Huppenkothen GmbH

Industry

Trade

Departments

Purchasing, Customer Service, Sales, Accounting

Region

Austria, Schweiz, CEE and Iberische Halbinsel

The Customer

Investing in high-quality construction machinery is expensive—especially when the equipment is only needed for specific projects or limited periods. Renting such equipment offers an economically attractive alternative. This is precisely the focus of Huppenkothen GmbH, based in Lauterach, Vorarlberg (Austria): the company specializes in renting, selling, and servicing mini and compact excavators, as well as a wide range of construction machinery. As the general importer of mini and compact excavators from the Japanese manufacturer Takeuchi, Huppenkothen operates throughout Europe. Since its founding in 1956, the company has continuously expanded its market position. Today, more than 420 employees work at over 40 company-owned branches and rental stations in Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, Slovenia, and Croatia. This network is further complemented by numerous partners and dealers in many European countries.

A key factor in Huppenkothen GmbH’s success is its high level of flexibility in dealing with customers: anyone who visits a branch and needs a construction machine quickly can rely on Huppenkothen to deliver promptly. This customer-oriented and rapid fulfilment of requirements demands a high degree of efficiency and flexibility in internal processes. Transparency of company data forms the basis for this. Huppenkothen increasingly reached its limits with manual data analysis in Excel.durch zahlreiche Partner und Händler in vielen europäischen Ländern.

Objective: Modern, Data-Driven Business Management

The goal was to automate and professionalize data-driven business management using a data analytics solution—both in terms of data structures and the breadth and depth of analysis.
A key requirement was to find a solution that would allow seamless integration of both existing and new source systems, or to replace them if needed. “We use the ERP system Sage 100, which covers core processes such as spare parts management, purchasing, sales, inventory, and finance. In addition, we use a mobile service management solution. We also have a custom-developed equipment management system that organizes the entire lifecycle of all construction machines—from serial numbers and purchase/sales histories to rental periods, repairs, and warranty processing,” explains Andreas Hauser, CIO of Huppenkothen GmbH.

“Currently, the equipment management system is being transitioned to a modern successor system, also developed in-house. It was therefore important to us that the source systems could be changed without any problems.

That’s why it was especially important to us that source systems can be replaced without complications.”
The solution needed to access data sources directly to avoid intermediate data structures or processing steps, thereby ensuring data freshness.

Usability as aKey Focus:

Since many users are not IT professionals, the solution needed to be intuitive and easy to use. At the same time, Huppenkothen wanted to operate and further develop the solution independently to ensure maximum flexibility and autonomy.

Technology by Qlik, Implementation ppmc

Qlik Sense was a perfect fit for Huppenkothen requirements. “The flexibility in connecting various data sources, the user-friendliness, and the outstanding visualization capabilities immediately convinced us,” says Andreas Hauser.
Just as important as the tool itself was choosing the right implementation partner. “We wanted to work with an experienced expert from the region. Despite all the digitalization, we place great value on personal, eye-level communication.”
The decision was made in favour of Qlik Solution Provider PPMC AG. In addition to regional proximity, it was primarily their experience and strong references that tipped the scales.

“From the very first conversation, we felt that the consultants at PPMC truly understood us from a user’s perspective,” Andreas Hauser continues. “They know exactly what matters in practice—for example, when excavator, invoice, and workshop data need to be linked using the serial number as a common key. This practical approach was a clear advantage for me.”

A proof of concept (PoC) was implemented for customer service. Initially, there was some scepticism within the company about whether the investment would pay off. But after the first presentation of the customer service app, the unanimous opinion was: “This makes sense—we need to develop more of this.”

Practical knowledge building through joint development

To build the necessary know-how in working with Qlik, Huppenkothen began with a basic training session provided by PPMC. Afterwards, PPMC and Huppenkothen jointly developed applications in a “training on the job” style. This allowed Huppenkothen to build internal expertise and gradually take on tasks independently. Larger or more complex Qlik-related topics continue to be implemented in collaboration with PPMC.

