
LISA: LEMKEN Information, Statistics & Analysis
Client
LEMKEN
Category
Private sector
Date
Since 2012
Technical solution overview
-
ReportingBoard
-
Warehouse/ETL ToolMS SQL (Data Vault 2.0), linkFISH Accelerator
-
Operative pre-systemsOxaion, MS Access, GAPTEQ, SAP, DMS (Document management system), MS Excel
A company-wide standardised and high-performance reporting system? It's possible! Here you can read how the global agricultural machinery manufacturer LEMKEN has created a “single point of truth” for its data with its LISA reporting system.
Reporting | Production industry | Purchasing | Assembling | Sales | Finance | Marketing
Impressions
Company profile
Founded in 1780 as a blacksmith’s shop by Wilhelmus Lemken, the company based in the Alps in the Lower Rhine region is now in the hands of the 7th generation of the Lemken family. The company produces agricultural equipment for soil cultivation, sowing and crop protection and employs more than 1,630 people worldwide. The LEMKEN Group’s turnover in 2020 totalled around EUR 365 million. LEMKEN is one of the leading suppliers of agricultural equipment in Europe and is the market leader in Germany with a market share of over 40% for reversible ploughs.
Starting position
LEMKEN produces agricultural equipment which must fulfil the highest quality requirements to ensure that it works precisely and can withstand the intensive conditions in agriculture for a long time. This understanding of quality is also reflected in LEMKEN’s controlling department, especially when it comes to the fast and consistent provision of data and information within the department and for other areas of the company.
However, increasing employee numbers and continuous sales growth have resulted in ever larger volumes of data in the operational IT systems over time. Continuing to manage and utilise this data in the best possible way became one of the biggest challenges in controlling and the entire company.
Before introducing a company-wide business intelligence application, LEMKEN first loaded the data for daily and monthly reporting from the ERP software Oxaion and other MS Access files into a central MS Access file. These were then imported into MS Excel and prepared for reporting. Certain reports were also sent daily as PDF files to the report recipients. However, this method of processing the increased volume of data meant a mass of manual work steps and checking routines, which above all cost a lot of time and nerves.
Objective
During workshops on the precise specification of the new data warehouse and business intelligence solution, the functional and technical requirements of each individual department were recorded and verified.
The objectives defined by LEMKEN in this context can be summarised as follows:
-
Daily updated and automated reporting
-
Reporting portal with analyses and reports for various functional areas (including management, sales, HR, purchasing, quality, finance)
-
Implementation of a centralised company data pool (data warehouse)
-
Ensuring fast processing despite increased data volume
-
Integration of operational documents into the reporting system (drill-down functionality)
-
Connection of foreign subsidiaries to the data warehouse
-
Connection of the consolidated group reporting system from LucaNet
Client solution
The project, called LISA (LEMKEN Information, Statistics & Analysis), was implemented in several expansion stages and sub-projects. Overall, this resulted in reporting along the entire value chain, starting with purchasing and sales, through analyses of productivity (real-time) and supply chain evaluation, to after sales and quality management. Analyses are also available for the cross-sectional functions of controlling, finance, investment controlling and human resources.
The reporting solution introduced with Board is characterised in particular by the following points:
-
Intuitive reporting portal with extensive analyses and quick analysis options
-
Authorisation-specific access to the various evaluations, especially for the HR area
-
Customised reports in the sales area, from order backlog to various analysis options, including by product (groups), regions, customers and sales staff
All modules have been continuously developed and adapted to new framework conditions since the project was completed. Following the introduction of a new ERP system, the DWH was modernised according to the latest knowledge of DWH development in order to ensure a seamless time series from different ERP systems.
Customer benefits
The introduction of a standardised business intelligence system has given LEMKEN employees access to a wide range of easy-to-use analysis options. This means that the controlling department can now react flexibly to new requirements from the specialist departments with minimal personnel costs. Corresponding analyses with current figures are quickly made available, and it is even possible to drill down to item level (including historical data back to 2008). Even intercompany comparisons can be easily carried out. This high level of data transparency and uncomplicated access to the data ensures a significantly better and more valid basis for decision-making, based on which the company can be successfully managed in a targeted manner.
Thanks to LISA, all users can now analyse their individually relevant data on a daily, up-to-date and uncomplicated basis and thus control the corresponding interface in a targeted manner.