In the case
study, Business Intelligence at Guthy-Renker, development of business
intelligence both from a technology and process/human perspective is
explored. The IT group at Guthy-Renker
tended to be more task and less strategically oriented prior to the development
of the BI initiative which now focuses on three pillars: technology, business
process and organizational readiness.
There are
many strengths to their new approach, including the selection of proven project
managers for BI team leadership along with a consultancy with over 15 years of
history. Additionally, they have
established governance via a PMO with top management for their steering
committee, insuring appropriate attention and collaboration. Finally, they have selected an open
architecture which allows them to integrate data from multiple sources and
scale up quickly.
However,
there are a few weaknesses that make Guthy-Renker’s BI initiative challenging
which include their structure as a value chain versus a supply chain. This limits their ability to standardize both
IT systems and metrics. They have also
chosen to “cherry pick” open minded individuals for inclusion in their BI
discussions and roll-outs, potentially limiting their ROI. Another area for improvement is making sure
that IT professionals understand that bug-free reports are not required and
that quick turnaround with good enough reports is more desirable.
Because
the business is starved for information, there is a danger of the new BI data becoming
distracting. It is important the
management tempers its expectations. The
BI team must teach users to utilize and interpret the available data in order
to avoid over reaction and unrealistic expectations. .
References
Clark,
Joseph. (2010). Business Intelligence at Guthy-Renker: The Promise and
Challenges of Sensing the Pulse. (1.2 version). California: USC Marshall
School of Business
