The power of one: unifying information on a single screen

Mike Carroll explains how Active Intelligence can boost staff productivity by pulling information from multiple data sources into a single view...

One of the hidden barriers to better productivity in businesses today is the amount of time staff waste spend toggling between the myriad of business application screens when they’re in front of their terminals.

Consider the numerous apps a typical person runs. Depending on the nature of the business, it may have one application for its accounting and distribution requirements.

Then there will probably be separate applications for CRM, business intelligence, warehouse management and payroll.

Typically users will have to move between these different systems to find the information they need to do their day-to-day job.

While the quality of the information is not disputed, the time spent moving around the different screens is a significant source of lost productivity.

Traditionally, a user will “log in” to their computer system and start working.

A sales person will look at quote and order screens, or possibly be working with a CRM system for call management information.

Each of these screens will have information on them from the business software.

The screen will also often have the flexibility to tailor views to bring information on screen, take it off, or move it around. 

However it will not allow users – or their IT departments – to combine information from other sources.

Active Intelligence is a term coined by TIS Software in the UK to describe an innovative method of working with business software.

The process involves changing the information delivered by looking at the “context” that the person is working in.

Information can be brought in from any source within the business, or even be made available from other organisations.

What data is bought in depends on the role of the person requiring it, the information that they are working with and the company’s view of what they need.

The aim of Active Intelligence is to unify relevant information from multiple sources into one place.

The business can then organise and deliver the data that is required in order for the worker using it to do their job efficiently.

To achieve this effectively requires some business process involvement. Let’s consider an example.

When a credit controller enters a customer account number, what is the ideal information for them to receive? 

As the diagram below illustrates, there can be any number of options.

When the credit controller inputs a customer account number, information is returned from three extra sources on top of their normal ERP.

The key is to deliver the information that is pertinent to that person’s role so that they can make decisions without having to resort to other screens.

The potential improvement in customer service by using this solution is obvious. 

In a contact with a customer, the staff member is able to gather information from multiple sources immediately and make informed decisions on the spot.

As an example, say a sales person is entering a customer account number. 

Perhaps the customer then questions the price on a specific product so the controller enters the product code.

Active Intelligence can then change the information relating to this context by looking for customer and product information such as:

• quantity, price and margin of recent sales of this product to this customer,
• quantity, price and margin of recent sales of this product to any customer,
• a picture of the product,
• a URL link to a pdf of the invoice,
• stock and cost of the product,
• an email link.

The customer may ask for information about an existing order. The context could again change to give such information as:

• extract the consignment and carrier details from the warehouse management system,
• go to the carrier web site or system to obtain the latest delivery status on that order,
• display links to PDFs of the quote, acknowledgement and invoice in the document archive.

The opportunities are virtually unlimited and the company’s IT team is in control of what data is delivered for each application’s context.

This allows a company to define what information is pertinent for each role in the company and deliver it to them. There will always be a driving application for this technology – typically it could be an organisation’s primary business software (ERP) system.

In the example screenshot reproduced here, the operator has entered the order enquiry screen and entered a customer account number and selected an invoiced order. This is shown on the right hand of the pane.

The context screen is in the left hand pane and displays other information that the company wanted visible. The information portrayed can be in boxes that are automatically open or closed and can be the first line or display over multiple lines.

In this case our example company has chosen to display:

• Customer contact name, number and role. By clicking the envelope it will launch an email to the person and they can edit the customer contact information. They can also launch a screen to create a new contact.
• Three notepads. One general notepad, one for sales and one for credit control. These show the first line of recent contact information. The operator can quickly assess if there are any outstanding items to discuss with the customer.
• Credit information. The customer’s current credit status and invoice ageing are displayed to give immediate information on their account position.
• Delivery address information. The customer’s deliver address is displayed.

This is only an example of what one company has chosen for one screen (sales order enquiry) for one role. Other screens have different information attached to them.

The power of Active Intelligence is in the simplicity it delivers to staff in a day-to-day environment.

They receive the information that they need in one place. They enter one screen to do a job, so the information that need to complete that job can be displayed immediately.

They can then complete the job efficiently and effectively.

There are a limited number of business packages using this technology at present, but it is seen as a benchmark for future business system design.

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