The collaboration with the consultants was excellent. Because we got along so well, we were always able to make wonderful progress. The team was incredibly productive. That's a big win if the chemistry is right. – Ute Neuenschwander | Planning and Reporting Manager

BASF's Mobile Emissions Catalysts business unit is a leading global provider of catalysts and filter solutions. It provides outstanding expertise in the development of cutting-edge, patented technologies to protect the air and develops unique catalysts that help customers be even more successful.

Ute Neuenschwander

Planning and Reporting Manager

Industry

Chemistry

Employees

1,350 (Europe-wide)

head Quarters

Hanover, Germany

The initial situation

With a volume forecast from the supply chain, actual data in SAP and a cumbersome Excel contribution margin calculation, we were less than optimally positioned in the fast-moving catalyst market. We wanted a flexible planning tool that can compare large amounts of data and that is able to store certain calculations such as the determination of precious metal revenue. Projections from the past are unsuitable for us.

The highlights

The most important thing for me was a clear concept and excellent collaboration with the consultants. And of course, that the software made exactly what we wanted possible. The master tree concept is convincing, forecast and actual data are brought together via the key fields and the data import runs via an Access database with a number of advance plausibility checks. QlikView enables us to carry out quick and easy ad-hoc analyses.

The lessons learned

A good concept is essential when digitizing processes. However, you should also make sure to actively involve employees in the digitalization process and the associated changes. No matter how smart digital processes may be, expertise and know-how, reliability and care are still necessary to ensure data quality and thus the meaningfulness of the data in controlling.