In large companies, employees spend a lot of time searching for information, reconstructing data, waiting for answers. That lost time isn't just a productivity dip: it's a drag on teams that need to react fast and decide on solid ground.
Employees spend on average 28 to 30% of their time searching for or validating data for their day-to-day work (McKinsey, The data-driven enterprise of 2025).
The real problem: the data exists, but it isn't usable
Many companies invest heavily in ERP, CRM, PLM and BI tools. And yet teams spend considerable time assembling an incomplete puzzle, which delays analysis and decisions. Three causes come up systematically.
The impact on the business
Feel like decisions are dragging? It's often because you have to wait for a report or check data. Precious time is lost juggling between sources.
And then there's that feeling of spinning your wheels: a good chunk of the day absorbed by repetitive, administrative tasks that add no value. Instead of focusing on what matters, people wear themselves out compiling information.
The worst part: this fragmentation has a direct cost. Working with scattered data multiplies the risks: a typo, a differing interpretation, and you end up with inconsistencies or duplicates that force you to redo everything later. Time and energy wasted, simply because the information wasn't reliable at first glance.
Freeing up your teams' time
The real challenge isn't adding yet more tools, it's making data genuinely usable. Four levers.
A concrete example in supply chain
Every day, one industrial company's supply chain team lost nearly two hours manually reconstructing its stock and order data. That information was scattered across several systems that didn't talk to each other, forcing employees to cross-check every detail by hand. A repetitive task, a source of errors and delays, that tied up valuable skills.
The deployment started by linking historical data from the ERP and the PLM to build a single reference. That integration mainly enabled the next step: visualizing recurring trends and the links between customer orders, stock levels and supplier performance. It became possible to see that a recurring delay at a given supplier systematically impacted production line B.
Based on these findings, critical, custom indicators were defined and shared in real time with the whole team, replacing static reports. Managers no longer search for information: they analyze it, and anticipate problems before they happen.
The benefits for the business
- +Real productivity gains. Your employees spend less time searching and more time creating value.
- +Faster, more reliable decisions. Direct access to data and visibility into previously hidden connections.
- +Fewer errors and duplicates. Governance improves data quality at the source.
- +Easier adoption. Teams use intuitive tools they can put to work right away.
- +Measurable ROI. The value of platforms already in place becomes tangible.
Sources
- McKinsey, The data-driven enterprise of 2025: 28 to 30% of time spent searching for or validating data.
- Gartner, Data and Analytics Strategy: the time spent assembling an incomplete puzzle before being able to analyze.