All Source Data at a Glance

FIEGE is considered a pioneer in contract logistics and has developed from a transport company into a globally operating provider of full-blown logistics services. FIEGE considers its renowned customers as partners and hence involves them closely in the information processes. For this purpose, the logistics expert provides a separate customer portal for reporting.

FIEGE’s customers and own branch offices around the globe access QlikView Reports via the FBIP (Fiege Business Intelligence Portal) and call up their respective reports and KPIs. Henceforth, the users will also be able to create their own dashboards by means of the Microsoft Power BI frontend. The basis for this is a classical BI architecture with a central database (data lake) that is capable of dynamic reporting. The central IT department at FIEGE uses InfoZoom for the basic data exploration, data profiling, data quality checks and permanent data monitoring for the BI platform. They benefit from the unlimited flexibility and enormous speed of the analysis software when viewing whole data volumes.

Within seconds, InfoZoom imports millions of records from operative data sources like the transport management system or the data warehouse into its main storage and displays them in a clear and compressed view with all attributes on a single screen. The project leaders can immediately identify errors, gaps, correlations, or potentials of the data. The IT experts at FIEGE can freely navigate through the aggregated values and trace records back to the individual attribute.

The IT team considers the visualization of entire data sources a unique benefit of InfoZoom. It allows for analyzing the data structure by means of the graphical user interface without the need to create pivot tables or SQL queries. The data are then visible at a glance and available for free analyses regardless of the live system.

Dashboard Prototyping

The IT team uses InfoZoom BEFORE mapping KPI computations in the data warehouse and BEFORE designing reports and dashboards in the
BI portal to variably act out analyses and test them with the available data. Hence, aspired dashboards can be mapped as a prototype live during the project meeting. In record time, InfoZoom answers questions like:

• Which data do I need for the desired analyses and which ones are irrelevant?
• Are successful analyses possible?
• What about the data quality? What DQM measures might be necessary?
• What should the dashboard look like? What kind of information and filters should it include?

Upon inquiry by the head of IT at FIEGE, Microsoft analysts have stated that Power BI does not allow for such a quick overview of the data since it only displays individual filtered data levels in contrast to InfoZoom.

»The compressed view of all data values and the graphic detailed analysis make InfoZoom a unique tool.«

Ready to Use

At this point, 15 employees of the internal IT department use InfoZoom on a project basis for preparing the reporting process and for ad hoc analyses. This accelerates the BI development and guarantees valid results. Spontaneous questions in customer projects, e.g. regarding the optimization of the stock turnover rate of individual products, can also be answered quickly. The IT experts had no trouble getting familiar with the quickly installed tool.

On the evening of the first seminar day, the participants already exported transport data from the legacy system and created first analyses. The head of IT puts a special emphasis on the high quality of the video tutorials on the use of InfoZoom, which are available online.

Live Data Analysis

InfoZoom is also used for the monthly IT cost controlling. Any deviations can be immediately identified in monthly and annual graphic comparisons of the report. In team meetings, the participants can immediately click their way from aggregated numbers of the business unit through to granular details to analyze outliers, cost drivers, or saving potentials.

»InfoZoom enables us to flexibly analyze entire data volumes without occupying the live system with SQL queries.«

Thanks to the flexible analysis of raw data, InfoZoom keeps on identifying parameters that allow for the optimization of logistics processes and controlling. Thanks to the quick and transparent analyses, all stakeholders can easily see how KPIs are derived from the underlying data. This creates trust and a clear basis for discussion. Customers, managing directors, departments, or branch managers – everyone talks about the same data and makes decisions on the basis of facts instead of assumptions. For the development of BI applications, the project teams can also evaluate the data situation together and guarantee reliable project successes.

About Fiege

The FIEGE Group, headquartered in Greven/Westphalia, is a leading European logistics company. With approximately
19,000 employees at more than 150 sites in 14 countries, FIEGE operates on an international scale, from the established markets in Europe to India and China. Since its foundation by Joan Joseph Fiege in 1873, FIEGE has been a family-run business which is currently being led by the fifth generation, the cousins Jens and Felix Fiege.