Vor­w­erk (CH)
Stories from synvert customers

Data evaluation processes at Vorwerk Switzerland were insufficient, inflexible and unable to support data-driven business management or provide insights. To address this issue, the Vorwerk Switzerland PowerBI project aimed to create a new platform that can easily and flexibly link and analyse both internal and external data from various sources, such as ERP, HR, and accounting; the new platform significantly reduces manual efforts and costs through automation and self-service, eliminating the need for time-consuming data preparation in Microsoft Excel. By creating a data truth for various analyses, specialists can focus more on analysis rather than preparation, leading to more efficient and effective business management; the project also took into account the limited IT skills and resources available and aimed to provide a pragmatic overall solution.

• Integration and linking of internal data, especially from SELECTLINE ERP, as well as external data.
• Mapping of historicised storage of variable master data, especially for mapping the sales structure.
• Creation of a uniform database for all analyses (single source of truth).
• Full automation of processing and analysis in hourly cycles.
• Guarantee outstanding analysis performance and at the same time minimise the strain on the ERP system.
• Possibility of analysis creation by specialist users, as well as a data catalogue that describes the available information technically and professionally.
• Operable without IT specialists.

Vorwerk Switzerland employed Microsoft BI products to build its BI solution due to its use of Microsoft Office 365 and the company’s technical orientation. Data from the SELECTLINE ERP system and external sources is extracted and loaded into an on-premise SQL Server database using Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services. The database serves as the single source of truth and is used to build topic-oriented data sets in the Microsoft PowerBI Services, which are optimised for evaluation and serve as data marts for visualisations such as analyses and standard reports. The PowerBI portal provides users with access to workspaces and apps, enabling smooth collaboration and the sharing of insights, making it easier to make informed decisions and facilitating the efficient management of Vorwerk Switzerland's BI solution.

• Data from internal and external data sources is automatically available for analysis and reporting on an hourly basis.
• The historicised storage of master data enables analyses from "as posted" and "as today" perspectives, thus expanding the perspective of the ERP system massively.
• All analyses are based on uniform data truth and transparent data definitions thanks to the data catalogue.
• Analysts can quickly and independently gain new insights from the data using self-service, and the time required for manual data preparation has been reduced significantly.
• Cloud-based information is available to analysts and management via browser, tablet or mobile at any time and from any location.
• The solution was simple to set up from a technical point of view, facilitated by using the cloud infrastructure,  and now the controlling team is primarily responsible for ensuring the smooth and successful operation of the solution on a daily basis.
• A data-driven management culture and analytical principles were implanted across the company.

• Carrying out the requirements analysis and architecture definition.
• Professional and technical conception, as well as data modelling.
• Support in source system analysis.
• Implementing ETL processes with Microsoft SSIS.
• Building the data sets and performing key figure calculations using DAX in Microsoft PowerBI.
• Support and training in setting up PowerBI visualisations.
• Support in the operation and further development of the solution.

The company’s adoption of cloud-based self-service BI has facilitated an easier and more flexible analysis of data from the ERP system. By historicising the data and linking internal and external data sources, valuable new insights have been made possible. Additionally, the cloud-based infrastructure allows analysts and management to access information from any location, at any time, and through any medium. Furthermore, the solution's pragmatic architecture and technical implementation ensure simple and secure operation. Overall, the implementation of the Vorwerk Switzerland PowerBI project marks an important first step towards data-driven corporate management and affirms the role of data as a valuable company resource.