EMG is a worldwide technology leader, focused on intelligent and complex automation solutions. They reached out to EVACO to implement a Data Warehouse as Single Point of Truth for BI with Qlik Sense®.
"TimeXtender has exceeded expectations in the area of creating load chains and generally providing data – it works exceptionally well and easy. It is the perfect complement for our BI solution. We can develop Qlik Sense faster and more sustainably."
Heiko Schmidt, Project Manager Qlik Sense/ Data Analytics/ BI
The Client
Intelligent and complex automation solutions are the specialty of the technology leader EMG Automation GmbH.
Central areas of application for series products, individual components and complex system solutions from EMG are continuous production processes in a wide range of industries. These include the metal industry, especially steel and aluminum, the automotive industry, industrial ports and raw material extraction, as well as heavy-duty logistics.
With subsidiaries worldwide, around 1,270 employees work for the tradition-conscious company on seven continents.
The Challenge
Significant increases in efficiency are not only central aspects for EMG with regards to the production steps on the customer side, but are also the focus for internal processes: in order to evaluate data as the basis for business decisions and prepare it for reports, EMG has been using the active intelligence solution Qlik Sense® since 2017.
Over the years, the amount of data and data sources, as well as the Qlik® applications has increased. Approximately 70 BI applications are in use by around 200 users in almost all areas of the company.
As a result, data transformation has become more complex, Qlik Sense® alone could no longer be adapted to new requirements and applications developed as quickly.
"Our goal was to increase the scalability of our BI system and optimize administration and transparency with the upstream implementation of an automated data warehouse as a single point of truth"
Heiko Schmidt, Project Manager Qlik Sense/ Data Analytics/ BI
The Solution
To increase performance, data warehousing should be simplified and accelerated, and conceptually transformed into a lifecycle management that includes clearly defined and automated steps for maintaining information quality and for further development of the data warehouse.
Various automation solutions were evaluated for this purpose. EMG chose the automated low-code data integration platform, TimeXtender. The main reason was TimeXtender's modeling approach, the "Modern Data Warehouse": Development is based on metadata. This allows essential process steps of data warehousing to be automated and standards to be easily introduced and enforced. Another important aspect was the extreme cost efficiency of the solution: "We can assemble the data warehouse ourselves according to our wishes using a drag and drop tool, so the external consulting effort is low," says Heiko Schmidt. "At the same time, the usability is much better and more intuitive than with classic SQL data warehouses."
EMG partnered up with EVACO for project implementation. The expert for user-driven business analytics solutions was already successful with the introduction of Qlik Sense®, and has technology know-how, as well as best-practice approaches to TimeXtender.
After a two-day workshop and the installation of the data integration platform by EVACO, EMG was able to work with the solution. "In case of queries, EVACO supported us in the initial phase, but for now, we are self-sufficient," Heiko Schmidt added.
Within two weeks, the first sales data was already available in Qlik Sense® via the TimeXtender loading path. By now, analysis-relevant data from seven IT systems are provided via TimeXtender.
These include the ERP solution INFOR LN as the main system, a personnel management system, a CRM system, a warehouse management software, as well as a quality management tool and the internal IT ticketing system. Active Directory data is also imported.
EMG benefits from the increased quality of data delivery and use as well as from the reduced effort, as Heiko Schmidt explains: "We can manage and adapt data centrally. For example, if the definition of a metric changes, the metric is adjusted once centrally and is then automatically available in all Qlik® applications. This also saves time." Another advantage is better traceability: it is clearly visible how the key figures are calculated centrally and where the data comes from.
"Data integration is essential for the success of BI projects. The uncomplicated, central transformation and provision of data via TimeXtender has significantly increased the efficiency and quality of our BI initiative," concludes Heiko Schmidt.
Expansion in planning
EMG is planning to expand the Qlik® landscape, and thus, also make additional data and systems available via TimeXtender. There are also plans to use TimeXtender to provide data for another BI tool that is used for external reporting requirements.
Overview
Company name: EMG Automation GmbH
Industry: Mechanical Engineering (Automation Solutions)
Challenges: Implementation of a Data Warehouse as Single Point of Truth for BI with Qlik Sense®
Solution & benefits: