Download PDF
Apollo Vredestein Applies BI From the Executive Office to the Factory Floor
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries
- Automotive
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Manufacturing System Automation
- Predictive Quality Analytics
Services
- Data Science Services
The Challenge
Apollo Vredestein, a Dutch tire producer, was facing the challenge of producing a consolidated reporting system that could convey data from a multitude of sources in a consistent way. This was to simplify reporting, analytics, and information delivery throughout the enterprise. The company had a best-of-breed IT strategy, using a combination of packaged and homegrown systems to meet its business needs. However, this made it difficult to achieve a single, consolidated view of critical information for decision-making purposes. The company needed a solution that could address this challenge and provide a comprehensive business intelligence platform for reporting, analyzing, and presenting business information.
About The Customer
Apollo Vredestein B.V., a division of Apollo Tires Ltd, is a multinational company with offices and production locations in India, South Africa, and the Netherlands. Headquartered in Enschede, the Netherlands, the company designs, produces, and sells high-value tires under the Apollo and Vredestein brand names via an extensive international network throughout Europe and North America. The Vredestein brand is more than 100 years old and has achieved premium status in the automotive, agricultural, and industrial sectors, as well as for its popular bicycle tires. Its main factory in Enschede produces almost six million tires per year. To maximize operational agility in a competitive and dynamic market, the company takes a best-of-breed approach to IT, using a combination of packaged and homegrown systems to meet its business needs.
The Solution
To address this challenge, Apollo Vredestein acquired Information Builders WebFOCUS, a comprehensive business intelligence (BI) platform for reporting, analyzing, and presenting business information. The ease of use and inherent scalability of WebFOCUS made everyone in the organization an informed decision-maker. The company created the Vredestein Information Portal (VIP), a centralized system where authorized users could access reports and analyze information. The robust WebFOCUS security architecture ensured that each user could only view information relevant to his or her department, role, and level within the organization. The implementation of WebFOCUS went very smoothly and its performance exceeded expectations. Now, employees throughout the enterprise access VIP to obtain rich, interactive information. WebFOCUS provides one enterprise BI platform for all data-access and delivery needs.
Operational Impact
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Integral Plant Maintenance
Mercedes-Benz and his partner GAZ chose Siemens to be its maintenance partner at a new engine plant in Yaroslavl, Russia. The new plant offers a capacity to manufacture diesel engines for the Russian market, for locally produced Sprinter Classic. In addition to engines for the local market, the Yaroslavl plant will also produce spare parts. Mercedes-Benz Russia and his partner needed a service partner in order to ensure the operation of these lines in a maintenance partnership arrangement. The challenges included coordinating the entire maintenance management operation, in particular inspections, corrective and predictive maintenance activities, and the optimizing spare parts management. Siemens developed a customized maintenance solution that includes all electronic and mechanical maintenance activities (Integral Plant Maintenance).
Case Study
Monitoring of Pressure Pumps in Automotive Industry
A large German/American producer of auto parts uses high-pressure pumps to deburr machined parts as a part of its production and quality check process. They decided to monitor these pumps to make sure they work properly and that they can see any indications leading to a potential failure before it affects their process.