Generating comprehensive information on consumer tastes and preferences using artificial intelligence systems is the main challenge faced by companies, which must increasingly make faster and better decisions.
No company or industry seeking to continue operating in these new times can avoid these challenges. An example of this is the entertainment sector, a market that with the arrival of new platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify, has become increasingly competitive. Companies like Warner Bros. have reported that they are beginning to use advanced technological systems to decide which films to produce.
Technology and tools for analyzing large volumes of information used by large corporations to make business decisions are also available to businessmen and small companies.
Finding the best location for a new sales point, finding the areas where potential customers move and analyzing their purchasing power and their behavior as consumers are just some of the things that can be done today with the help of new technologies.
The business models operating under the concept of a subscription, such as Netflix, Amazon or even PriceSmart, can have great advantages over their competitors if they manage to properly manage the large volumes of data they handle.
The payment of subscriptions is not only for modern online services, as retail companies apply it in the region, as is the case of the supermarket chain PriceSmart.
The failure of polls on the presidential election in the US shows that in order to get the right information, data must be collected and analyzed with scientific rigor, free from any bias caused by the personal interest of pollsters and analysts.
EDITORIAL
Only 1 out of the 20 main pollsters, newspapers and television stations in the United States who possessed all the tools needed to properly manage the demographic data and surveys, was right in indicating who the next president would be.
Monitoring of the market by growth rates, trends, assessment of competence and demand, raw materials offered, and projections of these variables.
The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador held a conference in which the Lic. Xiomara Hurtado presented the topic "External Sector Statistics and Importance in Making Business Decisions."
The increasing speed and ease of direct access to the information needed for decision-making, is drastically reducing the number of middle managers who used to be hired to provide them.
In companies of the last century when a sales manager needed information about last year's sales in order to take a relevant decision, he or she had to contact their assistant manager, who was responsible for collecting information and presenting it to the director. Nowadays, the direct and easy access to all information concerning day-to-day business allows the same director to touch a screen, get the information and make the decision, reducing costs and saving time.
The Government of Guatemala had to pay $600K for canceling a loan granted by the BNDES in Brazil to buy aircraft from Embraer, another Brazilian company.
S21.com reports that "The government paid $595,461.22 on 19 February because it did not confirm the adquistion of a $133 million loan from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) for the purchase of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft."
Modern executives make business decisions based primarily on quantitative methods, with less emphasis on other factors, however, the situation in the world economy can teach us that the numbers are not everything.
Since the 1950’s, the use of quantitative methods has been widespread in business schools, becoming absolute in business practice, Guillermo Edelberg writes in an opinion piece in ElFinanciero.cr.com.
Government and private industry decision-making is being seriously compromised by lack of statistical information and unreliable economic, social and environmental indicators.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), the population of Costa Rica amounts to 4,506,000 people, whereas the Social Security Fund (CCSS) cites 4,562,000, and ECLAC 4,639,000.
In times of crisis, flexibility and responsiveness in order to make good decisions is what distinguishes successful businesses.
In the unpredictable conditions of these complicated times, planning for three months, let alone a year, is more difficult than ever. Despite the chaos, there are management tools that can help you navigate through turbulent business environments.