Your Coventry plant's Power BI is pretty and your delivery number still can't be trusted
A BI dashboard in a Coventry plant is only as honest as the data beneath it, and Tableau, Power BI, or Looker happily render a delivery-performance number that three disconnected systems can't actually agree on. Custom BI, built on a proper data layer, costs £30,000 to £90,000 over 2 to 5 months and pays back when your OEM-facing KPIs finally reconcile to a single source the auditor trusts.
Power BI and Tableau are visualisation tools, not truth tools. Point them at a Coventry manufacturer's reality, an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), a quality spreadsheet, and a despatch log that each hold their own version of delivery and PPM, and you get a beautiful dashboard built on numbers that disagree. The board looks at a confident KPI that nobody in operations actually believes, because they know it depends on which export was used.
The exposure is sharpest on OEM-facing metrics. Your delivery performance and parts-per-million defect rate are scored by your customers, and if your internal dashboard says one thing while the OEM's portal says another, the conversation isn't about the chart, it's about your credibility. A dashboard that visualises unreconciled data is worse than no dashboard, because it manufactures false confidence.
What business intelligence dashboards costs in Coventry
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Reconciled data layer with core KPI dashboards | £30k to £50k | 2 to 3 months |
| Add OEM metrics and shop-floor OEE | £50k to £70k | 3 to 4 months |
| Full BI platform with drill-down and alerts | £70k to £90k | 4 to 5 months |
The fix: business intelligence dashboards built for Coventry, not rented
Custom BI starts with a data layer that reconciles your sources into one trusted set of figures, then visualises that. Your delivery performance, PPM, OEE, and margin come from one place that agrees with the OEM, so the dashboard becomes a tool for decisions and audits rather than a source of arguments. The chart is the easy part; the reconciled data underneath is the value.
- Your KPIs disagree across systems and nobody trusts them
- OEM-facing metrics must match the customer's portal
- Decisions stall because the numbers are arguable
- You need a trusted data layer other tools can share
- Your data already lives in one trustworthy system
- A standard Power BI connector genuinely suffices
- Your metrics aren't scored by external customers
- You only need basic charts, not reconciled truth
The capability list that earns its budget
Business Intelligence Dashboards services we deliver in Coventry
The engagements Coventry teams bring us most often: data visualization, Tableau alternative, Power BI, Looker and real-time analytics.
How long it takes, phase by phase
Exactly what you get
BI built from the data up: a layer that reconciles your ERP, quality, and despatch sources into one trusted set of figures, then dashboards for delivery performance, PPM, OEE, and margin that agree with what your OEM customers see. Every KPI drills down to the underlying transactions for audit, and scheduled reports feed management and customer reviews. It draws from your ERP, your inventory management system, and your accounting software, becoming the single trusted source those systems and your team all read.
How to choose a developer in Coventry
Ask candidates how they'd make your delivery number match the OEM's portal, and watch whether they talk about data reconciliation or about chart types, because the value is entirely in the former. A developer who knows Coventry's automotive supply base will understand that your delivery and PPM metrics are scored by JLR and the Tier-1s, and will build the reconciled data layer first so the dashboard protects your credibility instead of undermining it.
- KPIs built on one reconciled data layer, not three disagreeing systems
- OEM-facing metrics that match the customer's portal, protecting credibility
- Operations actually trusting the numbers, so dashboards drive decisions
- Delivery, PPM, OEE, and margin from a single source for audit
- A foundation other systems and reports can draw the same truth from
- The real work is in data reconciliation, which is unglamorous and takes time
- Garbage-in still applies; source-data discipline is required
- More than a Power BI licence and a quick dashboard
- Overkill if your data already lives in one trustworthy system
- !They sell the visuals; ask how they reconcile data before charting it
- !No data-layer plan; ask how they make three sources agree
- !No OEM-metric alignment; ask how the dashboard matches the customer portal
- !No drill-down; ask how a KPI traces back to transactions for audit
- !They ignore source-data quality; ask how they handle garbage-in
If business intelligence dashboards is on the roadmap, helpdesk & ticketing, erp, custom software usually follow within the year. Budget them as one conversation.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't Power BI enough for dashboards?
Power BI is a fine visualisation tool, but it renders whatever data you point it at, including three systems that disagree about your delivery number. The value isn't the chart, it's the reconciled data layer underneath, which is exactly what a custom build provides and a quick Power BI dashboard doesn't.
Why do our KPIs disagree?
Because your ERP, quality spreadsheet, and despatch log each hold their own version of delivery and PPM, so the number depends on which export was used. A reconciled data layer resolves them into one figure, which is what lets operations and the board actually trust the dashboard.
Why does matching the OEM portal matter?
Because your delivery performance and PPM are scored by your customers, and if your dashboard disagrees with their portal, the conversation becomes about your credibility rather than the data. Aligning your metrics to the OEM's view protects the relationship.
What does custom BI cost?
A reconciled data layer with core KPI dashboards runs £30,000 to £50,000. Adding OEM metrics and shop-floor OEE takes it to £70,000, and a full BI platform with drill-down and alerts reaches £90,000, over 2 to 5 months.