Andreas Hauser emphasizes: “PPMC brings the necessary expertise, works efficiently, and—what’s especially important to us—critically questions our approaches. They contribute best practices and help us develop better solutions. This external, critical perspective is particularly valuable to us.”

Connected Insights: Qlik Applications for Customer Service, Sales, Purchasing & Accounting

Today, around 30 employees from customer service, sales, purchasing, and accounting use the Qlik applications.
Customer service, for example, can retrieve the total number of invoiced repair orders and gain targeted insights into their structure. At a glance, it’s clear how many orders per branch or period were billed as goodwill or warranty cases, and how costs are distributed between labour and materials. The share of internal vs. external services and their financial impact on the overall workshop business can also be analysed.

Huppenkothen’s purchasing dashboard displays key information such as forecasts and actual orders. It also includes foreign currency evaluations. Particular attention is given to the Japanese brand Takeuchi, the main product in purchasing. Procurement proves to be particularly challenging in this case, as it requires handling orders in foreign currencies while also accounting for extended delivery times resulting from lengthy maritime transport routes.

Especially in the spare parts segment, Huppenkothen places great importance on fast and flexible delivery from its central warehouse. Therefore, the dashboard also evaluates the throughput time of customer and branch orders. Using various filters—such as by period or so-called “long runners”—delays can be identified precisely. This allows Huppenkothen to quickly see where bottlenecks occurred and where processes can be further optimized.

The sales statistics show current and historical sales figures, which can be analysed using various filter criteria. Comparative figures from different time periods are also available to identify developments and trends in customer purchasing behaviour.

The accounting department uses a Qlik application to view commercial accounting or business processes, including their review status, and to check them for accuracy and completeness.

Transparency and Controllability

By implementing Qlik, Huppenkothen has especially benefited from significantly improved control in the service area. “Until now, it was difficult to gain a comprehensive overview of maintenance, repairs, and goodwill services,” says Andreas Hauser. “With Qlik, we can now track service activities in detail at all levels. This has given us an effective management tool that enables us to optimize customer service in a targeted way and gain real-time insight into current operations.”

The situation has also improved significantly in equipment management. Previously, evaluations were based on relatively simple, tabular sales figures. With Qlik, clear and visually appealing reports can be integrated, allowing sales figures to be broken down by criteria such as country, branch, or model type. This not only simplifies analysis but also supports data-driven decision-making and more efficient operational planning.

In additionally, the ability to review booking processes and complete and if necessary, complete them further improves data quality.

Future

The next step is to transfer all report-based evaluations from the old equipment management system into Qlik, using the new equipment management system as the data source.
Furthermore, the application landscape for sales will be expanded. There are also plans to integrate the rental business into Qlik—for example, through a rental fleet analysis that transparently shows where machines are available, where there are over- or undercapacities, and where demand forecasting can be optimized.
In addition, a management dashboard for the executive team is planned.

About PPMC

ppmc has been a recognized expert for customer-specific business intelligence solutions and digitalization consulting since 2007.

Customers from the Alpine Rhine Valley and the DACH region as well as international companies receive comprehensive support from ppmc, from consulting, licensing, installation, development and training to support in the areas of data integration and data analytics.

About QLIK

Qlik transforms complex data landscapes into actionable insights that contribute to business success. More than 40,000 customers worldwide use our portfolio, which stands for modern, business-ready AI/ML and consistently high data quality. Our strengths are data integration and data governance, and we offer comprehensive solutions that work with a wide variety of data sources. Qlik›s intuitive real- time analytics uncover hidden patterns and enable teams to overcome complex challenges and capitalize on new opportunities. Our practical and scalable AI/ML tools lead to better decisions faster. As a strategic partner, we improve our customers› competitiveness with our platform-independent technology and expertise.