How Business Intelligence keeps a global manufacturer to stay ahead of their competition

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1-on-1 interview with Marc Flanderijn

STAPHORST, March 25, 2019. Big Data is more widespread than ever. The controversial data giant Palantir, is considering an IPO in the second half of this year, whereby the company is valued at $41 billion. But what impact does data have for companies for whom the data evolution towards Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is still a bridge too far? How do you start creating a data-driven organisation at all? What do you get out of it? And how do you secure a data mindset in your organisation? I will discuss this with Marc Flanderijn, Manager Business Control at Brink Group, where he is also responsible for Business Intelligence (BI).

Today I am at Brink Group in the industrial heart of Staphorst, a Dutch company with a rich history of more than 115 years. The entrepreneurial spirit of the Brink family is noticeable because of several sister companies under the Brink name in the area. Brink is operating globally and market leader in the production and sales of towbars. The company has locations in England, France, Denmark, Poland, Italy, South Africa and Thailand. Brink produces annually 1 million towbars. They stay ahead of their competition by offering a solution for almost every car. Brink also maintains its strong position through direct contracts with car manufacturers for the supply of OE-products (Original Equipment).

 Why is BI a top priority at Brink?

“It started about six years ago because we were working with multiple consecutive Microsoft Dynamics AX-systems and reporting across multiple sources was difficult. We operate in different countries at multiple locations and have next to AX multiple source systems, which makes it very challenging to bring data together. BI needs to act as one layer over the different systems. This was, therefore, our starting point: building a single shell for accessing data. Then we started to use it more and more. Our world is becoming increasingly complex, we are growing fast in terms of turnover, car manufacturers are becoming more demanding, and aftermarket customers are demanding more from us. It is imperative keeping pace and managing accordingly. The automotive sector is very competitive; we feel the pressure from the market and are forced to work efficiently. The need to have great systems that provide fast and accurate insight is crucial."

An interchange of complex factors. Can you tell something more about the complexity and challenges during your BI journey?

“Our management is very data-driven. We produce a diverse product mix and need to be in control of details, which makes you highly dependent on useful data. The more insights you get from data, the more agile you are in the production process. We know that we need data to get ahead. Besides, you are also somewhat forced. Because we mainly produce in Western Europe where the wages are higher, we must ensure that production is as efficient as possible to compete in our market. Having insight into our processes with the right data helps tremendously.

We started with the data set from our ERP-system, and we came across some significant challenges, such as the enormous amount of data, the translation to the users and the separation of the wheat from the chaff. The pitfall is that you want to keep everything, even what you don't need. In our journey to work with BI, we learned how important it is to have clear and coherent data sets and to have distinct definitions. When it comes to revenue, for example, multiple definitions are possible. This may cause discord, unnecessary confusion and incorrect insights. You need to understand what colleagues in the various departments exactly need and especially let them think about specific definitions themselves. It is crucial that both they and you know what the definitions are and not to make assumptions. What we also found to be a challenge is to ensure that people had to make time for us besides their daily core tasks. You must get them on board to think about BI. People sometimes find that difficult and they quickly look at which information is available now, instead of what they really want and need.”

You indicated that it was difficult to get users along initially. What have you done to get better user engagement?

“We believe in empowerment and that every department and every discipline have insight into what they are doing. We do not impose figures one-sided on a department, and BI supports immensely in a way that people can make their analyses and see for themselves what is going on: what goes wrong and what goes well? Consequently, we are leaning a lot on the insights that BI offers us. I also want to make it as easy as possible for our users to have access to the right information. We want to ensure that as many colleagues as possible have access to the data. We also have designated a core user for each department. Core users are people who have an affinity or interest in IT and who can also act as a conduit within their department. This user is the interface between BI, IT and their own department. This is also the person who translates what people want into what is actually needed in terms of data access and promotes working within the department with data in a standardised way.”

What is BI's business value for you and how do you measure this?

“It is always difficult to identify what the returns are on BI. However, we firmly believe that it not only leads to new insights but also provides faster clarification. So, if for example, something goes wrong somewhere in a process, you want to know that as soon as possible and not in a monthly report three weeks later. It is then often too late to adjust accordingly. So that's how I think it helps us save time and money. What we can measure, are the number of users. Subsequently, we see that the number of users increases when we create new well-defined reports and implement for example Microsoft Power BI. The ultimate goal is for everyone within the organisation to make use of data and to facilitate self-service BI. That is for us value. Data also provides support in making better decisions. For example, in our production, sales or logistics process, where more insight - helps in making the right decision. Think of housing the right stocks, analysing margins of the customer portfolio or deployment of production capacity.”

Can you tell something more about the successes that you have achieved? The lessons learned and things you might do differently?

“Successes are that we have much more insight into certain things, we are now producing analyses that we were previously unable to do, or did not even think about creating. Moreover, we can go into depth on data instead of just the outlines. Those are the steps forward now. Self-service is very important to me. That is why we can now do more ourselves. I see that engineers in the factory are now working on reports themselves. By making good reports available, we see that more and more users are joining. When I look back at how we went through our initial journey, we have done things ad-hoc. If we did it again, we would approach it in a more structured way, make better preparations and make it more transparent what we want to achieve. Although that is difficult and you gradually discover new things along the way; thinking carefully about sources, what is relevant and what is not. Defining definitions of your data also plays an important role and that you understand how data is created. Unlocking KPI’s is essential, and if you have not recorded this correctly, you will lose the overview. The designation of core users who make the transition between business, IT and internal support from our management have contributed tremendously to our success. We have also learned that it is critical to select a good IT-partner. A partner who understands your business, fits well with the company and is also flexible.”

What priorities do you have on the agenda for the next three years?

“Well, we are on the eve of the global rollout of Power BI. A priority is that the rollout is successful and that everyone uses Power BI. We also want to measure more in our production data. Who makes what in the factory, and where does it go well and where does it go wrong? We want to make more of that type of data analysis, and for example, we want to make more use of predictions in our logistics process. What should you order, when should you order, and which inventory should you keep? We also want to migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 soon, and it will be an extensive job to get all existing systems onto one platform.”

Which book is on your bedside table?

“Sapiens. A small history of humanity, a book by Yuval Noah Harari. An interesting book about where we come from and how we got here. That things used to be not as obvious as we think now. It is funny to see that we are concerned about data now, while you used to think no further than what you were going to eat tomorrow. I think that if you look back in 200 years, we are still in the early stages of technology.”