Technology is a fast approaching technique that has eased the workload and headaches of many organizations. Business Intelligence tools have become a crucial avenue for many logistics managers, being able to capture the exact meaning of numbers as well as be taking actions to boost supply chain efficiency and effectiveness. Business intelligence has a wide range of uses, such as applications, infrastructures, methodologies and more to analysis data such as sales revenue, products, costs, and incomes. One way businesses are embracing business intelligence is for their transportation and supply chain sector. “Companies want more granular visibility to their transportation spend so they can manage and control it more effectively,” says Adrian Gonzalez a transportation analyst. With the array of data out their companies are attracted to supply chain business intelligence tools due to the access of data, being able to find, understand, and use data to make strategic decisions improving the supply chain effectiveness.
Reporting data is nothing new for a business, weather through a spread sheet or data base, intelligence business takes the reporting to a whole new level turning data into useful information, easy to understand and presented in a more visual way, then before. Business intelligence has the capability to turn data into information through reporting making the reports far more detailed and dynamic. Real-time dashboards are used to provide information in close proximity to real-time to help users catch and solve problems as they occur through quick, daily overview of what is happening in their transportation or supply chain networks. Another advantage to dashboard is the capability of information being updated as business is occurring. Leading to faster changes being made in the market and no waiting for a reports to be submitted. Benchmarking is a tool that is useful to companies by allowing them to get a more complete picture of their performance in the marketplace. Benchmarking has the ability to compare data to other companies on areas such as freight rates and on-time delivery percentages. Improved supply chain efficiency, reduced costs, better customer service, improved relationships, and strategic logistics vendor all takes place through business intelligence by translating the information provided.
On a more complicated side, companies can utilize business intelligence tools to further drill down into the supply chain and drive out the smallest inefficiencies. Having knowledge of shipments from point A to Point B can help reduce risks and possible avoid traffic. Having this type of knowledge helps transportation planners narrow their focus to any point of discrepancies such as geography, not having enough lead times, or if there is problem with the carrier or their equipment. Did the driver go off route or did the dispatcher plan a poor trip are variables that can be worked out through the information being entered in the business intelligence system. When such red flags arise companies have an easier way to analyze the data, address the issues with the responsible party, and determining which options should take place as corrective action. Businesses that have this insight into their inner workings of their supply chain through specific, detailed, and actionable exception-based information are making strategic changes to transportation and logistics operations in real time. Leading in greater supply chain efficiencies, cost savings, and operational improvements.

Correlation to the text book chapter:
The article “Business Intelligence in the Supply Chain” correlated with chapter 6 (Supply Chain Technology- Managing Information Flows) of the textbook and related directly to the Role of Information in the Supply chain with a focus on Business intelligence. The article addressed the very important topic of supply chain information technology. It focused on how information is crucial in managing a supply