Friday, November 30, 2012
Topic 10
A data warehouse is a database that is used for reporting and analysis. It is the MEGA BANK of information. It can take information from a wide variety of systems and business functions.
Example:
Operations
Sales
Marketing
Data from each system can be stored for easy recovery/mining.
Data warehousing is intended to cross platforms and be able to deliver a vast variety of data upon request.
Data mining pulls information that is pre-stages from the data warehouse for analysis.
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These two systems work together quite nicely. The data mining tool that is being used is generally not able to communicate with a number of different systems. The tool is designed to talk to the data warehouse. It would be less efficient to have a tool that grabs if from all different systems on its own.
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A report can be created quite simply. First of all the report can be programed to run at a preset time so that it is available upon request. For example... at close of business the information can be gathered from the systems. This can take seconds to a few minutes or hours. Once the information has been pulled it can be run through an engine (program) that analyzes the data and presents it in a form that can be reviewed by a manager or executive. The whole idea is to push information to the correct individual..
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The technical aspects are similar to the strategy. A program that is designed to open up bank accounts is not necessarily programed to send at the end of the day a report in a nicely formatted excel spreadsheet of a banker's performance. The technical side is about getting all forms of technology to talk to each other. It is important to take in mind the layers of data and filters that the data will be going through. Typically the less layers the better. It will generally yield quicker results and provide a better experience.
Topic 9
The industry that I have chosen has been banking....
We all know how credit cards work, but we never really see what is behind the scenes...
How does your credit card get approved and how does business intelligence play a role?
Lets use a scenario: Purchasing groceries at the grocery store
When you go to purchase the groceries, you are initiating a real-time POS transaction. (POS = Point of Sale, aka swiping your card)
The transaction gets routed to the issuing bank and run through a database to determine if this transaction is legit. If a website has had considerable fraud, it may decline the transaction right up front.
The unique part is next. Once the issuing bank agrees that the purchase is acceptable, it goes to a rules engine. This rules engine looks at a number of criteria.
This includes but is not limited to...
1) Is there enough available credit?
2) Is this a normal transaction for the customer?
3) Is this transaction in an appropriate geographical area?
Etc...
Each company has their own rules engine.. it is how that company detects fraud.
The technology that supports this process is fairly simple.. it is all about CONNECTION,
IN ORDER FOR THIS SERVICE TO WORK THEIR NEEDS TO BE A CONNECTION:
If there is not a connection.. the technology fails.. this is considered data unavailability...
In the event that the transaction is slow... it is called latency.. this can be caused by a poor connection..
BENEFIT: Simple fraud detection techniques can save the issuing bank and their customers millions upon millions in fraud a year.....
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The next business process is underwriting:
It is important to remember that technology is a tool and not an end all solution. Underwriting is just one example that can bever be 100% completed from technology. Computers can only think in black and white. They are only capable of making decisions based on the criteria that is programed. There are definitely shades of grey with underwriting.
The end decision can be determined from an individual who is able to think for themselves. There is absolutely no way to determine if a customer is going to successfully satisfy the loan. There are ways to gauge it by.
Here is an example of how it works...
1) Initial Application is taken...
This can been 100% online or a banker can input information into the computer..
Once the information is in the computer it is important to do some more homework...
2) Trust but verify...
The customer is not always going to give accurate information. They could be inflating their income or not stating liabilities. The computer system automatically requests documentation and runs it through a decision engine. This includes but is not limited to Tax Returns.. Verification of Employment.. Verification of Rent.. Appraisals... ETC...
3) Initial underwriting is completed.
The computer at this point has run the decision engine on its own and can recommend a loan for approval or flag it for manual review.
4) Approve, Approve with stipulations, Decline..
The underwriter can put final approval on the loan, request additional information, or decline the loan...
Some advantages of the system..
Keeps underwriters fresh. Not as much busy work to be done. Underwriters are assisted in finding potential problems that may arise.
Sources:
http://www.gravic.com/shadowbase/uses/realtimebusinessintelligence.html
Wells Fargo - A PERFECT business strategy
The assignment for this week is -
"Describe the reputation of the company and explain how the business strategy supports the
reputation along with the vision, mission, and goals of the organization."
There is not a better company in my opinion than Wells Fargo..
Wells Fargo's Mission Statement is:
"“We want to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.”
It is just as relevant today as when it was written more than 20 years ago. In fact, we didn’t know then that at only 88 characters, it would be succinct enough to tweet today!
Our vision of financially satisfied, successful customers is based on a simple premise. We believe customers across all business segments can be better served, and save time and money, if they bring all their financial services to one trusted provider that knows them well, provides trusted guidance and advice, and can serve their full range of financial needs through a wide choice of products and services.
