Freshdirect Use of BI to Manage Its Online Groceries - Case Study Example

The organization may have a lot of useful data that is not well sorted or properly organized so as to have the company benefit from the achieved information from the same (Rainer, 2008).
A firm’s support and analysis of this scenario would reveal that, in the point at which there is a clear distinction between the ‘data’ and the ‘information’ expected from it, the outcome would be the realization of the fact that ‘data’ is nothing but a raw and unorganized collection of facts that need processing in order to make them meaningful and useful. This is a sense that was not being noted in FreshDirect prior to Braddock becoming the CEO; hence, the noted losses in sales, revenue as well as the decline in the customers’ base or numbers (Laudon & Laudon, 2013). Considering this, not unless well organized and put to proper usage, organizational data can be quite useless and meaningless. Therefore, the organization of data so as to produce adequate information would greatly enhance the business cycle and growth of the organization (Wisner, Tan & Leong, 2011).
Further still, whereas when the collected data is adequately organized, processed, structured and presented in the required context; thus, making it useful and meaningful, it will be referred to as ‘information.’ In the case of FreshDirect, its business entails dealing with a huge number of customers in a single business day. As such, it would be required to ensure that it accurately takes all their order, delivery time and locations of delivery. This amount of data is quite huge, and if not sorted out, the likely result would be a total mess and mix-up in orders, delivery and even a cause in delivery times since no proper information is generated to indicate the location of clients so that a truck only serves a region. The success of FreshDirect also required a huge number of human resources for it to run, and a huge amount of data for it to run. Thus, it would make no meaning if the collected data is not enhanced to produce the required information this a failure in the company’s business prospects (Laudon & Laudon, 2013).
Based on the adoption of an SAP database, FreshDirect was able to change this uncertainty in acquiring information from the collected data since; it was able to track all the customers through its online database. Consequently, it was able to make a compilation of the financial reports efficiently, tag all products aimed at the fulfillment of the customers’ orders and precisely be able to control the production process. Particularly, its software enabled the use of automated procedures and machinery, setting up refrigerated stores with controllable temperatures. The managers for the various departments of the firm were able to have a look into the ‘order’ and production processes at all times; thus, be able to timely identify problems and correctly follow up to them up to the origin points. This was more so enhanced by the available alerts at all points that detected any deviations from the standard expectations.
Question 2
Visibility in the workflow of a business refers to the adoption of an automated system based on business intelligence that also offers the tracking of the processes of production in a business so as to eliminate any sources of faults that may result in losses, in revenue or customers. The essence of visibility in the workflow is that it enables the unlocking of the potentials in operations both among the employees as well as the production processes that help enhance productivity. Consequently, it allows for the integration of information across all applications of SAP software adopted by an organization (Boyer, Frohlich & Hult, 2005).