DLF simplifies the access to data

Case: DLF

By moving data to tabular cubes in the cloud, DLF achieves fewer bottlenecks, greater stability, and improved governance

Challenge:

Complex, unstable, and difficult-to-access cubes built in-house. Inconsistent reporting structure across countries affects data quality.

Solution:

Tabular cubes built in Microsoft Azure solve issues with stability, speed, security, governance, and eliminate bottlenecks in the business.

Seed producer explores new data pastures

DLF is a global seed company that develops, produces, and markets seeds. With over 125 years of experience and expertise in seed production, DLF has established itself as a global leader in its field.

Part of DLF's market position has been achieved through acquisitions, and today, DLF has branches all over the world. The numerous acquisitions of companies have resulted in a reporting structure that was not consistent across countries, according to Tina Mathiasen, Head of BI & Data at DLF.

"Our data is consolidated in cubes that have grown in complexity over the years and are difficult for most people to access. Therefore, we needed to simplify our data access while addressing challenges we had with stability, bottlenecks, and governance."

Success criteria for the new solution

DLF chose to migrate their existing OLAP cubes to tabular cubes in Microsoft Azure. Tina, along with her team, established a set of success criteria for the new solution:

Consistent, automated, and reliable reporting across the company at various levels.

Easier access to relevant reports for end users.

Flexibility - ability to adapt to local requirements.

Accessible support independent of internal resources.

Security - access levels can be restricted.

Governance in Power BI in place

Automated reporting provides new insights

On top of the new and more easily accessible data cubes, Power BI reports will be built, making it significantly easier for corporate leadership, the BI team, and end users in various countries and departments to gain new insights from data.

Previously, Tina and her team spent a considerable amount of time creating manual reports in Excel.

With automated reports in Microsoft Power BI, they expect to save time that can be redirected towards analyzing the reports and generating greater insights and value for the business - all while eliminating the burden of a tedious manual task.

Super users are the key to success

An essential part of the project has been to identify super users in the individual departments and countries who have a deep understanding of their part of the business and can continuously test and validate the model, as well as provide input for improvements.

"The super users we have designated play a significant role in shaping the development of the tabular models. They contribute to determining what and how we develop, as well as setting the priority. They are the ones closest to the business and therefore know what matters most," Tina Mathiasen says.

A successful project with valuable learnings along the way.

DLF has just gone live with their first cube.

Now, a larger task awaits Tina and her team as they continue to transform their existing cubes. Along the course of the process, DLF has shifted their strategy, now breaking the project into smaller, more manageable portions than before, when they attempted to build numerous cubes at once.

Regarding other insights Tina has gained during the project, she mentions the following:

"What I would say is most crucial for companies facing a similar transition is to spend a significant amount of time clarifying what your end product should be and how to get there. If we had invested more time in answering that question from the outset, we would have made the project easier for ourselves," she says.

About DLF

DLF is one of the world's leading companies in the development and production of seeds. They have a special emphasis on sustainability and environmental responsibility, and they invest significantly in research and development to ensure that their seeds are suited to various climate and growth conditions.

Headquartered in Roskilde, DLF currently employs around 2,200 people spread across the majority of the world.

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Søren Toft Joensen

Partner & CCO
stj@kapacity.dk
26 30 90 01