The role of embedded analytics in modern supply chains

Modern supply chains have evolved drastically over the years. While traditional supply chains are often linear, reactive, and siloed, modern supply chains are characterized by an increasing level of complexity, volatility, and interconnectedness. In a cut-throat environment where every second and cent counts, supply chain agility is steadily emerging as a critical competitive advantage.

Given the increased complexity, today’s supply chains are generating a mammoth amount of data. However, raw data is often inaccessible and lacks insightful, action-driven analysis within the context of daily workflows. 

This is where reporting and embedded analytics come into play. These capabilities provide organizations with the power to connect to data and surface information, however, wherever, and whenever they want it.

Unlike standalone BI platforms, embedded analytics brings data visualization and interactive reporting into the workflows and applications stakeholders are already familiar with, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management system (WMS), and transport management system (TMS). The result? The ability to use data and apply insight to take action.

This article will examine the fundamental principles of supply chain agility and the pivotal role that embedded analytics plays in facilitating this level of flexibility. 

Understanding agile supply chains

Supply chain agility is exactly what it sounds like: the ability to quickly identify changes in your supply chain and respond strategically and efficiently. 

Key pillars of an agile supply chain

At the heart of an agile supply chain lies five indispensable building blocks:

• Demand-driven planning and forecasting, based on quickly shifting customer demands.

• Flexible sourcing and procurement that considers and prioritizes market shifts and supplier risks.

• Adaptive manufacturing and production that pivot quickly with up-to-the-minute forecasts.

• Responsive logistics and distribution, where networks are fully optimized for evolving routes and constraints.

• Collaborative relationships with stakeholders based on streamlined communication that is informed by real-time data. 

The importance of having a broader view of functional areas

There’s no supply chain agility without the ability to see the bigger picture. Traditional, static reports are usually built in isolation, disconnected from real business workflows. When analytics are embedded directly into operations, organizations gain context-rich insights drawn from multiple sources. 

This allows end users to identify patterns, correlations, and emerging trends across functions at their convenience or on the go. The impact: a broader, insights-rich view that empowers more responsive and informed decision-making throughout the supply chain. 

Embedded analytics: Empowering agile supply chains

In the simplest terms, embedded analytics is a deployment mechanism for data through APIs, SDKs, and iFrames. Specifically, it addresses how data can be integrated directly into a native system or application, enabling users to access, explore, and analyze data in real-time without changing applications and disrupting workflows. Using Jaspersoft, the final reports can be customized, down to the pixel.

Key capabilities of embedded analytics for supply chains

For today’s increasingly sophisticated supply chains, embedded analytics should include: 

• Real-time dashboards: With these, stakeholders can visualize everything from supplier performance to delivery timelines and inventory levels right from their operational platforms.

• Alerts and notifications: When deviations or potential disruptions occur, such as inventory shortfalls or sudden drops in demand, the system triggers prompt responses and notifies the necessary stakeholders. 

• Self-service analytics: Users and operations teams, not just experts, should be empowered to perform ad-hoc analysis within the applications they’re familiar with.

• Data integrity and secure access: Embedded analytics should not only maintain data accuracy and enforce access controls but also deliver insights within secure, governed workflows.

Use cases and applications of embedded analytics in agile supply chains

There’s no shortage of use cases in which embedded analytics is proven to be a game-changer for agile supply chains.

Demand planning and forecasting

Sure, most ERPs offer built-in reporting. But it’s often limited to internal data and fixed templates. The only way product managers of ERPs can unlock real value is by embedding a flexible reporting and analytics tool. 

For end users, this translates to having the ability to connect to external data sources like market trends, POS systems, or weather feeds. That way, a more complete view of forecasting is achieved. With unrestricted, on-the-fly forecasting comes the power to make dynamic adjustments to production and inventory plans—all without leaving the ERP interface.

Inventory management

Embedded analytics can connect various systems to allow stakeholders to view the entire workflow. What they ultimately receive is a two-fold benefit: predictive alerts that notify them of potential stockout or overstock scenarios, as well as automated replenishment recommendations within WMS.

Procurement and sourcing

At first glance, procurement platforms appear to be just another addition to the tech stack. However, when enriched with embedded analytics, they become strategic enablers. Teams can effectively monitor and evaluate supplier KPIs—think: delivery performance or lead time variability—while overlaying external data such as geopolitical risk indices or commodity price shifts. 

As for potential supply disruptions, embedded analytics surfaces them by continuously scanning for anomalies, such as missed deliveries or sudden price hikes. Then, it triggers automated alerts that prompt timely action.

