Our Sage X3 blog posts have recently detailed the different functions that make up the entire X3 system. Our last Sage X3 functionality post discussed the Sage Budgeting and Planning application and how it helped make quicker and more informed business decisions. This post will move on to a broader scope of decision making within Sage ERP X3, Business Intelligence (BI). BI helps your business maintain real-time information with the least amount of effort so you can turn business insights into effective decisions. This article will feature the differing functions of Business Intelligence including User Portal and Dashboards, Advanced Business Intelligence Engine and Data Warehouse, and Flexible Reporting Tools.
User Portal and Dashboards
Sage X3 offers a user-defined decision support portal and dashboards, providing users with actionable, up-to-the-minute graphical representations of key statistical information such as revenues and equipment usage.
The X3 user portal enables each user to create a personalized management chart for real-time tracking of the indicators most pertinent to his task. General or detailed information appears in the form of graphs, tables, or organized in a calendar, with links making it possible to follow the entire security audit trail up to the information details.
Dashboards can help boost profits by providing instantaneous access to key company data, allowing management to react quickly to changing business conditions. Users can monitor the relevant indicators for their activity in real time and focus on anomalies. In case of an unusual event or level of activity, it takes no longer than a click on the given indicator to move back by successive zoom operations to the detailed information or the original document explaining the result in order to make a well-informed decision.
Advanced Business Intelligence Engine and Data Warehouse
Powered by leading Business Objects® technology, Business Intelligence is fully integrated within the Sage X3 ERP system. It functions seamlessly in sync with the day-to-day business operations being processed by Sage ERP X3.
Simple Interface for Users: With Sage X3 Business Intelligence, users can access and format information to suit their needs with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop web interface. And you can customize the zero-footprint web interface to meet specific user segments inside and outside of the organization. In addition, with minimal knowledge of the underlying data structures, users can access and synchronize data from multiple sources (whether structured, text-based, or even Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets, CSV, and .txt files), create custom formulas, and use variables within a single report.
Within their web browsers, Business Intelligence users can:
- View report metadata
- View, edit, remove report, section, or block filters
- Format and resize cells, tables, and charts
- Recombine report objects and variables in tables and charts
- Set breaks and sorts
- Insert calculations
- Add rows and columns to tables
- Create and duplicate tables and charts
- Turn a grid into a chart or a chart into a grid
- Create formulas and variables
- Edit cell formulas in place
Preconfigured Universes: While a set of preconfigured Business Intelligence Universes covers most users’ needs for advanced business statistics and indicators, Sage X3provides the tools and information to build custom universes about any area of business. Preconfigured universes notably include: Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Manufacturing, and Finance.
Secure Access to Data: Designed as a fully integrated ERP function, Business Intelligence benefits from the highest level of security management that can be expected from an ERP solution. Security is controlled and managed at the ERP system level for all users and can easily be defined at the function, screen, and/or field level.
Aggregated data handled by Business Intelligence may inherit from all the security rules that have been defined for the system. Also, whether users are accessing the system locally or remotely through the Internet, Sage X3 manages standard security network protocol to provide users with a safe connection to the system.
Flexible Reporting Tools
Standard Financial Reporting Tools: With the Crystal Reports® statement generator, Sage ERP X3 provides a library of nearly 400 reports: General ledger, balances and daily account activity, invoices, delivery orders, packing lists, shop packet, labels, inventory statements, analyses, and lists can be used directly.
Additionally, companies can choose from two optional interfaces that link to the Sage X3 General Ledger (GL) for more enhanced financial reporting capabilities. Microsoft Management Reporter® provides an expanded set of tools for financial analysis and report publishing, while Infor F9 enables GL data to be formatted into any desired financial report in the flexible and powerful environment of the spreadsheet.
Profound Integration with Microsoft Office®: Integration with Microsoft Office allows users to export and manipulate data in Office standard format, without losing the accuracy and consistency provided by the single, up-to-date database of the ERP system.
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Contact Our Sage X3 Team
Are you interested in learning more about the features and functionality of Sage X3? Contact SWK’s X3t team to learn how these features can benefit you. For additional information contact us at 877-979-5462 or click here to contact us.