How do you automate as much of the data consolidation and reporting process as possible?

Maybe this is too simplistic of an answer, but the more you can standardize the output and keep it consistent from week to week or month to month, the easier it is to automate. My team works on a number of recurring reporting activities and we (and our partners on other teams) have really pushed to produce the same content as much as possible. That has allowed us to build dashboards, reports, scripts, and slide templates that we can quickly populate. Then, we invest our time in the insights (i.e., the "so what") of the material or doing a deep-dive in a few interesting places. That creates a lot more value for the business than everyone working really hard to produce the basic facts each cycle.