Multi-company dashboards are powerful tools designed to provide a consolidated view of data and performance metrics across multiple organizations or subsidiaries within a single interface. These dashboards enable stakeholders to monitor, compare, and analyze key indicators across different entities, streamlining decision-making processes. They are particularly valuable for parent companies, holding companies, or enterprises with diverse portfolios, as they facilitate real-time insights and cross-company comparisons, enhancing overall management efficiency.
But why do you need a unified view?
Organizations often operate multiple subsidiaries, divisions, or affiliated companies, each with its own set of goals, data, and reporting mechanisms. This fragmentation can lead to siloed information, making it challenging for executives to gain a comprehensive understanding of the overall business performance. By eliminating the need to manually gather and reconcile data from disparate systems, a unified view significantly reduces the risk of errors and ensures that all stakeholders have access to accurate, up-to-date information.
Understanding a multi-company overview
A multi-company dashboard is a centralized, interactive platform that allows a parent company or holding company to monitor, manage, and analyze the performance of multiple subsidiaries or business units in one place. This dashboard aggregates data from each subsidiary, providing a holistic view of the entire organization's operations, finances, and other key metrics.
Key features and functionalities of a multi-company dashboard
While every multi-company dashboard is different, there are some key features you can expect to see.
- Consolidated reporting combines financial, operational, and performance data from multiple subsidiaries, offering an overview at both the individual and aggregate levels.
- Real-time data visualization provides real-time updates and visual representations (charts, graphs, tables) of key performance indicators (KPIs), allowing for quick assessment and decision-making.
- Customizable views allow users to tailor the dashboard to display relevant data, focusing on specific companies, regions, or performance metrics according to their needs.
- With drill-down capabilities, users can drill down into specific data points to explore detailed information at the subsidiary level, enabling in-depth analysis.
- Inter-company comparisons facilitate the comparison of performance across different subsidiaries, identifying trends, discrepancies, and opportunities for improvement.
- Centralized control and access offers centralized access and control for the parent company, streamlining management across various entities while maintaining necessary security and permissions.
- Financial consolidation supports the consolidation of financial statements, allowing for an aggregated view of revenue, expenses, profits, and other financial metrics across subsidiaries.
The strategic advantages of a unified dashboard
With a unified dashboard across multiple companies, there are various strategic advantages you can expect to benefit from.
- Enhanced decision making provides a comprehensive view of the organization’s performance, enabling better strategic decisions.
- Streamlining operations aggregates data from diverse sources across subsidiaries, including financial systems, CRM platforms, operational databases, and more and provides up-to-date information, ensuring decisions are based on the latest data.
- Improved financial management integrates financial data from subsidiaries to streamline budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting processes. Monitors expenses and financial performance to identify cost-saving opportunities and improve profitability.
The operational benefits of a multi-company dashboard
Alongside strategic benefits, a multi-company overview has a number of operational benefits, which we’ll discuss below.
- Real-time data integration seamlessly connects and synchronizes data from multiple sources as it is generated, providing up-to-date insights that enhance operational efficiency.
- Centralized reporting and analytics ensures that all stakeholders are working with the same data, leading to uniform metrics and reducing discrepancies and enhances data quality and compliance by centralizing data management and enforcing consistent standards and security measures.
- A unified dashboard allows for strategic distribution and utilization of resources—such as personnel, budget, time, and technology.
What about the financial benefits
Of course, any company will be keenly interested in the financial benefits of a multi-company dashboard. So, let’s take a look!
Consolidated financial statements
This combines the financial information of a parent company and its subsidiaries into a single set of statements. This provides a comprehensive overview of the financial health of the entire corporate group.
Cross-company budgeting and forecasting
By consolidating data from multiple companies, a unified dashboard provides a broader perspective on potential risks and opportunities, leading to more accurate and resilient financial forecasts. It centralizes budgeting and forecasting efforts, reducing duplication, and making it easier to track and adjust financial plans across the organization.
Simplified compliance and auditing
All relevant compliance and audit data are available in one place, making it easier to gather and review information. A unified dashboard speeds up the auditing process by providing real-time access to necessary data and documentation, reducing the time and effort required for audits.
The challenges of multi-company dashboards and how to address them
Using a multi-company dashboard in an ERP system presents a set of unique challenges that can complicate data management and decision-making. One significant challenge is data integration and consistency. Multi-company dashboards must aggregate data from various sources, each with potentially different formats, structures, and reporting standards. To overcome this, it is essential to implement robust data integration tools and standardize data formats across companies. Additionally, establishing a common data governance framework can help maintain data integrity and quality across different entities.
Another challenge is the variation in business processes and metrics across companies. Different entities might have unique operational procedures, performance indicators, and reporting requirements, making it difficult to create a unified dashboard that satisfies all needs. To address this, the dashboard should be designed with flexibility in mind. Employing a modular approach allows users to customize views and reports based on the specific needs of each company while maintaining a cohesive overall structure.
User access and security are also critical concerns in a multi-company dashboard. With multiple entities involved, ensuring appropriate access levels and data security becomes complex. To mitigate this challenge, it is crucial to implement a robust role-based access control system. This system should be designed to grant permissions based on user roles and responsibilities, ensuring that sensitive information is protected and that users only see the data relevant to their company. Additionally, regular audits and updates of access permissions can help address potential security gaps and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
Finally, maintaining user adoption and engagement can be difficult, as different companies might have varying levels of familiarity with the dashboard and ERP system. To encourage widespread use and effective engagement, comprehensive training and support should be provided. This includes onboarding sessions, user manuals, and ongoing helpdesk support. Tailoring training programs to the specific needs of each company and providing resources that address common issues can enhance user confidence and ensure that the dashboard is used effectively across the board. Regular feedback sessions with users can also help identify and address any usability concerns, leading to continuous improvements and better overall user satisfaction.
Read on: ERP implementation: Why it can fail and how to succeed
Final thoughts
A multi-company dashboard provides a strategic advantage by delivering a comprehensive, unified view of performance across various business units or subsidiaries. This holistic perspective enhances decision-making, enabling executives to identify trends, manage risks, and optimize resource allocation more effectively. Additionally, it fosters better collaboration and transparency across the enterprise, ultimately supporting more agile and informed business strategies. In a competitive landscape, the ability to swiftly analyze and act on consolidated insights offers a significant edge in driving growth and maintaining operational excellence.
Get started with multi-company dashboards
Vault ERP is a comprehensive resource management tool consisting of various modules to choose from. A Global dashboard with add-on widgets will allow users to customize the view and provide the corporate management with valuable insights into consolidated global data.
Our company successfully conducts operations across borders and diverse cultures by using a multi-company dashboard. If your enterprise manages multiple companies, and you want to maximize operations efficiency you can request a demo here.