By Alex Myers, Data Analyst Consultant, Koble Systems
A Technology Solutions feature piece from the 2025/2026 Thriving Magazine issue!
I meet a lot of business owners who don’t realize they have company transforming insights hidden in their data. They have reports, spreadsheets, and tools that track all kinds of things, but lack a well-structured overview of what matters most each week. It’s not that they’re lacking the data, but they can’t visualize it in a clear way; a way that would ultimately change their perspective of the business.
That’s why I love helping business owners leverage reporting dashboards to understand their company better. Once your data is organized in a way that is easy to ingest, it’s surprising how often you will stumble across new insights. Maybe specific inventory items are sitting much longer than you realized. Maybe customers are churning faster than you thought. Maybe certain product lines are trending up or down and no one even noticed. A great dashboard will tell you things you never even thought of asking by presenting the data in a clean way.
It’s exactly like reading the morning news. You don’t open the paper with one specific question in mind. You skim until something catches your eye, you click into it, and suddenly a story you did not expect begins to unfold.
Imagine if you had to go searching for news headlines, rather than being served them automatically. How would you have heard about changes in local tax code? Would you have known to look into tariffs and their impact on your business? Similarly, your data is no different. If you don’t know things are changing, you’ll miss giving them the due diligence they deserve. Instead, every dimension of your business data should be visually formatted in a way that makes any major trend stand out.
And here is the good news: You do not need a big IT team to build these dashboards. Today’s tools, like Power BI, are incredibly approachable and cost effective. You can build them yourself with some invested time and a willingness to learn, maybe even using AI tools like ChatGPT to act as a tutor. Or, if someone on your team enjoys figuring things out, give them a little time each week to explore. Many small businesses are surprised by how far a few hours of focused effort can go. If that’s not realistic, you can outsource a simple project or use prebuilt integrations. A small investment can create a lot of value.
At the end of the day, I believe every company should be equipped with the right systems for them. Not because they want to make their business more high tech, but because the right systems help people do their best work with confidence. And when a business owner tells me they saved a huge amount of money or discovered a new opportunity they would have missed, it reminds me why this work is so rewarding. Clear, accessible data that tells the right stories helps leaders make better decisions, and those decisions ripple out into stronger businesses.
About Koble Systems
Koble Systems is a Lancaster-based software company that equips inventory-heavy businesses with the ERP tools they need to run confidently. They support manufacturers, distributors, and service & supply companies with a single system that keeps orders, inventory, and financials in sync; helping them cut down on manual work, improve accuracy, and make decisions with clarity and confidence.
Koble’s mission is rooted in the belief that good systems should serve people, not replace them.
If your business is outgrowing spreadsheets or juggling disconnected tools, Koble can help you take the next step toward a fully integrated ERP. Reach the team at sales@koblesystems.com or (717) 442-3247.
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