Our journey toward this customer-centric vision has required hard work, persistence and determination. We’ve made steady progress toward this goal. But we still have much to learn, teach and share and, as always, more of our customers’ financial needs to satisfy. For example, our own customers still give about half their financial business to our competitors! Our job—central to our vision—is to make it easy for customers to bring more of their business to us so we can satisfy all their financial needs."
(Taken directly from Wells Fargo's website)
This sounds all happy go luck! So lets dive in and take a look at how Wells Fargo achieves their mission.
• "The core of our vision and our strategy is "cross-selling."... The more we
give our customers what they need, the more we know about them. The
more we know about their other financial needs, the easier it is for them to
bring us more of their business. The more business they do with us, the
better value they receive, the more loyal they are." (1)
• "At Wells Fargo, sales and service are inseparable. More sales do not
always lead to better service, but better service almost always leads to
more sales. Money is a commodity. We're in the service business." (1)
"THE ART OF THE CROSS-SELL"
"Every financial services company tries to master "cross-selling," offering preexisting customers multiple products. Wells Fargo, which averages 5.9 products per customer in its retail banking business, does it better than anyone. The average household has roughly 16 products—mortgages, checking
accounts, credit cards, 401(k)s, IRAs, various insurance policies and the likeacross various financial institutions. Wells and its rivals compete fiercely to own as much of your wallet as possible." (1)
So this is all about selling right??
Wrong! It is about the customer...
I can speak from 1st hand experience. I have been a customer since the day I was born pretty much, and I have worked for the company for the past 3 years. Essentially the way that Wells Fargo's strategy aligns with business intelligence is through its customer experience. Whenever you meet with a Wells Fargo personal banker, they will spend time getting to know YOU!
Bankers have tools at hand that help them to understand their customer. The vision of Wells Fargo is to satisfy all of our customer's financial needs and to help them succeed financially.
Wells Fargo's strategy is geared around getting to know the customer. This in return produces sales and ultimately results.
(1) Schifrin, M., & Touryalai, H. (2012). THE BANK THAT WOEKS. (Cover story). Forbes, 189(2), 66-73
"Describe the reputation of the company and explain how the business strategy supports the
reputation along with the vision, mission, and goals of the organization."
There is not a better company in my opinion than Wells Fargo..
Wells Fargo's Mission Statement is:
"“We want to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.”
It is just as relevant today as when it was written more than 20 years ago. In fact, we didn’t know then that at only 88 characters, it would be succinct enough to tweet today!
Our vision of financially satisfied, successful customers is based on a simple premise. We believe customers across all business segments can be better served, and save time and money, if they bring all their financial services to one trusted provider that knows them well, provides trusted guidance and advice, and can serve their full range of financial needs through a wide choice of products and services.
Our journey toward this customer-centric vision has required hard work, persistence and determination. We’ve made steady progress toward this goal. But we still have much to learn, teach and share and, as always, more of our customers’ financial needs to satisfy. For example, our own customers still give about half their financial business to our competitors! Our job—central to our vision—is to make it easy for customers to bring more of their business to us so we can satisfy all their financial needs."
(Taken directly from Wells Fargo's website)
This sounds all happy go luck! So lets dive in and take a look at how Wells Fargo achieves their mission.
• "The core of our vision and our strategy is "cross-selling."... The more we
give our customers what they need, the more we know about them. The
more we know about their other financial needs, the easier it is for them to
bring us more of their business. The more business they do with us, the
better value they receive, the more loyal they are." (1)
• "At Wells Fargo, sales and service are inseparable. More sales do not
always lead to better service, but better service almost always leads to
more sales. Money is a commodity. We're in the service business." (1)
"THE ART OF THE CROSS-SELL"
"Every financial services company tries to master "cross-selling," offering preexisting customers multiple products. Wells Fargo, which averages 5.9 products per customer in its retail banking business, does it better than anyone. The average household has roughly 16 products—mortgages, checking
accounts, credit cards, 401(k)s, IRAs, various insurance policies and the likeacross various financial institutions. Wells and its rivals compete fiercely to own as much of your wallet as possible." (1)
So this is all about selling right??
Wrong! It is about the customer...
I can speak from 1st hand experience. I have been a customer since the day I was born pretty much, and I have worked for the company for the past 3 years. Essentially the way that Wells Fargo's strategy aligns with business intelligence is through its customer experience. Whenever you meet with a Wells Fargo personal banker, they will spend time getting to know YOU!
Bankers have tools at hand that help them to understand their customer. The vision of Wells Fargo is to satisfy all of our customer's financial needs and to help them succeed financially.
Wells Fargo's strategy is geared around getting to know the customer. This in return produces sales and ultimately results.
(1) Schifrin, M., & Touryalai, H. (2012). THE BANK THAT WOEKS. (Cover story). Forbes, 189(2), 66-73
Friday, November 2, 2012
Business Intelligence
What is Business intelligence?
