ASDA Business Intelligence Analytics - Essay Sample

Introduction

The main concern of Business Intelligence is to get all the usable intelligence from data. It, therefore, means that the application of BI can provide the appropriate information for the right individuals at the right time, and also through appropriate channels to facilitate a competitive advantage through informed decision making. Abundant information is usually available for every organization in the form of structured data which has accrued for a long time and emanate from multiple operational information systems. Conventional operational models are unlikely to utilize the new opportunities which the sufficient information presents fully. In contemporary society, business intelligence systems are likely to analyze, organize, store and recover huge chunks of data. Business Intelligence has enabled various businesses to work on new organizational models which are swift and better adjustable to relentless change with the aim of beating the competition and ascertain new business opportunities.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Larson and Chang (2016) defined business intelligence as a technology which is used through analyzing the data with an aim the managers and other businesses to obtain information. On the other hand, Fan Lau and Zhao (2015) defined Business Intelligence as the processes, skills, applications, technology, and practices which various organizations use to make business decisions. The category is broad, and it integrates technologies and applications which are critical for gathering, storing, collecting, enlacing and also providing access to the collected data with the aim of helping individuals to make appropriate business decisions.

Polyvyanyy et al. (2017) emphasized that business intelligence as a system is critical in gathering, integrating, presenting, and concluding business data for supporting appropriate business decision making. It is significant because it provides an environment where business users can receive relevant information which is reliable, correct, consistent, protected, understandable, timely, and can easily be manipulated. Business Intelligence facilitates more informed decision making.

From the general terms, Business Intelligence makes it easily possible to convert 'data into 'information.' The various tools and technologies which Business Intelligence uses provide authentic, historical, predictive and current opinions on operating businesses. The common functions of Business Intelligence include analytical processing, text mining, analysis, reporting, and management of employee performance, data mining, setting the benchmark, and also analyzing predictions (Larson & Chang, 2016). Modern companies employ business intelligence to identify new business opportunities and also to facilitate decision making as a way of learning from the past and focusing on the future.

The current study focuses on ASDA, which is a British company and is classified among the most prominent businesses globally. The business focuses on supermarkets, brand, online mobile and so forth. The company uses Business Intelligence to formulate strategic decisions. For instance, the new products which need to be added and the ones who need to be removed. They also use Business Intelligence to renegotiate contracts with their suppliers and ascertain the available opportunities which are appropriate in improving inefficient processes. The case is possible because ASDA is operation driven, and BI is critical in running the business. The objective of Business Intelligence is to support improved decision making for companies to assist them in maximizing their profits. Business Intelligence can also be canned as a Decision (DSS). The reason for using Business Intelligence on many occasions is because the terminology is a synonym for competitive intelligence. All of the two support decision making. It is therefore critical for analysts to understand what interests customers and how the business is run. Analysts need to have the appropriate managerial and technical skills which are essential in solving the multifaceted inquiries, spontaneous design reports and so forth.

Types of Business Intelligence Tools

Business intelligence integrates a wide range of data analysis applications. The applications include querying and ad hoc analytics, online analytical processing, enterprise reporting, operational BI, real-time BI, Software as a service, open source BI, location intelligence and collaborative BI.

Business Intelligence also integrates visualization of data software which is applied in designing infographics, among other vital tools which are essential for developing BI dashboards and performance scorecards which exhibits visualized data on key performance indicators and business metrics easily. The data visualization tools are also accepted as modern business intelligence in recent times. Leading vendors have defined the technology, and more conventional BI retailers have also followed the same suit. For this reason, virtually, every key business intelligence tool integrates characteristics of visual discovery of data.

Business intelligence tools also embrace forms of advanced analytics which include predictive analytics and data mining, statistical analysis, text mining, and big data analytics (Goodridge & Haskel, 2015). On many occasions, however, separate teams of data scientists, predictive modelers, statisticians, among other skilled analytics professionals manage and conduct advanced analytics projects. The business intelligence teams also oversee more precise inquiries and analysis of business information.

