Challenge

Move Intermodal needed to eliminate complex manual reporting from its existing Transport Management System and replace it with a robust reporting solution to provide real-time data insights. 

Solution

Working with Matillion consultancy partner BDO Digital, Move Intermodal implemented Matillion alongside Snowflake, and within just six months the company created automated dashboards providing real-time data access to teams across the business.

Result

With automated data management and unified reporting, Move Intermodal has saved nearly 200 hours per year on reporting. Having live data also enables the management team to make better business decisions in the fast-paced logistics industry.

Challenge - a rapidly growing data estate with limited insight

For over 30 years, Move Intermodal has been a leading provider of logistics solutions. With a team of 300 employees in 9 countries, 2,800 load units, 170 trucks, 60 company trains and priority access to the European rail network, it organizes over 1,000 movements across Europe daily. As a growing logistics provider, managing large sets of data is essential, but the ability to use that data to inform business strategy was not where they needed it to be. 

For its Transport Management System (TMS), Move Intermodal had large databases with multiple data sources related to production models, trains, and shipments. The teams would have to generate manual reports in Excel and it was a time-consuming process. “It used to take at least two days every month to update all the dashboards and verify the content,” says Sven Iliaens, Business Engineer at Move Intermodal. 

With the company also expanding through multiple acquisitions, Move Intermodal aimed to unify the reporting systems of newly acquired companies to achieve better scalability in the future. ‘It’s much easier to enable people to work with the tools they’re used to and integrate the sources into our reporting mechanism behind the scenes, ” explains Tomas Tempelaars, Chief eXcellence Officer at Move Intermodal.

The Solution - a simplified reporting structure, and automated insights 

Working with Matillion consultancy partner, BDO Digital, Move Intermodal initiated a six month pilot project with the Matillion and Snowflake platforms. The project implemented 8 dashboards to manage all reporting capabilities, and data is gathered directly from the TMS and further enriched with Excel sheet sources. After which they are loaded and sampled together in business-logical datasets through Matillion, stored on the Snowflake cloud, and visualized on the dashboards, which are updated automatically. The low-code/code friendly Matillion interface has enabled all members of the team to build reports without a lot of prior IT or coding knowledge allowing deeper business insights to surface across the business. 

Benefits - real-time data for all business users

Automating reports and dashboards provided real-time data to the business, eliminating the need for manual updates, and reducing waiting periods. "Previously, data would be provided each week or month depending on the kind of reporting that was needed. Now, we have the indispensable live data available to make better business decisions in the fast-paced logistics industry,” says Sven. 

The company is set up for future acquisitions, enabling new sources to be seamlessly integrated into the data structure, with minimal adjustments, allowing teams to continue working without disruptions or system changes. “Becoming part of another organization is already a major change for people.” reflects Tomas. “If, all of a sudden, we ask people to start using new systems and reporting tools as well, it would add to the stress. Having Matillion manage the data transformation behind the scenes lets us improve the employee experience and enable everyone to deliver their best work.”

“Simplifying our data structure through Matillion substantially sped up and streamlined our reporting,” adds Tomas. We even connected our bookkeeping and are planning to add more links to enrich information which we can analyze and visualize.”

What’s next

Move Intermodal aims to further future-proof its reporting system by improving the data flow from its production database into the data warehouse. The company will push for more efficient real-time reporting for its operations team. “For our future acquisitions, we’re looking at a flexible data model that can map and combine various data sources, allowing for seamless integration and reporting across different business environments,” concludes Tempelaars.

About Move Intermodal

Move Intermodal is a European company that has provided sustainable and efficient intermodal transport solutions for over 30 years, for both bulk and packed transport. It specializes in container transport through road, rail, and waterways, aiming to reduce carbon emissions and increase cost-effectiveness. 

About BDO

BDO Advisory (Digital) is part of the Belgian branch of the global BDO network providing insightful advice and effective implementations at the crossroads of business and ICT.