Success Story

Dashboard based on the SAP Analytics Cloud: BOMAG optimizes and simplifies KPI reporting

Products SAP: SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Business Analytics
Sectors: Non sector-specific, Manufacturing industry, Construction supplier industry, Steel / Steel Service Center / Metal industry, Electro and electronic industry, Machinery and plant manufacturing, Consumer goods / retail, Automotive supplier industry
Processes: Finance & Controlling, Analytics
References: BOMAG

With a dashboard based on SAP Analytics Cloud, BOMAG GmbH sets the foundation for: Flexible and efficient key figure reporting. When implementing and introducing the dashboard, the company confided in ORBIS’ know-how with analytics projects in an SAP environment.

BOMAG – headquartered in Boppard – is a global manufacturer of construction machinery and a technological partner for road and earthworks. Apart from their specialization of earth and asphalt rollers, road pavers and milling machines as well as hand-operated compaction technology, the company offers a complete portfolio of stabilizers and recyclers and machines for trash compaction. It furthermore delivers innovative digital services for the connected construction site.

BOMAG GmbH

Head office: Boppard (Rheinland-Pfalz)
Products: Machines for ground, asphalt and trash compaction, milling, soil stabilizers and recyclers, technologies for measuring, documenting, and monitoring compaction work
Sites: 4 manufacturing sites in Germany, Italy, China and the U.S., over 500 dealers and distribution networks in roughly 120 countries
Employees: over 2,500 (2021)
Website: www.bomag.com

 

Founded in 1957 as “Bopparder MaschinenbauGesellschaft mbH”, nowadays the company has six subsidiaries in Germany and operates at a global level with twelve standalone subsidiaries. The machines are built in production facilities in Europe, China, and the U.S. With 2,500 employees worldwide and a sales and service network consisting of over 500 dealers in 120 countries, BOMAG – part of the French Fayat Group – ensures expert and responsive, on-site service at the customer’s premises.

Need for action with KPI reporting

Developing and optimizing existing business processes has always been paramount for BOMAG. As part of a future-oriented IT strategy, the company has used SAP’s integrated ERP software for years when executing core business processes and regularly updates it. ERP software is complemented by SAP’s cloud solutions wherever it makes sense to do so.

There was a need for action when it came to viewing the company’s key figures and their effect on today’s common mobile devices, including the associated selection and function options. BOMAG previously used the SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) business intelligence (BI) application together with a web-based front-end solution based on SAP BusinessObjects. However, this tool is no longer supported by SAP. The look-and-feel came with somewhat rigid, inflexible interfaces, and it lacked update options.

Source Photo: © BOMAG GmbH

Construction machinery BOMAG GmbH
BOMAG GmbH Construction machine

Modern dashboard for flexible KPI reporting

As such, the previous BI front end is intended to be recreated during the migration from SAP BW to the SAP BW/4HANA solution. After an in-depth evaluation, the SAP Analytics Cloud solution was chosen, based on which a modern and flexible KPI dashboard was created.

Users notice the convenient usability benefits of this dashboard right after they begin to use it. Thanks to comprehensive filter options, you can refine key figures and relevant KPIs in order to give the user a fast and clear knowledge and insights into important company parameters.

Since KPI inquiries in the dashboard are now independently performed in the dashboard according to the pull principle, acceptance among users is even higher. The dashboards are very actively used to retrieve and discuss key figures”, explains Michael Kiefer. At the same time, the dashboard delivers greater efficiency in KPI reporting since comparison figures can be visually identified far more easily at first glance, making it possible to immediately carry out the corresponding analyses and measures.

Source Photo: © BOMAG GmbH

Agile introduction with IT partner ORBIS

ORBIS SE was commissioned with creating and introducing the dashboard. The Saarbrücken-based IT service provider has comprehensive know-how related to SAP analytics solutions and has already supervised several related projects at BOMAG as a strategic IT partner. By using agile methods, the project was executed smoothly.

In close cooperation with in-house IT and the group’s Controlling department, the ORBIS experts created a mock-up and afterwards a prototype of the subsequent dashboard as part of a proof-of-concept (PoC) based on the SAP Analytics Cloud. Afterwards, using only SAP standard tools, this prototype was successively tailored to BOMAG’s individual requirements in terms of functions, the characteristics, and the layout.

Source Photo: © BOMAG GmbH

BOMAG GmbH  Construction site with vehicles BOMAG GmbH
Machine for asphalt work BOMAG GmbH

One challenge – which was solved by using special programming – was illustrating the fiscal year, which differs from the calendar year at BOMAG. Furthermore, ORBIS supported the development of data models in SAP BW and the queries for inquiries, creating models in SAP Analytics Cloud, and selecting and using diagram and graphic types.

Source Photo: © BOMAG GmbH

Future queries via Self-Services BI as well

Michael Kiefer sums up a positive experience:

Michael Kiefer, BOMAG GmbH

By giving users the ability to act with far greater autonomy, the SAP Analytics Cloud-based dashboard has significantly increased the efficiency and flexibility of our KPI reporting.

But this is just the beginning: After the migration to SAP BW/4HANA is complete, there are plans to explore SAP Analytics Cloud’s capabilities for ad-hoc queries in terms of Self-Services BI. The dashboard, which is currently optimized for displaying KPIs on the desktop PC, will undergo tests for use on mobile devices.

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