Example From a Performance Management Solution

Are you looking for a good example from a performance management solution? This example incorporates a time series analysis with trend fitting projections, geographic highlighting of top and bottom performers, and top-n rankings by category.

Since 1996, InetSoft has provided performance management software that is easy, agile, and robust - complete with interactive and monitoring dashboards, scorecards, and drill-down business reporting. Evaluate InetSoft's StyleBI for an afforably priced, quick to deploy, and easy to use performance management solution.

How a Marine Z-Drive Distributor Leverages InetSoft's Serverless StyleBI for Performance Management

Introduction

Distributors of marine propulsion systems like Z-drives operate within a niche yet highly demanding market. These components—critical to maneuverability in tugboats, ferries, and offshore support vessels—must meet rigorous standards of reliability and on-time delivery. For a marine Z-drive distributor juggling multiple OEMs, service centers, port clients, and logistics hubs, operational visibility is mission-critical. To drive strategic performance improvement across this complex network, one distributor adopted InetSoft’s serverless StyleBI performance management solution. With its cloud-native architecture, scalable mashup capabilities, and robust KPI analytics, StyleBI delivers precisely the agility and oversight the distributor needs.

This article explores how the distributor implemented StyleBI to enable intelligent decision-making, from parts inventory forecasting to service uptime analysis. We will look at specific KPIs, dashboards, and OLAP-style reports the IT team helped design for various stakeholders, including sales managers, service technicians, logistics coordinators, and C-suite executives.

The Business Challenge

Before implementing StyleBI, the distributor relied on fragmented tools—Excel spreadsheets, Access databases, and a legacy ERP system—to monitor business performance. Reports were outdated by the time they reached decision-makers, and operational inefficiencies such as spare part stockouts, prolonged lead times, and unbalanced technician workloads were commonplace. Additionally, the distributor faced increasing pressure from OEMs to deliver monthly KPIs proving service SLAs, part fulfillment rates, and customer satisfaction.

The IT team sought a flexible, lightweight BI solution that could:

• Connect to existing SQL and cloud data sources without complex data modeling.
• Enable self-service dashboarding for operations and service managers.
• Support embedded analytics in a mobile-friendly format for field access.
• Scale serverlessly to avoid costly infrastructure upgrades.

StyleBI emerged as the optimal fit due to its open source architecture, robust mashup engine, and support for containerized deployment in AWS Lambda and Azure Functions environments.

Deployment and Architecture

The distributor deployed StyleBI in a serverless architecture using AWS. The front end runs as a React-based app embedded within their operations portal, while the mashup logic executes via containerized microservices triggered by user actions. Data is sourced from:

• A cloud-based ERP system (NetSuite) for sales orders, inventory, and financials
• A service ticketing platform (Freshdesk) for customer service logs
• A MySQL database used by logistics for part shipment tracking
• IoT diagnostic feeds from select Z-drive installations for real-time performance

The IT team configured dataflows in StyleBI Designer using drag-and-drop components and REST connectors. Data transformations—such as unit conversions, calculated fields for MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), and time-series aggregations—were implemented directly in the mashup layer, avoiding the need for ETL pipelines.

Core KPIs Monitored

With StyleBI, the distributor defined a performance framework around four operational domains:

1. Sales and Distribution

• Order Fulfillment Rate (%): Percentage of orders shipped within SLA-defined windows.
• Revenue per SKU: Visualized over time and segmented by region or vessel class.
• Lead Time Variance: Standard deviation of delivery times compared to baseline SLAs.

2. Inventory and Logistics

• Stockout Frequency: Number of times a part fell below safety stock thresholds.
• Inventory Turnover Ratio: Calculated monthly, compared against industry benchmarks.
• Inbound Shipment Delay Index: Trend chart indicating average shipping lag from OEMs.

3. Service Operations

• Service Ticket Resolution Time: Median time to close across product categories.
• Preventive Maintenance Compliance: Ratio of completed vs. scheduled maintenance events.
• Technician Utilization Rate: Total hours billed vs. scheduled per technician.

4. Customer Satisfaction and SLA Performance

• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): Pulled directly from Freshdesk surveys.
• SLA Breach Incidents: Number and severity of service breaches per quarter.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Tracked quarterly, visualized with benchmark comparison.

Dashboards and Reports in Action

StyleBI’s visual framework allowed the IT team to rapidly construct tailored dashboards for each stakeholder role. A few key examples include:

Operations Dashboard (Logistics Manager)

• Stacked bar chart showing monthly inbound shipments by OEM, with conditional color-coding for delays.
• Heatmap of stockout events across warehouse locations, with filters by product line and season.
• Line graph of inventory turnover by month, with thresholds marked for minimum financial health.

Service Performance Dashboard (Field Ops Director)

• Bullet charts comparing average service time against SLA targets for each region.
• Map-based chart showing current open tickets by geolocation and severity level.
• Technician Gantt view for dispatch planning, updated in real time.

Executive KPI Overview (CIO, COO)

• Scorecard grid of all KPIs with up/down arrows and red-yellow-green indicators.
• Multi-axis combo chart visualizing correlation between CSAT, SLA breaches, and parts lead time.
• OLAP slice-and-dice cube report for ad hoc drilling across year, customer segment, and product line.

Each dashboard is accessible from desktop or tablet devices, with embedded drill-down reports and export to Excel, PDF, and PowerPoint. Role-based access ensures secure delivery of relevant insights.

Real-Time Alerts and Embedded BI

StyleBI’s lightweight APIs allowed IT to embed alerting logic into service workflows. When SLA thresholds are breached—e.g., a ticket open beyond 72 hours—a JSON trigger pushes notifications to Microsoft Teams and updates the dashboard in real time. This closed-loop mechanism ensures operational responsiveness while reducing human oversight requirements.

The distributor also embedded select dashboards into their customer portal. This white-labeled experience lets shipowners view uptime metrics, parts usage history, and real-time diagnostic data from onboard Z-drives. Through tokenized access, each client sees only their own data while the core BI logic remains centralized and secure.

Benefits Realized

Six months post-deployment, the distributor reported measurable improvements across key domains:

• Stockouts reduced by 42% through improved inventory prediction.
• SLA breach incidents fell by 27% thanks to real-time monitoring and escalation.
• Technician utilization rose 18%, optimized through better dispatch insights.
• Customer satisfaction climbed 12 points on CSAT surveys due to faster ticket resolution and visibility.
• Reporting time dropped 80%—from days to minutes—by eliminating manual Excel reconciliation.

From an IT perspective, StyleBI’s low-code interface and serverless backend minimized infrastructure and maintenance overhead. Updates to KPI logic or data sources are deployed in minutes without requiring downtime or data warehouse rebuilds.