The analytics group, which functions as an internal consultancy and is paid by retainers from different business units, is insulated from any budget or head count cuts that may affect other divisions, he said. "We're not a fixed overhead tax to the business unit," Wegryn said. "In a large company, you vacillate between head-count reduction and cost reduction. I don't expect my staff to go down ... due to a corporate edict to reduce our staffing level, because we are paid by different business units."

Moving analytics to an enterprise level can give those doing the analysis a deeper knowledge of business operations and instill confidence in their work, according to the panelists. At transportation logistics firm Schneider National Inc., the analytics group was able to dissuade company officials from changing the rules associated with scheduling drivers, said Ted Gifford, vice president of engineering and research at the Green Bay, Wis.-based company. While an initial pilot indicated that the change would be good, the analytics group built a simulation model that showed it would be a mistake.

"We were able to go back and challenge some of the structure and assumptions of the pilot," Gifford said. "By learning from our 'black box' and going back to the business and helping them redesign the pilot, we potentially avoided a $20 million mistake."