Just how much the system will improve JBHanauer’s bottom line and keep it competitive with the multibillion-dollar investment houses remains to be seen. But Barnes notes that in October, when the application was launched, JBHanauer had its best month in 18 years. Was it a result of a good marketing, a hot market or a direct result of the BI application? It’s too soon to be sure, but Barnes does know this: The BI application "did allow us to know this simple fact [immediately]."

Innovation Time

Success generates enthusiasm and, therefore, support for BI throughout the company. Once that happens, it’s time to start thinking out of the box.

At Delta Sonic, Boebel is looking to incorporate outside sources of data into the BI application to help the company manage staffing more efficiently. He hopes to include National Weather Service forecasts as one of the factors store managers use to plan staffing levels. For example, by knowing when and how much snow is forecast, as well as how long temperatures will remain below freezing (which means salt stays on the roads longer and cars remain dirty longer), Boebel can correlate that data with past statistics on car wash sales and snowfall to determine the number of cars that will likely come through Delta Sonic’s car washes, avoiding the prospect of having too many workers or not enough.

Boebel has many other ideas for using BI. The only thing holding him back, he says, is convincing managers to use the application more. "But that will come in time as we show what can be done," Boebel says. "This is just the start."