Need for real time Business Intelligence

Abstract

For companies maintaining direct contact with large numbers of customers, a growing number of channel-oriented applications (e.g. e-commerce support, call centre support) is creating a new data management challenge: that is effective ways of integrating enterprise applications in real time. To learn from the past and forecast the future, many companies are adopting Business Intelligence (BI) tools and systems. This paper argues that in order to support firms that are service oriented and desperately seeking customer loyalty and retention, it is necessary to revisit the BI concept that integrates and consolidates information in an organisation. To support the argument, the paper presents a case scenario to illustrate the role of BI in the supply chain.