All businesses collect and interpret data, even if only at the level of management accounts.  Some businesses exploit today's mass data storage and processing capabilities - data mining - to derive actionable information.

A very few derive genuine insight.  Most are misleading themselves very badly indeed.

"We have had a great quarter" - Have we? Managers are sometimes so keen to spot and celebrate success that they confuse routine variations with genuine improvements.  Rewarding the 'heroes', they are in fact destabilising the company's operations, and making sustained improvement less likely.

"Last month was just a blip" - Was it?  Some 'poor' performance is in fact just the way things are, some signals special factors that need to be uncovered, some shows an actual reduction in overall performance that must be addressed.  Intuition is a poor guide, and getting it wrong can be disastrous.

"There is a clear trend here" - Is there?  As people we come programmed to see shapes and trends everywhere, because they are so important.  Failing to spot a genuine trend means losing an edge in the market.  Seeing one that isn't really there leads to well-meant but inappropriate action that can cripple your business.

The good news is that long-established techniques are available to provide genuine insight from company data.  This is especially important in the pricing arena, as a price drop to address some apparent market issue will simply damage profits and can undermine business strategy, while ignoring a genuine signal that pricing needs to be adjusted to address could lose you customers.

We not only help you to see through to the real story, we educate your team to maintain, read and interpret the data into the future to derive real insight and build competitive advantage.

TECHNICAL NOTE
We use Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques as applied in lean six sigma quality initiatives to general business data.  You do not have to be a statistical expert to use the results, as while we apply sophisticated modelling the results are presented in plain business language, and become a key part of your monthly management information.

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                                     THE PRICE CONSULTANCY
Washington, DC                                                                         Cambridge, UK
                                   info@priceconsultancy.com