Malzers Backstube is a true institution in and around the Ruhr area. For 120 years, the Gelsenkirchen-based bakery chain has been serving its customers with fresh baked goods, from rolls to cakes. Today, the company offers its products at over 150 locations, generating massive amounts of data daily. Malzers’ retail business is “high-frequency,” meaning many transactions are completed in a short period with relatively small amounts. Consequently, the volume of receipts and resulting transaction data is extensive.
However, for a long time, the company was unable to fully leverage this treasure trove of data. “All our data resided in different systems,” explains Klaus-Jürgen Mader, CFO at Malzers. “It required an enormous amount of manual effort to prepare the data. As a result, our managers could access reports only with significant delays. Detailed ad-hoc analyses were out of the question. And because of the missing data foundation, there were no uniform KPIs. In many areas, store management was based on gut feeling, where data could have enabled informed decisions.”

Starting with a “Seemingly Impossible” Task

Everyone at Malzers was aware of the massive business and growth potential in the unused data. Yet starting a new data solution initially seemed daunting: “It felt like an impossible task,” says Klaus-Jürgen Mader. “We had no idea how to reconcile the different expectations and goals of the various people and departments.”
This led to a collaboration with ORAYLIS. “With the support of the ORAYLIS experts, we were able to build the necessary know-how about the technical components and the right project approach.” During the development phase, the Malzers team also learned to appreciate the advantages of agile methods. “This meant we didn’t have to write endless requirements documents, which are often only partially completed and consume a lot of capital. At the same time, we could quickly respond to developments and continuously adjust.”

New Data Platform Improves Internal Processes

The result of the collaboration is a business intelligence platform based on Microsoft technologies that consolidates the various data silos. The central data platform automatically provides standardized reports for different business areas such as store management, controlling, production, and executive management. Manual efforts for data collection and preparation are reduced to a minimum. What used to take days or weeks is now available at the push of a button as a clearly structured decision support tool. Data is updated almost in real-time, allowing day-to-day operations to be managed without significant delays.
Additionally, all departments now have access to the data. For individual analyses, different user groups have the appropriate tools, such as Power BI or Excel. This allows all employees to perform ad-hoc analyses at any time, answering complex questions and generating new insights.

Multiple Benefits for Business and Customers

The extensive improvements in data analysis also have direct business impacts. “Ultimately, we decide each day, based on current events, what quantities to produce for the next day,” explains Klaus-Jürgen Mader. “Thanks to our new solution, these forecasts are much more reliable—because they are data- and fact-based. We can also detect unexpected shortages or surpluses during the day and respond quickly, for example by reallocating or restocking goods.” This ensures that sales potential is fully exploited and revenue is increased. At the same time, return rates were reduced and the product range optimized.
But that’s not all: “Naturally, our customers are also more satisfied and remain loyal longer, as they can choose from the full range of fresh goods at any time of the day.” Additionally, an automated fraud detection system reliably identifies irregularities by combining transaction data with scheduling plans. “All of these results are thanks to the close and trusted collaboration with ORAYLIS. This is why we are now taking the next step into the cloud together with our partner.”

turn your data into value.