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1. Decide Whose Job It Is

“Whose job is it?” “Not mine!” is a time-honored conversation exchanged across every company with more frequency than we’d care to admit. That’s why, if you’re serious about making your business more data-driven, you need a “data champion.” This person might be you, they might not, but they need to be both committed to and compensated for the role. A data champion acts as both an advocate and a translator for data-driven culture. They actively promote best practices, ensure data integrity, and demonstrate the tangible value of analytics to stakeholders who might otherwise be skeptical.

The data champion must be willing to (and have the authority to) collaborate across departments. By providing mentorship and establishing clear governance standards, they ensure that the new insights generated are accurate, consistent, and accessible. This leadership is essential for scaling digital transformation efforts; without a dedicated champion to navigate the cultural resistance and technical hurdles, even the most expensive software investments are likely to fail. Ultimately, they ensure the business doesn’t just collect data but actually changes because of it.

2. Get the Right Tools

While enthusiasm will get you far, it won’t get you far enough without the right data tools. We’ve written at length about how to choose, implement, and succeed with modern data management tools like Epicor and Interject, so we won’t repeat all that here. However, one thing is worth mentioning here: make sure whatever data analysis tools you choose are as user-friendly as possible. Your employees shouldn’t have to have a degree in computer science to understand the software. If decision-makers can’t easily access the right data, nothing will change.

3. Track the Right Metrics

Speaking of the right data: you’ve got to make sure you’re tracking the correct metrics! With the advent of AI-powered software, it’s possible to track a vast amount of data. But which metrics are the most important?

To identify key metrics in your business, first start by finding the “pain points” of your organization: what can’t you explain? What processes are breaking down without a clear reason? These are the problems you’ll want to track with metrics first. Next, start your research: what metrics do industry experts and/or your software partner recommend to track relevant data around those issues?

Metrics will vary for every business, but here’s an example of the importance of the right metrics: for manufacturers and distributors, metrics such as warehouse capacity utilization can be misleading if viewed in isolation; a full warehouse might signal high stock levels, but without context, it often hides inventory turnover issues or “dead stock” that ties up capital. Rather than obsessing over raw inventory counts, you may want to focus on metrics like carrying cost of inventory, lead time variability, or first-pass yield, which highlight where supply chain bottlenecks occur. In addition, businesses should pay attention to overall equipment effectiveness and on-time in-full delivery. The first provides a granular look at availability, performance, and quality, ensuring that machinery isn’t just running, but running optimally. The second serves as the ultimate barometer for distribution health, directly impacting the bottom line by measuring the ability to meet customer demands without costly back orders or shipping errors.

4. Get Data to the Right People

So now you’ve got meaningful metrics. Congrats! That’s a huge step forward. But just having the data isn’t enough—it’s got to be used! Data is only useful if the people in charge actually see it and understand it. You can track every machine and shipment perfectly, but if those insights stay trapped in a messy spreadsheet or a single department’s inbox, they’re basically useless. Good reporting isn’t about dumping more numbers on someone’s desk; it’s about using clear visuals, informative reports, and user-friendly dashboards to show exactly what’s going on throughout your business.

5. Commit to Careful Change

Now, a word of warning: making all these changes doesn’t happen overnight. While the “move fast and break things” mantra works for some startups, established businesses usually rely on intricate, interconnected systems where one small adjustment can have massive downstream consequences. After all, if you inadvertently break a process that was actually functioning well, your business might end up in a worse spot than the one it started in!

Pushing radical changes too quickly often triggers “change fatigue,” leading to employee burnout and active resistance. By rolling out updates in manageable phases, you give your team the time to unlearn old habits and gain confidence in new ones. Slowing down allows you to be deliberate and ensure that when you finally arrive at your goal, the entire company is still on board.

6. Keep Your Sensitive Data Safe

One more word of caution (I know, these two points are downers): While the ability to harness more complex data is a powerful asset, it brings a responsibility to defend that information against increasingly clever digital threats. This begins with locking down sensitive files through high-level encryption and ensuring that access is strictly limited to specific roles, preventing unnecessary exposure. Not all data should be shared widely.

Your organization should consider layering their defenses with multi-factor authentication and role-based permissions, making it significantly harder for intruders to breach the system even if they compromise a password or an account. Automated backup systems act as a vital safety net, ensuring that data can be recovered instantly if a failure occurs. Finally, consider implementing automated monitoring tools to keep the company in constant alignment with strict legal standards like GDPR or CCPA.

7. Get Everyone Involved

Last but certainly not least, a data-driven transformation is only as strong as the people clicking the buttons. You can invest in the most expensive analytics software on the market, but if your team doesn’t believe in the output, they will revert to “gut feelings” and ignore the screens. When staff feel that new metrics are being used to micromanage them rather than empower them, they often resist the change or, worse, find ways to “game the system” to make the numbers look better. To avoid this, you must demonstrate how data makes your employees’ lives easier, whether by reducing repetitive tasks or providing the evidence they need to justify a budget increase. Without this human alignment, your digital transformation is just a collection of expensive charts. With it, data becomes a tool that drives collective innovation and long-term success.

We Can Help!

If you’re looking for a partner to help you change your business from the inside out, let’s talk! Here at Laminin, we’re passionate about information management and empowering our clients with tools to access important data when it counts. Contact us today to get started.