Create a Supply Chain Dashboard In 3 Steps

How to Create a Supply Chain Dashboard

A supply chain dashboard is a visual tool that provides a quick, easy-to-understand overview of an organization’s supply chain activities and performance

Think of it as a control panel that shows key information about supply chain processes at a glance.

It serves as a centralized hub where companies can oversee key supply chain metrics, track performance indicators, and improve communication with suppliers, stakeholders, and internal teams.

Essential Features for a Supply Chain Dashboard

These are some of the fundamental features to get started with building a supply chain dashboard.

User Authentication and Access Control: One of the most critical features is a secure login system with multi-level access to ensure that only authorized users can access specific parts of the dashboard. This includes the ability for administrators to create and manage user profiles, reset passwords, and update contact information.

Real-Time Access to Essential Metrics: The supply chain dashboard should provide real-time access to crucial metrics such as inventory levels, order statuses, lead times, supplier performance, and shipping information.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Historical Data Access: Functionalities for supply chain monitoring, reporting, communication, and access to historical data are crucial. This allows for trend analysis, identification of bottlenecks, and proactive management of supply chain disruptions.

Analytics and Reporting Tools: Providing tools for analytics and reporting is vital. Features like trend analysis of supply chain issues, key performance indicator (KPI) tracking, and demand forecasting help in making informed decisions.

Integration with Internal Systems: Integration with other internal systems, like ERP, inventory management, or procurement systems, can further enhance the dashboard’s usefulness by providing a holistic view of supply chain operations across the organization.

Build or Buy Your Supply Chain Dashboard

When it comes to implementing a supply chain dashboard, businesses face a crucial decision: should you build a custom solution or buy an off-the-shelf product?

If you build one using Five, you can develop exactly what you need without unnecessary features, tailored to your business’s specific supply chain processes.

Building a supply chain dashboard allows you to connect it to your existing IT infrastructure, serving as a single source of truth across all systems. It ensures compatibility with legacy systems, working around the constraints of older software that may not be replaceable.

Having control over your supply chain data is paramount. This means keeping all internal information under your direct supervision. Off-the-shelf supply chain dashboard solutions may not offer the same level of data privacy.

Building a secure supply chain dashboard becomes much simpler with Five. Five offers several advantages:

Accelerated Development: Significantly speeds up the development process.
User-Friendly: Requires no extensive coding knowledge.
Cost-Effective: More affordable than hiring a developer.
Customizable: Allows you to tailor your supply chain dashboard to meet your specific needs.

In the long run, building a custom solution can be more cost-effective. Licensing fees for off-the-shelf supply chain dashboard solutions can add up quickly, with some costing thousands of dollars annually.

Creating a Supply Chain Dashboard Can Be Easy

Building supply chain dashboards used to be a complex task requiring extensive coding knowledge. Organizations often had to hire “expert developers,” which could lead to high costs and subpar results. Customizations were difficult, often requiring additional development work.

Fortunately, times have changed. Creating supply chain dashboards is now much easier with rapid portal builders like Five. These tools simplify the process, making it quicker and more accessible.

With Five, you can jump right in and have your supply chain dashboard built and running in a single afternoon. While there is still a learning curve, this approach is far more efficient than traditional methods.

With Five, you can:

• Set up your supply chain dashboard interface in minutes.
• Create a user-friendly, login-protected web interface for your supply chain dashboard.
• Easily import existing supply chain data, allowing you to get started quickly.

Get free access to Five and start building your supply chain dashboard today.

Build a Supply Chain Dashboard
Rapidly build and deploy your database today

While we joke about “expert developers,” the Five team actually has a team of experts ready to assist you. So, if you ever feel like you’re in over your head, don’t worry, our expert developers are here to help you. And yes, we promise not to charge you an arm and a leg or leave you with a system that only we understand. To get a free consultation visit this page “Hire An Expert.”

How to Create a Supply Chain Dashboard

Here’s how you can create a supply chain dashboard using Five, along with some prerequisites to consider.

Step 1: Access Five

If you haven’t already, sign up for free access to Five. Five offers a free trial for 14 days with no credit card required. Depending on your project’s complexity and data storage requirements, you may need a paid plan.

Step 2: List Out Supply Chain Dashboard Attributes

Start by compiling a complete list of all attributes relevant to your supply chain dashboard. Consider what matters to your business:

• Inventory levels
• Supplier performance metrics
• Order and shipment tracking
• Lead times and delays
• Demand forecasting
• Risk assessments

Your supply chain dashboard should serve as a “single source of truth,” so ensure it’s as comprehensive as possible.

Here are some must-have attributes that are typically included in a supply chain dashboard:

• User authentication and access control
• Tracking inventory across locations
• Real-time data visualization
• Integration with ERP or procurement systems
• Reporting and analytics features

Follow our YouTube tutorial for a step-by-step guide, covering everything starting from database modeling.

The first step explains how to create a database table in Five. This quick four-and-a-half-minute video is highly recommended if your main goal is developing a supply chain dashboard.

The video also shows how to assign different SQL data types to your table fields and use Five’s database modeler to visualize your schema. Five automatically adds primary keys to all your tables, simplifying the setup process.

Supply Chain Dashboard Design and User Experience with Five

Once you have defined your supply chain dashboard’s attributes and set up the database tables in Five, you can start focusing on the design and user experience.

User-Centric Design with Five: Five allows you to create a highly intuitive and user-friendly interface for your supply chain dashboard. It’s easy to design a clean layout, ensuring that users can navigate effortlessly. You can customize the UI to fit your business’s branding and user preferences.

Personalization Features: With Five, you can build personalized dashboards for each department or supply chain aspect. Users can easily add widgets or shortcuts to their most-used tools and resources, creating a more tailored and efficient user experience.

Built-In Search Functionality: Five offers robust search capabilities that can be easily integrated into your supply chain dashboard. Users can quickly locate supplier details, order statuses, or shipment information by searching by keywords or filters, making navigation straightforward.

Mobile-Optimized Design: Five enables you to create a responsive supply chain dashboard that works on any device. This means users can access essential supply chain information on the go, with a layout that adapts to different screen sizes for optimal usability.

Step 3: Launch Your Supply Chain Dashboard Online

Once your supply chain dashboard’s database is ready and well-defined, you can begin populating it with the necessary data.

Using Five, you can easily upload CSV files directly into your SQL database. Simply ensure that the columns in your CSV align with the fields in your database, and import the data into your database tables.

Additionally, you can create a user-friendly, web-based graphical user interface with Five. This interface can feature:

• Forms for adding or editing supply chain records.
• Charts for visualizing inventory, shipments, and lead times.
• Reports for generating PDF documents using data from the dashboard.

When you’re ready to deploy your supply chain dashboard, sign up for one of our paid plans, starting at just $29.99 per month per application. This plan includes unlimited end-users and provides you with a custom URL to access the supply chain dashboard online.

Conclusion: Building a Supply Chain Dashboard

A well-designed supply chain dashboard is essential for any business looking to monitor and manage their supply chain processes effectively. With modern tools like Five, the process of creating a custom supply chain dashboard has become more accessible than ever.

Businesses no longer need to rely on expensive developers or settle for one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, they can rapidly build and deploy a supply chain dashboard that truly serves their unique needs.

Get free access to Five and start building your supply chain dashboard today.