It goes without saying (however, here we are still saying it) that time is one of the most valuable resources for any SME.
As a small business owner you will likely have lots of different bits and pieces of information regarding your business saved in different places and in different formats, and you probably won’t have the time to structure your data. However, having well-structured databases can save you hours of work each week, and help to make your business operate much more efficiently.
This is where we can help. One of the key roles for any IT consultant is being able to fully understand the user requirements, identify an appropriate solution, and then talk about it in a way that allows business owners to really understand.
The Issue
A great example of this happened recently. We were contacted by a client who wanted a solution that would streamline their inventory and purchasing processes. Up until this point, they had been using numerous, separate spreadsheets to hold various types of information. We then spent some time with the client to understand their key needs.
As is common when working with multiple sources of information, there were inconsistencies between the spreadsheets, which made working across them a slightly challenging process!
However, the main issue was that the sheets were not set up to work with each other. The information stored on separate spreadsheets was interdependent on one another, meaning that the client was spending multiple hours each week manually working across the datasets. Consequently, it resulted in errors and unclean data which was difficult to work with.
We wanted to provide a solution that would bring all the data together in one place; allowing us to automate previously manual processes to save time, and providing a single source of the truth, removing the chance for slight differences in the information held.
The Solution
The solution was to create a database that would house all the data across the spreadsheets. This started with the very tedious process of cleansing and transposing the data from the spreadsheets into a single database. Whilst the manual transposition was a lengthy process, it was necessary to identify all the areas of inconsistent data.
Once this was done and the data inconsistencies had been resolved with the client, we then had a lovely database of information that could be used in numerous ways.
From this, we were able to design a flexible and adaptive user interface, that updated the client’s purchasing needs each week based on various inputs for stock requirements. This turned a process that took hours into one that could be done in less than 30 minutes.
Conclusion
Structured databases are a great way to bring multiple sources of information together in a single place. From this, user interfaces can be built to show that information in a user-friendly way will help inform vital business decisions.
We would love to hear from you if this type of solution would help your business, so please contact us at contact@mckeownscullin.com.
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