Small to medium manufacturers and distributors can enhance their operations through a business intelligence (BI) solution on AWS. This three-week proof of concept, estimated to cost $25,000 to $50,000 annually, starts with building a secure data foundation in week one. This involves setting up a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for resource isolation and configuring security groups for traffic control. Data ingestion and storage are facilitated by Amazon S3 and Kinesis, optionally complemented by a data lake on S3 or a Redshift data warehouse.

Week two focuses on unlocking operational insights through interactive dashboards in Amazon QuickSight. These dashboards visualize key metrics like production output, inventory levels, and sales performance, as well as enable supply chain analytics and quality control monitoring.

In the final week, the focus shifts to advanced analytics and optimization. Amazon SageMaker explores machine learning models for predictive maintenance and demand forecasting, while QuickSight aids in cost analysis and process optimization. AWS Business Support offers round-the-clock expert assistance, and Trusted Advisor provides proactive recommendations. The comprehensive engagement includes discovery, architecture design, implementation, data analysis, testing, deployment, and thorough training, ensuring a seamless transition to a data-driven operation.