Fagron chose a future-ready business intelligence solution
With the need for a new BI solution for daily management information and the ambition to increasingly work in a cloud-based and data-driven manner.
It makes sense: with the implementation of a new ERP system, there needs to be consideration for a good BI tool that aligns with it. Fagron, an international player in innovation and product development in pharmaceutical care, switched from NAV to AX2012. Gertjan Knoester, Global IT Manager at Fagron, explains how HSO's DNA Framework, combined with Power BI, proved to be a good choice and was up and running quickly.
Fagron is a global company operating in the field of pharmaceutical compounding and personalized pharmaceutical care, serving hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and patients in 35 countries worldwide. The headquarters of Fagron BV is located in Rotterdam.
Crucial daily management information
Gertjan: "Originally, we worked with NAV. We have always experienced strong growth, including through acquisitions and entering new markets. Initially, we worked with NAV and rolled it out in all business units. But at some point, we became so large that we wanted more standardization, and because a large part of the focus shifted to personal health care, our needs actually exceeded what NAV could offer. That's why we made the switch to AX2012 in 2015. We had our own extensive reporting environment for NAV at the time, but for AX, we needed a new BI environment. Daily management information is essential for us to make decisions."
"We were looking for a BI solution that aligns with our ambitions in cloud-based and data-driven work."
"Our analyses are getting better and faster, and this information helps us solve daily issues systematically. It's a great achievement for our IT department to inspire colleagues worldwide to work with data and analytics."
- Gertjan Knoester, Global IT Manager at Fagron
In search of an ambitious BI solution
"We had been working with another BI tool for a while, but it turned out to be an unhappy choice. Among other things, this tool did not align well with our cloud ambitions and objectives to work more data-driven. That's when HSO introduced the DNA (Data aNd Analytics) Framework, built on an Azure SQL environment. This meant another transition, but because it would significantly improve data quality and the solution was fully cloud-based, we decided to go for it. With the DNA Framework, we could quickly set up a data warehouse and then use Power BI to access the necessary information and reports. The computing power and logic in the framework, combined with Power BI, offer us a wealth of possibilities."
Power BI enables collaboration and knowledge sharing in BI
"Business analytics, or gaining insights from our data, tremendously helps us get a better understanding of certain issues, such as backorders. The analyses are getting better and faster, allowing us to use them to solve daily operational problems. Another major advantage of Power BI is that our employees can do much more themselves and collaborate more on analytics. We see employees from different business units sharing knowledge, exchanging questions, and giving each other tips. Colleagues worldwide inspire each other to work with our data. I find that fantastic to see."
The analyses of Business Analytics are getting better and faster, allowing us to use them to solve daily operational problems.
A glimpse into the future...
"For us, it was very reassuring that the HSO team worked so quickly and, above all, in a very solution-oriented manner. Within two months, the foundation was in place, and we are currently working on rolling out the system to multiple countries. It is also relevant for us that we can use this framework for Dynamics 365, which we will eventually transition to. For the future, we want to work even more data-driven. As Fagron, we are just at the beginning of what we can do with analytics. I'm thinking of applications like machine learning and artificial intelligence. To be continued!"