How to Choose the Best BI Dashboard for Shipping

Swathi_G
5 min readMar 4, 2024

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Introduction

Nowadays, the shipment business is subject to rapid development so data collection is a factor that should not be ignored by those who would still like to be ahead of the others. As an overview, the BI Shipping dashboards are of paramount importance for making the shipping operations transparent, as after using them the firms can enhance their processes, diminish their expenses, and improve their customers’ satisfaction too.

This is a period in time when choosing the proper BI dashboard could be too difficult because of the variety of options available. This post will direct you in narrowing the perfect BI dashboard for your shipping.

Understanding BI Dashboards

Interactive dashboards consist of software programs for data representation and analysis, whose purpose is to help people in business make deliberate decisions. They combine data from diverse information providers including marine records, inventory tracking, and client account details, and then analyze it to provide insightful reports, graphs, and maps. BI dashboards are tools that help users make fact-based decisions and better allocation of resources for the sake of order fulfillment and the company’s long-term planning.

Characteristics of BI dashboards can be interactive data visualization, personalized dashboards, up-to-date data all the time, and other business systems integration. This unique set of functions allows the user to measure various KPIs and, for example, ship metrics, analyze trends, and make pertinent decisions that will result in optimized shipping processes.

Factors to Consider

When choosing a BI dashboard for shipping, several factors should be taken into account to ensure it meets your specific needs and requirements: When choosing a BI dashboard for shipping, several factors should be taken into account to ensure it meets your specific needs and requirements:

Data Integration Capabilities

The BI dashboard should be able to boast strong integration with disparate data sources, i.e. shipment software, ERP systems, and also external databases. Thus, you guarantee that you can get all possible shipping information just in time.

Customization Options

Explore a BI dashboard that can customize the interface and learn about the shipping metrics and individual KPIs for your specific use. The ability to customize the dashboards enables you to concentrate on those metrics that constitute the fundamentals of your business and create personalized screens for various user roles on your organizational structure.

User-Friendly Interface

Identify a BI dashboard having a visually appealing and user-friendly interface that is understandable by shipment managers and other employees helping them to easily get the data and interpret the information. The dashboard must have an intuitive interface and good navigation functionality to allow the users to do the required action without investing time and effort in learning or advancing technical competence.

Real-Time Reporting

The instantaneous reporting feature is vital in the shipping sector for the companies to carry it’s operations, monitor shipments, and immediately respond to market risks. Find an analytical platform that will give you instant access to the most relevant data and alerts to enable you to respond to critical issues as they happen.

Scalability

The scalability of the BI dashboard capacity to deal with the expanding data from your shipping operations and shipping volume is worth further reflection. Indicate a solution that could be extended along with your company’s scaling process, permitting the growth of the data sources, users, and features as your shipping operations move towards expansion.

Cost

Finish by taking the cost of putting the dashboard together and continually supporting and maintaining it such as initial licensing service fees, implementation charges, and occasional support which are likely to increase the cost. Opt for a product that gives you a reasonable set of features versus cost, thus ensuring you are not losing much of any of the worth of your item.

Top BI Dashboards for Shipping

Several BI dashboard solutions are well-suited for shipping companies, each offering unique features and capabilities: Several BI dashboard solutions platforms are well-suited for shipping companies, each offering unique features and capabilities:

Tableau

Tableau is a brand of BI dashboard widely used by many people, which is known for its powerful data analytical tools and user-convenient software. It has the most powerful data integration functionalities, nano-timing reporting, and dashboards which make a good fit for large-scale as well as small-time shipping companies.

Power BI

Power BI, another leading Business Intelligence (BI) dashboard solution from Microsoft provides powerful analytics with interactive visualizations and a comfortable workflow due to its integration with the already familiar office applications. It offers up-to-date data in addition to customizable views and AI-supported options, which is why it is preferred by shipping companies to use it as a scalable and cost-effective choice.

Wise BI

Focus your attention on the Wise BI solution to begin a new era with your entity by your side. Having businesses, bias, the phenomenon is that than just implementing BI. When developers reconceive the decision-making process in a way that draws on facts and considers how BI could support strategic rather than just quick-term growth, an appeal to such attitude will be a kind of manifestation of such development.

Sisense

The advantage of Sisense is that it is a complete platform for building business intelligence (BI) dashboards with powerful analysis, data preparation, and rich visualization tools. It is composed of a flexible interface, responsive reporting, customizable dashboards, and intelligent insights powered by AI, thus becoming a perfect fit for the streamlining of shipping processes.

QlikView

QlikView is a useful tool for shipping companies. It creates charts and graphs that display information visually. This simplifies understanding data for companies. They can discover important insights they didn’t know before. QlikView is fast and can be customized to suit the company’s needs. That’s why many shipping companies choose to use it.

Looker

Looker is a useful tool online that businesses use to understand their data better. It helps you see your data in different ways. You can make your reports and graphs quickly. It’s particularly beneficial for shipping companies because it’s user-friendly and can be tailored to suit their specific requirements.

Conclusion

To find the best dashboard for shipping, consider several factors. Firstly, ensure it efficiently collects data. It should also offer customization options to align with your specific requirements. Assess its user-friendliness and responsiveness in displaying updates promptly. Additionally, verify if it can scale alongside your business’s growth and evaluate its cost-effectiveness. If you pick the right dashboard, it can help your shipping business do better. Whether you choose Tableau, Power BI, Wise BI, Sisense, QlikView, or Looker, having a good dashboard can give you important information and keep you competitive in shipping.

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Swathi_G

I specialize in writing clear, accessible content on logistics, focusing on supply chain, transportation, inventory optimization, and emerging technologies.