SAP Datasphere as a central cloud DWH: GEBHARDT Group provides a clear view of current KPIs for incoming orders and orders booked
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: GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group
In SAP Datasphere as a central cloud data warehouse, the GEBHARDT Group automatically compiles daily key figures for incoming orders and orders booked from all companies in a standardized and high-quality manner. The data is available in fine granularity and can be evaluated easily and conveniently by drilling down to the desired level of detail. This transparency enables well-founded decisions to be made in order to manage the company in an even more targeted manner. During implementation, ORBIS' expertise in BI projects in the SAP environment was in demand.
Sector: Intralogistics
Production sites: Sinsheim
Products: Products for conveyor and storage technology as well as integrated concepts for warehouse automation and software solutions
Employees: More than 1,000 employees worldwide
Website: www.gebhardt-group.com
Smart and robust intralogistics that efficiently manage internal material and goods flows from goods received to production and dispatch and make the best possible use of storage space is a business-critical factor in many industries.
Specialist for intralogistics optimization
When it comes to digitalizing and sustainably optimizing intralogistics, leading companies such as STIHL, Miele, BMW, MERCK, Ravensburger Spieleverlag and the online retailer Flaconi rely on the facilities, systems and digital Industry 4.0 and IoT services of the GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group. The family-run company from Sinsheim offers innovative solutions for in-house logistics. It has over 1,000 employees at ten locations worldwide and generated a turnover of around 200 million euros in 2023.
Tailor-made services from planning to production, which takes place exclusively in its own factories, through to implementation come from a single source - this is the cornerstone for commercial success. GEBHARDT also supports its customers in the digitalization and networking of intralogistics as part of Industry 4.0 with the Galileo cloud IoT platform developed in-house and in the linking of intralogistics systems and the direct coupling of their controls with SAP software.
Incoming orders and orders booked as key performance indicators
In order to continue to operate successfully on the market in the future, GEBHARDT primarily needs efficient and transparent business processes in all areas and forward-looking corporate management based on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as incoming orders and orders booked.
„Like many other companies, we use these KPIs to forecast how our business will develop so that we can adjust sales and production at an early stage.“
Kevin Stadler, CFO of the GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group
For some time now, the KPIs have been evaluated using the self-service concept in the SAP Analytics Cloud. However, even though the end users appreciate the easy-to-use BI front end, the KPI analyses were only possible at a highly aggregated level and were thus impaired in their informative value. This was due to the fact that the extraction, consolidation and harmonization of the relevant data from the SAP ERP system, which is used in the production plants, and from the SAP Sales Cloud solution, which is used at the sales locations, was previously carried out manually. This was not only time-consuming, but also prone to errors.
© GEBHARDT-Gruppe
Evaluate daily KPIs in great detail
There was therefore no way around the use of a modern, centralized data warehousing solution (DWH), especially as the economic growth of the GEBHARDT Group means that the amount and complexity of the data required for reporting is constantly increasing. Recently, the cloud solution SAP Datasphere (formerly SAP Data Warehouse Cloud) has been consolidating daily figures on incoming orders and orders booked from the entire group of companies in a single environment and providing them at a detailed level and in high quality for KPI reporting in SAP Analytics Cloud.
Management and authorized end users in controlling and sales can call up the key figures at any time with just a few mouse clicks. They are displayed graphically on a dashboard in a clear and easy-to-understand manner and can be refined and further evaluated by drilling down to the desired level of detail, if necessary down to the level of individual customer order items.
Managing the business even more proactively
„This provides the transparency needed to recognize at an early stage how incoming orders and orders booked are developing and to react quickly to changes with well-founded decisions. This allows us to manage our business activities even more targetedly and with greater foresight – a clear added value.“
Hugo Ferreira da Silva, Project Manager
As SAP Datasphere automatically extracts and harmonizes the data from the source systems, there is no need to prepare and provide it manually, leaving more time for analysis and interpretation of the figures. And because the data is enriched with additional information such as geolocalization, its quality and informative value – and therefore also that of the KPI reports – have noticeably improved.
Knowledge transfer for more independence
The decision to use SAP Datasphere was only logical, as the GEBHARDT Group also relies on SAP software for its ERP, CRM and analytics processes. As both the Cloud DWH and SAP Analytics Cloud are based on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), the solutions work together seamlessly and complement each other perfectly.
© GEBHARDT-Gruppe
For the introduction, ORBIS SE was brought on board as a consulting and implementation partner with business analytics expertise in the SAP environment, although the internal IT department was able to independently implement reports in SAP Analytics Cloud and Cloud DWH, as well as some transformations. Together with the internal project team, ORBIS first created a proof of concept (PoC) for testing purposes, after which it set up and implemented a customized KPI reporting system for incoming orders and orders booked.
ORBIS also supported the internal team with the technical design of the solution and the connection of the source systems – SAP ERP, SAP Sales Cloud – as well as with the extraction, import and transformation of the data. An important aspect was the transfer of knowledge from ORBIS to GEBHARDT. As SAP Datasphere is a low-code solution, the development of many work areas can be carried out by specialist users, while internal IT focuses on the technical operation of the cloud DWH and the connection of other source systems.
Introduction „in time and budget“
Thanks to the trusting cooperation between the internal project team and the consultants from ORBIS, the implementation was completed on time and within budget.
Hugo Ferreira da Silva draws a positive conclusion: „With SAP Datasphere as the central cloud DWH and SAP Analytics Cloud for self-service queries, we are establishing a modern, future-proof and almost infinitely scalable platform for reporting, detailed analysis and visualization of KPIs for incoming orders and orders booked.“
Hugo Ferreira da Silva, Controller, GEBHARDT Fördertechnik GmbH
KPI reporting based on the cloud DWH is now gradually being extended to other user groups and specialist departments. In the near future, cost center managers and project managers will also receive corresponding dashboards. And in finance, a universal journal for financial and controlling data is currently being set up as part of a follow-up project with the support of ORBIS.
