet for my subordinates. Now they work more productive than ever. Because they see how much time they have.
 
Last edited:
#4
Another option is Google DataStudio but you would more than likely need to hire programmers to get your data out and into DataStudio. DataStudio does have a few limitations so you need to make sure you set up the data properly and know ahead of time what you want your reports to look like.
 
#5
Blair H said:
I don't even know if that's the correct terminology. What we're looking for is a program that we can take all of the many data sources we have and put them into one spot and create measurable metrics once the data has been ran against similar relevant data.

We just have so many different avenues that data is being collected, it's like drinking through a fire hose.
- Marketing
- CRM
- DIS
- Purchasing
- Service

I could go on but those are the main ones that we want to be able to put into a system, tell that system the guidelines we want to fall within, and be able to at a glance, in real time, notice if there's an issue before it's too late.

Thank you very much!
Click to expand...

You forgot
- Desking
- Inventory management
- Equity mining (maybe that's what you mean by purchasing)
 
#7
Hey Gang,

We have actually been trying to solve this problem since I founded my company and the answer to this question is:
you need a partner or someone on staff to actively develop a tool for you and to actively manage it every week and month.

To accomplish the integrations required with every dealership's unique tech stack, someone has to spend the time to map the data and route it to a common data environment. Depending on skill level this can be a simple database where you pull data into from various APIs across your tech stack. Ironically the most stable, reliable, and repeatable way we do this for clients is actually using data exports to Google Sheets where we format the data and then pull it into a data-vis tool like Looker (aka Google Data Studio), PowerBi, or the like. This also allows us to build out metrics and KPIs that each dealership likes to use for performance measurement.

We do this with our TrueROI tool and our clients like the simplicity, reliability, and flexibility to add or remove data sources easily. I cannot stress enough though that without a real human who knows your tech stack and can properly curate the data reliably, this is impossible.

Happy to chat further if interested
 
#9
As some have mentioned, Power BI is definitely a great choice, capable of handling large volumes of data. There is a learning curve when it comes to designing reports, but it’s definitely doable, and it doesn’t require coding.

The challenge would be ensuring that you have the capability to extract data. Some DMS systems are strict about sharing data through APIs.

It’s also possible that many of the platforms you use are supported by Microsoft Power Automate, which allows you to use ready-to-use integrations to push data into Power BI regularly. If no integrations are available, you can always access data directly using APIs (if available).

To sum everything up, the first step would be to determine if you have the capability to read data via some sort of integration; otherwise, you’ll be blocked from achieving your use case.
 
#10
Blair H said:
I don't even know if that's the correct terminology. What we're looking for is a program that we can take all of the many data sources we have and put them into one spot and create measurable metrics once the data has been ran against similar relevant data.

We just have so many different avenues that data is being collected, it's like drinking through a fire hose.
- Marketing
- CRM
- DIS
- Purchasing
- Service

I could go on but those are the main ones that we want to be able to put into a system, tell that system the guidelines we want to fall within, and be able to at a glance, in real time, notice if there's an issue before it's too late.
Auto Repair Shop Management Software
Thank you very much!
Click to expand...
Can anyone recommend a good online auto repair estimator? Basically, I want to know how much labor time is going to be needed to do the repair, before I approach a shop. Access to AllData would be great, of course, but that costs way too much.

I know I can ask here for specific jobs, but I like to find out as much on my own first before consulting the hive mind.
 


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