For more than 120 years, customer proximity and high product quality have been the key to success for MALZERS Backstube. Today, the family-owned company from Gelsenkirchen offers freshly baked goods in nearly 150 branches. Customers can choose from a wide range of high-quality breads, rolls, cakes, pastries, and other products from morning until evening.

A key part of this exemplary service lies in the targeted use of data: “For several years, we have been managing our branch operations based on detailed receipt data analyses,” explains Marc Sinner. “Our forecasts for the following day have become increasingly accurate. We can also detect unexpected shortages or surpluses in real time and redistribute or replenish goods accordingly.”

Growing Data Volumes and New Challenges

The volume of data to be processed is steadily increasing, putting the existing server infrastructure under pressure. In addition, the company faces new challenges, including data-driven optimizations in response to rising energy and raw material costs, as well as expanding reporting from sales to include production.
A rethink of the data strategy was required, with the core question initially being: should we invest in new servers or take the step into the cloud?

Own Servers vs. Migration to the Cloud

“We debated long and hard whether to invest in our own data center or move to the cloud,” says Marc Sinner. “Our business runs over the counter and is fairly predictable, so the benefits of cloud scalability are not as immediate as they would be for a pure online shop.” In fact, a cloud platform alone would not have added real value for existing reporting. On the contrary, tried-and-tested KPIs and reports from the past seven years would first need to be rebuilt in the cloud.
The decision to move to the cloud was also influenced by personnel changes: “Our production manager retired after 30 years with the company, taking with him a wealth of process know-how. We decided to distribute responsibilities across different shoulders. A new reporting system providing department heads with the necessary transparency for production management and personnel oversight became the basis, making the move to the cloud worthwhile.”

New Solution with a Trusted Partner

For planning and implementation, MALZERS brought in trusted experts. The data specialists from ORAYLIS had already built the existing BI system based on Microsoft SQL Server and continuously developed it with the bakery. They were therefore familiar with the starting point and could provide targeted advice. “We began with a strategy workshop to design the technological framework for a centralized cloud platform tailored to our needs,” says Raphael Bruns, Project Manager at ORAYLIS. “We defined which KPIs, reports, and data sources would be consolidated and developed a roadmap to gradually migrate the existing system to the cloud.”

Raphael Bruns, Senior Project Manager at ORAYLIS

The new data solution was consequently implemented in the Azure Cloud. “Remaining fully within the Microsoft ecosystem made things much easier. Combined with the ORAYLIS Automation Framework, we ensured efficient, cost-effective development and flawless results.” Agile methods supported the process, allowing for quick adjustments when needed.
One example is the mid-project switch from Azure Synapse Analytics as the core processing component: “We found that Synapse costs were getting out of hand. Databricks provided an immediate alternative that met MALZERS’ requirements within budget.” Otherwise, the solution follows Microsoft platform best practices, with an Azure Data Lake storing mass data and Power BI providing company-wide access to familiar data analysis interfaces.

Reporting Compensates for Knowledge Loss

The centralized cloud platform also enabled production controlling, developed in cooperation with ORAYLIS, covering all four production areas. “All department heads now automatically receive the relevant KPIs based on the previous day’s data,” explains Marc Sinner. “These include fulfillment rates, quality and breakage rates, remaining dough, and personnel KPIs—data we used to painstakingly gather from multiple systems.”

Department heads can quickly and comprehensively assess their areas, empowering them to act independently and efficiently manage both production and staff. Detailed data allows for deeper analyses and actionable insights.
For example, the fulfillment rate compares the demand from sales with the produced quantity. This KPI can be broken down to individual items, pinpointing causes for underperformance, such as excessive waste, which can then be addressed with targeted measures.
Not only department heads benefit: management also uses the KPIs for fact-based decisions previously in the domain of the former plant manager. Marc Sinner explains: “Production figures are now part of our daily quality meetings, guiding next steps. Every day, we can eliminate previous errors and continuously improve.”

Entering the Digital Future with the Cloud

Further optimizations are achieved through reporting for support departments, including logistics, fleet management, cleaning, and the company workshop. Product availability has also improved: “Especially before holidays, this is critical,” says Marc Sinner. “District managers can now quickly access additional cloud resources via a ‘Fast Lane’ to check stock availability across their stores instantly—a huge time saver compared to calling each store individually.”
The new platform also opens up numerous future possibilities. “Next, we will focus on sustainability, bringing transparency to raw material usage. Until now, we only had total figures. In the future, we want to assign them to individual departments to identify optimization potential. Reporting will also be expanded to include procurement this year.”
Marc Sinner is clear that MALZERS will continue its digital journey with ORAYLIS: “We have been working successfully together for many years. I am fully satisfied with this project as well. Our requirements were fully implemented, which is not easy in the complex bakery business. Whenever something didn’t go smoothly, we discussed it constructively and always found a good solution. We look forward to continuing our digital future together with ORAYLIS.”

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