Logistics and transportation

Embedded analytics are a core functionality to TMS, as exemplified by DAT, one of Jaspersoft's most notable success stories. When the two teamed up, DAT’s brokers and other stakeholders benefited greatly from Jaspersoft’s platform-agnostic embedded analytics and pixel-perfect reporting. Jaspersoft's analytics interacted with DAT's TMS to enable real-time tracking of shipments and potential delays. 

Beyond that, embedded dashboards can monitor costs, track routes, and flag disruptions — all from a single, do-it-all interface. These insights are crucial for optimizing delivery routes, analyzing transportation costs, and identifying efficiency improvements.

Benefits of leveraging embedded analytics for supply chain agility

When it comes to supply chain agility, embedded analytics offers multiple benefits over traditionally deployed analytics, including:

Enhanced visibility and transparency

By embedding analytics into core systems, organizations can successfully break down data silos and gain a holistic view of the supply chain. With this end-to-end visibility, stakeholders can make efficient, informed decisions in application.

For instance, a logistics manager can, in real-time, see that a key port is experiencing significant delays. Then they can immediately choose an alternative route or carrier, minimizing delivery disruptions, avoiding penalty costs, and maintaining customer satisfaction.

Faster response times and improved decision-making

Frontline teams have dozens of tasks to juggle and no time to waste. Embedded, in-context insights allow them to act quickly and confidently when faced with issues and opportunities that require prompt decision-making. The result is a smooth, no-frills supply in the workflow, where every action counts.

Increased efficiency and reduced costs

A 360-degree view of operations that connects disparate systems is one of the pillars of embedded analytics. Through it, stakeholders can confidently get ahead of situations rather than waiting to react. Issues like excess inventory, manual intervention, and last-minute logistics costs become a thing of the past since every decision-maker has their data exactly where they want it, when they want it.

When forecasting accuracy improves, so does inventory management and your bottom line.

Implementation challenges and considerations

When it comes to implementing embedded analytics in supply chains, challenges can be avoided by carefully considering a few factors, such as:

Data integration and quality

Agile decisions depend on reliable data powered by strong governance policies and procedures. Integrating data from multiple sources, such as TMS and IoT, requires clean, consistent data formats as well as ongoing validation and cleaning processes.

Security and governance

Supply chain data contains streams of highly sensitive consumer, partner, and operational information. To protect them, tightly-knit security protocols must be implemented. 

To that end, row-level security should be considered as a way to make sure users only see data relevant to their role or region. Additionally, domain structures can be used to define and expose only the appropriate data elements through governed, semantic layers.

In multi-tenant environments, data, users, and permissions are fully isolated, enabling secure deployments across business units, partners, or customers. The best part: each entity has tailored access and visibility, all within a shared infrastructure.

Ongoing maintenance

The only way to ensure the success of embedded analytics post-implementation is to keep putting in the work. Sustained maintenance is needed for continued value.

It starts with regular updates and optimizations. These keep the system aligned with evolving business needs, ensuring the tools stay relevant and effective. Specifically, effort should be made to monitor data quality, update security protocols, and refine analytics models as new data sources or use cases emerge. In the end, the goal should be to ensure analytics remains a seamless and integral part of users’ workflows, rather than an afterthought that becomes cumbersome over time.

Future trends and evolutions

The future of embedded analytics in supply chains is as promising as it gets, with expected trends in: 

• Integration with advanced technologies:  Embedded analytics will increasingly merge with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms. The integration of IoT sensors, AI algorithms, and embedded analytics will allow for concise anomaly detection and automated, intelligent responses.

• Contextual and personalized analytics: We’re on the cusp of something never witnessed before: next-gen tools capable of tailoring insights not just to user roles, but to specific workflows and decisions. By embedding analytics directly into operational systems, these tools can dynamically adjust insights based on real-time context, such as the user's current task, data inputs, and decision-making requirements. In the case of procurement managers, they might be able to view supplier performance metrics integrated with risk indicators when reviewing purchase orders. In the same vein, a warehouse manager might receive inventory insights tied directly to their shipping schedules.

Jaspersoft is powering future-proof agile supply chains, one network at a time

Today’s supply chains demand flexibility and real-time responsiveness that requires embedded analytics. It’s the engine behind agile decision-making. Without it, stakeholders will struggle to pivot, act, and communicate effectively, sacrificing time and resources, ultimately causing them to fall behind the competition. 

At Jaspersoft, we have decades of experience embedding pixel-perfect reporting directly into native applications. Start your free trial today to see how our platforms can improve your supply chain agility, user experience, and bottom line.

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