It's a bird... it's a plane... it's business intelligence...
Cheesy, but got your attention....
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So, this week we were given the task of reading an article about business intelligence and writing a blog...
I chose an article called... Perspectives on competitive intelligence within business: A tactical tool for salespeople to gain a competitive advantage.
Long title but it brings a wealth of knowledge...
Here is what we know..
Businesses have vast wealths of knowledge, but few tap its true potential...
Here is a direct excerpt,
"Competitive intelligence has emerged as a mantra for success in today’s
competitive environment and the sales force has been recognised as a key
resource in this process. However, for many salespeople, competitive intelligence
remains a burdensome organisational process that offers little or no immediate
value to them. Past research has failed to consider competitive intelligence as
an instrument that salespeople can leverage to change their behaviours and
ultimately influence their levels of performance. A comprehensive literature review
suggests that conceptualisation of competitive intelligence has been limited to the
organisational level, and thus provides little foundation for investigations aimed
at the salesperson level. This paper explores this issue by approaching competitive
intelligence as a tactical tool that can be useful at the salesperson level. A review
of the literature concerning salesperson and competitive intelligence is presented.
A conceptual framework of salesperson competitive intelligence is developed and
research propositions are offered."
Competitive intelligence is a form of business intelligence where businesses study their competition and use it for a to gain a competitive advantage...
This includes but is not limited to,
-Product Knowledge
-Pricing
-Sales
You have often heard "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Here is an example of competitive intelligence,
A few years I walked into Ford dealership... They had a Chevrolet and a Ford opened up with sticky notes all over it. The sticky notes indicated differences between the two vehicles. It was used as a sales strategy to point out exactly how Ford vehicles are different than Chevrolet.. This is a great example of competitive intelligence. If Ford did not know exactly how their product was different they would not be able to sell as effectively....
How does this relate to business intelligence?
Take for example insurance....
Insurance is not a tangible product... it is legal policy in the event something goes wrong..
Competitive intelligence would be surveying other insurance companies and finding out details about their product and showing how it compares to yours!
You can keep databases of this information and track how they change their policies over time. This can help your business grow and remain competitive.
More on this to come.. but this is week 1...
Agnihotri, R., & Rapp, A. (2011). Perspectives on competitive intelligence within business: A tactical tool for sales-people to gain a competitive advantage. Marketing Review,11(4), 363-380.
It's a bird... it's a plane... it's business intelligence...
Cheesy, but got your attention....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, this week we were given the task of reading an article about business intelligence and writing a blog...
I chose an article called... Perspectives on competitive intelligence within business: A tactical tool for salespeople to gain a competitive advantage.
Long title but it brings a wealth of knowledge...
Here is what we know..
Businesses have vast wealths of knowledge, but few tap its true potential...
Here is a direct excerpt,
"Competitive intelligence has emerged as a mantra for success in today’s
competitive environment and the sales force has been recognised as a key
resource in this process. However, for many salespeople, competitive intelligence
remains a burdensome organisational process that offers little or no immediate
value to them. Past research has failed to consider competitive intelligence as
an instrument that salespeople can leverage to change their behaviours and
ultimately influence their levels of performance. A comprehensive literature review
suggests that conceptualisation of competitive intelligence has been limited to the
organisational level, and thus provides little foundation for investigations aimed
at the salesperson level. This paper explores this issue by approaching competitive
intelligence as a tactical tool that can be useful at the salesperson level. A review
of the literature concerning salesperson and competitive intelligence is presented.
A conceptual framework of salesperson competitive intelligence is developed and
research propositions are offered."
Competitive intelligence is a form of business intelligence where businesses study their competition and use it for a to gain a competitive advantage...
This includes but is not limited to,
-Product Knowledge
-Pricing
-Sales
You have often heard "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Here is an example of competitive intelligence,
A few years I walked into Ford dealership... They had a Chevrolet and a Ford opened up with sticky notes all over it. The sticky notes indicated differences between the two vehicles. It was used as a sales strategy to point out exactly how Ford vehicles are different than Chevrolet.. This is a great example of competitive intelligence. If Ford did not know exactly how their product was different they would not be able to sell as effectively....
How does this relate to business intelligence?
Take for example insurance....
Insurance is not a tangible product... it is legal policy in the event something goes wrong..
Competitive intelligence would be surveying other insurance companies and finding out details about their product and showing how it compares to yours!
You can keep databases of this information and track how they change their policies over time. This can help your business grow and remain competitive.
More on this to come.. but this is week 1...
Agnihotri, R., & Rapp, A. (2011). Perspectives on competitive intelligence within business: A tactical tool for sales-people to gain a competitive advantage. Marketing Review,11(4), 363-380.
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