Everyone is currently talking about the seemingly endless possibilities that data and artificial intelligence offer companies. Meanwhile, most managers are still preoccupied with fundamental issues. This is because the necessary datasets are usually scattered across different silos. There are hardly any ways to systematically link the data. Nor are there any structured processes in place to ensure the required data quality.

Under these circumstances, even conventional standard reporting becomes challenging, as Tobias Cremer confirms. He works as a BI project manager in the controlling department of Procar, a leading BMW dealer. He can report on a wide range of problems caused by outdated tools and a dated data landscape.

Procar aims to consolidate all relevant company data on a central platform. The aim is to make data usage easier and more efficient for all employees. (Procar)

A disparate system landscape poses many obstacles

‘Our employees worked in various programmes,’ says Tobias Cremer. ‘If we wanted to view an invoice for a booking, for example, we first had to switch to a different system. This was not only very time-consuming, but there was also no company-wide truth. Each department had its own databases and reports. Ultimately, management had to decide which figure was correct for operational control.’

The stakeholders were already aware that this approach was outdated. After all, maintaining the existing BI solution was becoming increasingly labour-intensive. Extensions were hardly conceivable. ‘Our backlog of requests and ideas from the specialist departments was bursting at the seams. We were so busy troubleshooting the existing reports that we couldn’t find the time for any further developments.’

Consequently, the controlling department advocated a comprehensive digitalisation initiative involving the centralisation of all systems on a modern analysis platform with a uniform user interface.

Do as many things as possible yourself

The central data and AI platform had to meet one requirement above all else: ‘We wanted to be able to do as much as possible ourselves. With our old solution, we worked with an external service provider, which meant that even the smallest changes sometimes took several weeks. At the same time, our goal was to be as independent as possible from our internal IT department, whose focus is more on traditional infrastructure issues. We envisaged a small, flexible data engineering unit within the controlling department that could quickly and easily address data-related issues for each specialist department.

In future, Procar locations will automatically receive detailed figures on sales of new and used cars, workshop services, parts management and bonus programmes for employees, for example. (Procar)

The project team led by Tobias Cremer had already decided that the new solution should be cloud-based. ‘It took some persuasion, as there were certain security concerns within the company.’ However, we also want to work with AI-supported models in future. A physical data centre quickly reaches its limits in this regard. In addition, established cloud offerings provide better protection than we could offer with local company infrastructure.

Last but not least, saving on licensing costs was important. Power BI had long been the most important tool for business data analysis at Procar, and this was set to continue. However, the old solution only permitted the use of Pro licences for each individual user. Consequently, monthly costs increased disproportionately as the number of users grew – a trend that had to be stopped at all costs.

All-in-one with Microsoft Fabric

Armed with a wide range of specifications, the project team set out to find the right technology and a suitable partner for the planning and implementation stages. “We invited several providers, who presented us with a variety of approaches, including one based on a local data centre,” explains Tobias Cremer. ‘After all the presentations, our decision was unanimous: ORAYLIS impressed us with its high level of consulting expertise and a technical solution that matched our goals perfectly.’

The proposed technology is Microsoft Fabric, a new, easy-to-use, all-in-one data platform. “In principle, all that is required are a few basic settings, after which a fully functional platform can be set up in a short amount of time, covering everything from data integration and consolidation to data analysis,” explains Martin van Husen, technical project manager at ORAYLIS. “Further handling is also very simple. Typical tasks, such as connecting new data sources, can be carried out via a graphical user interface with drag-and-drop functions. This enabled us to empower the Procar team to take action very quickly, even during the platform development phase.”

Martin van Husen is a Principal Consultant at ORAYLIS and led the project on their behalf. (ORAYLIS).

Another advantage of Fabric: Power BI is an integral part of the overall package and serves as the standard analysis tool. The Procar project is based on F64 capacity, meaning that any number of employees can work with Power BI reports.

Based on the Fabric platform, the Procar team is now largely consolidating the old data world independently. Financial reporting is at the top of the list and includes cost and performance accounting, balance sheet figures, sales statistics and sales planning for all 24 Procar locations. ‘This is the heart of our reporting system,’ says Tobias Cremer. ‘The entire company works with it, from management and controlling to all sales and service managers.’

With the old accounting system, it was impossible to monitor business figures in one place. Nor could in-depth analyses be performed. We always had to transfer the figures to an external application first. This process was not only time-consuming, but also prone to errors and lacked transparency. Our central platform has brought about comprehensive improvements in this respect. We can now provide every user with reliable, up-to-date figures quickly and efficiently. At the same time, we gain completely new insights for managing the company and individual locations.”

In future, locations will automatically receive detailed figures on sales of new and used cars, workshop services, parts management and bonus programmes for employees, for example. ‘Previously, in order to provide our sales and after-sales colleagues with the relevant reports, we had to manually import the necessary data from various tools and merge it in Excel. In our administration department, two people are essentially occupied solely with these evaluations. We expect this to result in significant time savings. After all, these are highly competent employees who can use their skills much more effectively for the company.’

Added value for employees and end customers

In future, a company-wide information system will make the complete customer history accessible to every employee at every location. (Procar)

Tobias Cremer is happy with the results so far. He has never regretted his decision to use fabric technology. ‘Without the Microsoft fabric approach, we would not be where we are today. We were able to establish a stable, future-proof foundation for our technology in a very short time. This gives us full access to our platform and complete transparency over our data. We can implement all our data topics quickly and efficiently on our own initiative. Fabric is a great tool and I enjoy working with it.”

Meanwhile, the BI project manager is looking to the future with anticipation. As well as adding value for every employee, the Procar platform will benefit the end customer in future. The team envisages a company-wide information system that details the complete customer history and is accessible to every employee, in every location, immediately. “At the moment, this information still has to be laboriously gathered together. The aim is for customers to be recognised immediately in each of our branches and to receive expert advice on all aspects of their vehicle, including leasing contracts, insurance, maintenance services, claims and expert reports. This will really bring Procar to the forefront once again.”

Turn your data into value.