The analytics professionals store business intelligence data in smaller data marts or data warehouses which contain the subsections of the company's information. Also, there are also Hadoop systems which are applicable within BI architectures which are landing pads or repositories for analytics and BI data. The case is typical among the unstructured data, sensor data, log files, and various other types of data. Before integrating them into applications, the process involves combining raw data which is obtained from multiple systems, and are then associated and cleansed using data quality, and data integration tools as a way of making sure that the users are analyzing consistent and accurate information.

Aims of Business Intelligence

The above information suggests that business intelligence provides for various businesses intelligence, specialized data, and insight to professionals and businesses, and also assists them to make better business decisions, enhance return on investment and also gain competitive advantage. Business intelligence also has a fruitful portfolio of digital subscription products, which provides businesses key intelligence to regional, international and niche societies within industry sectors such as finance, technology, and the media, healthcare, Law and Maritime, and commodities & agribusiness. The following is an explanation for the aims of business intelligence.

To Improve Corporate Decision Making

The objective of business intelligence is to facilitate the transformation of corporate data into fruitful business objectives and advanced corporate decision making. Business intelligence is a decision-making support system which applies practices, technologies and applications to collect critical performance indicators, crucial business data, analyze the current business condition, reveal alternative courses of action and also project potential future outcomes.

The aims of business intelligence services also provide an opportunity for organizations to fully understand the business information, identify the big-picture perspective of the changing business condition, and also customize the business into a successful future.

To Facilitate Value of Improved Objectivities

The values of a business intelligence system originate from objectivities which enterprises extract from supply chain management and resource planning systems. Successful implementation of business intelligence provides businesses with the appropriate amount of objectivities in the proper time, and also to the right audience. Exceptional business intelligence systems offer the basis for improved decision making. Businesses are also likely to benefit from on-the-fly reporting for every feature of the business, and also enhance full compliance with regulatory guidelines. The objectivities of business intelligence service also support immediate on-demand access to objectivities from any data location.

To Cut Costs

Companies use business intelligence to minimize costs and maximize profits. Business intelligence helps to cut costs through overcoming differences, enhancing the managerial and operational experience, facilitate data usage and also identifying the diverse architectures. Identification of different architectures is critical when a business is experiencing multiple challenges. It enables the employees to connect with others outside and inside the company with the aim of sharing essential information. The initiators of cooperation are architectures which open new information markets and solutions for self-service. Business intelligence also helps in cutting costs through enhancing sales and marketing, facilitating purchases, improving inventory control and also strengthens human resource.

To Identify New Business Opportunities and Threats

Analysts look through various data records to identify business threats and opportunities. Business intelligence provides information which business can use to predict the future of the business. Larson and Chang (2016) likens business opportunities to buses, that there is always another one coming. However, there are also individuals who are likely to miss the bus. The case applies to companies which prefer not to miss opportunities, and also recognize them early enough. Business intelligence consists of diverse approaches which business can use to identify opportunities, and threats, and also strategize ways of mitigating the threats. The most appropriate approach is looking through the records and defines the relevant KPIs. The same way, businesses are in a better position to identify inefficient business processes. Companies achieve this by using business intelligence to control inventory costs. The businesses can also prevent the build-up of costly inventories, and keep out of stocks from happening. Companies can also use business intelligence to improve their service levels with the appropriate availability of a product. It places companies in a better position to answer questions concerning their products in the market-the ones with low and high prices. The information is also critical in identifying those who are purchasing the products, and whether the items sold are suitable or not to help minimize the costs and maximize profits.

ASDA

ASDA is considered to be among the largest chain of supermarkets in Britain. The company holds the second position in the United Kingdom with approximately 17.2% market share. ASDA is a private subsidiary company which also has other retail businesses.

Background

The company was founded in the 1920s but managed to expand and diversify in 1999. The headquarters of the company is at Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The company became a subsidiary of Wal-Mark in 1999. Wal-Mark is a giant retail company which is considered to be the world's largest. The acquisition placed ASDA in the second position.

The main engagements of ASDA include marketing groceries, offering financial services, the sale of general merchandise, and also selling mobiles. The company enhances global visibility through setting up 'superstores' where the customers are likely to find the additional facilities which include launderettes among others. The comp...