The Challenge
Vitropor relied heavily on Microsoft Excel for financial analysis and reporting. Sensitive financial data was not adequately protected, and manual tracking created risks of errors and data loss.
The Solution
Avantit built a Power BI report to enhance data security and provide deep insights. Features include Brand Insights, Salesperson Analytics, Client Segmentation, and Sector Analysis.
📋 Overview
Vitropor, a benchmark in flat glass processing, needed to speed up its financial and commercial reporting. Moving from multiple manual spreadsheets to an automated Power BI system let management make decisions on reliable, immediate data.
🎯 The Challenge
Business context The finance department spent the first week of every month consolidating data from different sources — ERP, production files, budgets — into complex spreadsheets to close the management reports. The manual process was error-prone, consumed valuable senior analyst time and delivered insight weeks late.
Technical requirements
- Automation: a direct connection to the ERP’s SQL database.
- Consolidation: cross-referencing invoicing data with production cost centres.
- Security: row-level security so salespeople see only their own numbers.
- Interactivity: the ability to drill down from the annual total to an individual invoice.
💡 The Solution
Strategic approach Implement a modern business intelligence architecture, with an intermediate data mart for cleaning and star schema models in Power BI for maximum performance.
Technical implementation
- ETL: data pipelines extracting financial and operational information daily.
- Data modelling: a robust Power BI model with DAX measures for complex calculations such as EBITDA, gross margin and year-over-year variation.
- Visualisation: executive dashboards built for clarity and actionable insight — top clients at risk, products with negative margin.
Timeline
- Phase 1 (data mapping): 2 weeks
- Phase 2 (ETL and model development): 3 weeks
- Phase 3 (visualisation and validation): 3 weeks
- Phase 4 (training and handover): 1 week
📈 The Results
Success metrics
- ⏱️ Reporting: the monthly close went from 5 days of work to an automatic 15-minute refresh.
- 💰 Cash flow: better control of collections and average payment terms.
- 🎯 Strategy: management can now simulate pricing scenarios and see the effect on margin in real time.
Business impact The finance team stopped producing spreadsheets and started analysing the business. Democratised access to the data let commercial managers adjust strategy mid-month rather than only after the close.
🛠️ Technology Stack
- Power BI Pro: visualisation and report distribution.
- SQL Server: the database engine for centralisation.
- DAX: the formula language for advanced financial KPI modelling.
💬 Client Testimonial
“For the first time we have complete confidence in the numbers we present to the board. Power BI did not just give us attractive charts, it gave us the truth about the business one click away.”
Chief Financial Officer Vitropor
🎓 Lessons Learned
- Data quality: most of the effort in BI goes into cleaning data at source. We found and corrected years of inconsistency in the ERP.
- Simplicity: the most useful dashboards are not the ones with the most charts, but the ones that answer clear business questions.
Ready to achieve similar results?
Contact us to learn how we can help your business turn challenges into opportunities.
