DORNER ELECTRONIC GMBH

Industry

Software, Electronics

Department

Purchasing, finance and controlling, logistics, human resources, planning, project management, sales, service

Region

Egg, Austria

The customer

Dorner Electronic develops innovative, reliable and user-friendly software solutions for the building materials industry. The company, based in Egg in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of industrial process controls for ready-mix concrete and precast plants, ready-mix plaster and dry mortar plants. In addition, networked modules such as scheduling, laboratory and invoicing programs are part of the product portfolio. Today, Dorner with its 90 employees is the market leader in Europe and has already supplied prominent construction sites all over the world - examples are the Gotthard Tunnel, the Panama Canal or the Millennium Dam in Ethiopia.

Initial situation

Innovative, reliable and user-friendly - these attributes should not only apply to the software solutions that Dorner offers its customers, but also to the applications used in the company.

Dorner was looking for a business intelligence solution that could be used to consolidate and evaluate data from various source systems. The goal was to find a platform to which systems for PDA time recording, project management, ERP, support and ticketing could be easily connected.

Solution

The data discovery solution QlikView won the race. Its memory-based basic technology makes it particularly easy to connect to third-party systems of almost any type. In addition, the solution is very flexible in terms of the design of the applications and can be used directly in the specialist departments thanks to its high level of user-friendliness.

When looking for the right implementation partner for the project, Dorner kept with the old adage "Why go far when the good things are so close?" - and commissioned ppmc AG, based in neighboring Liechtenstein. The Qlik solution provider specializes in customized business intelligence solutions for medium-sized companies in the Alpine Rhine Valley. Within a few weeks, the BI professional developed the data model, implemented QlikView and provided a first application that could be used productively.

Once they had a taste for it, the QlikView application landscape was steadily expanded - always supported by ppmc. "We meet about every four weeks to discuss ideas and requests with ppmc, which are then usually implemented in viable solutions within a very short time," says Dion Barelds, Head of Finance and Controlling, Dorner Electronic GmbH. "The cooperation really works out excellently, professionally and always at eye level."

Areas of application and benefits

In the meantime, QlikView applications are used by approx. 48 employees in almost all company divisions. Around 100 million data records from source systems such as proAlpha, Echolon, ClockWork, MS Excel and MS Access are analyzed according to a wide variety of questions.

In purchasing and shipping, for example, vehicle and telephone data are evaluated, as well as stock movements, inventory and location. In addition, a simple invoice control is mapped via QlikView.

In Finance and Controlling, the down payment business is evaluated. In addition, the unfinished projects are evaluated via the calculation of the degree of completion.

In addition, individual FiBu accounts can be viewed and evaluated. A search of the sales tax identification number (VAT registration number) can be used to check whether the VAT registration numbers of the customers are complete and correct. Open documents such as orders, invoices, deliveries, etc. can also be retrieved.

The HR department uses QlikView to summarize field service times and check the data for any plant data collection (PDC) errors. An employee evaluation can be used to retrieve information on absenteeism according to criteria such as vacation, sickness, time off in lieu or further training. A productivity application is also available, which contains information on productivity per product, product group or employee. Logistics uses the BI solution to check material movements, among other things.

The sales department evaluates master data and uses a comprehensive sales cockpit that maps the entire sales business. Among other things, comparisons of sales budgets and current orders, the sales pipeline, and the asset history of customers can be called up - each according to different criteria such as region, customer, and sales employee. There is also an open item evaluation.

In the service area, QlikView is used to evaluate support contracts as well as support itself per product, product group and customer as well as telephone support. Project management maps project costing in QlikView. For example, sales, material consumption and times are included at project level. Access by employees is regulated by an easily controllable rights concept. "I myself have access to all applications, as do other colleagues in managerial positions; otherwise, employees can use exactly the applications they need for their area of work," adds Barelds. QlikView is fully integrated at Dorner and an integral part of daily work. New employees are usually trained on QlikView immediately.

Future

The QlikView applications are continuously adapted and expanded with the support of ppmc AG. Extensions in the FIBU area are planned.

In addition, the mapping of services abroad as well as foreign deliveries to Dorner for statistical purposes, such as submission to STATISTIK AUSTRIA, is being planned.