Supplier Dashboard for Distributors

    What is a Supplier Dashboard ? Supplier Dashboards (by some referred to as vendor dashboards) are considered operational analysis tools and are used by finance teams and supply chain managers analyze supplier metrics. Some of the main functionality in this type of dashboard is that it offers a break-down and analysis of supplier KPIs from several different perspectives, including: 1) Purchasing value - monthly trend, 2) Quality performance with monthly trend for complaints, average defects, and late deliveries, 3) Purchasing value by supplier (vendor), and 4) Purchase value by product (item). The filters on the top right side of the screen enables drill-down into warehouse locations, suppliers and time. You find an example of this type of dashboard below. Purpose of Supplier Dashboards Distributors use Supplier Dashboards to provide managers with an easy way to monitor essential supplier metrics. When used as part of good business practices in a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Purchasing department, an organization can improve and speed up its supply chain strategies, reduce costs and increase margins. It can also reduce the chances that the business is disrupted because of otherwise avoidable supplier issues. Supplier Dashboard - Example Here is an example of a Supplier Dashboard with analysis of quality trends as well as comparison of product purchases and vendor spend. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2233"] Example of Supplier Dashboard for Distributors  Example of Supplier Dashboard for Distributors[/caption] You can find hundreds of additional examples here Who Uses This Type of Dashboard ? The typical users of this type of dashboard are: Finance officers, analysts, supply chain managers, purchasing managers. Other Reports Often Used in Conjunction with Supplier Dashboards Progressive Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Purchasing departments sometimes use several different Supplier Dashboards, along with sales forecast, detailed inventory reports, vendor dashboards, product dashboards, purchasing reports, quality survey reports and other management and control tools. Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From? The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Acumatica, Netsuite and others. In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the planning data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional corporate performance management (CPM/EPM) solutions. What Tools are Typically used for Reporting, Planning and Dashboards? Examples of business software used with the data and ERPs mentioned above are:
    • Native ERP report writers and query tools
    • Spreadsheets (for example Microsoft Excel)
    • Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools (for example Solver)
    • Dashboards (for example Microsoft Power BI and Tableau)
    Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Cloud Solutions and More Examples
    March 3, 2021