How Ammann Components uses a central reporting tool to support strategic decisions
- Success Stories
- Analytics, Google Cloud Platform
- 3 min reading time
Christiane Grimm
About Ammann Components
Ammann AG, known on the market as Ammann Components, is an established Swiss system supplier in the metalworking industry based in Switzerland. With just under 70 employees, the company generates annual sales of around 20 million Swiss francs. For decades, Ammann Components has specialized in processing forged and cast blanks into ready-to-install precision components.
The company supplies a wide range of demanding industries, including the construction machinery and hydraulics industry, large engine manufacturing, rail vehicle manufacturing, and the automotive and defense industries. As a manufacturing and development partner for safety-related components, which are often supplied as single-source parts, the highest quality and delivery reliability are crucial to the success of the company and its renowned customers.
The Challenge
The IT infrastructure at Ammann Components has grown over time and consisted of several isolated systems:
This technological fragmentation led to significant organizational challenges:
Lack of transparency
During the current fiscal year, there was only a very vague picture of the operating result.
Time-delayed data
It took weeks to prepare the revised annual financial statements. Generating up-to-date information on liquidity and profitability was extremely time-consuming.
Manual sources of error
To compensate, various Excel lists with manual corrections were maintained, which further compromised data quality and increased uncertainty.
Lack of foresight
With a lack of foresight, management navigated through a volatile market environment without having an early warning system in place to respond proactively to changes.
The solution
Together, we implemented a modern and cost-effective business intelligence solution based on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in just three weeks.
Organizational implementation
Conclusion
By implementing the new reporting solution, Ammann Components has realized significant economic added value. The company is now able to act quickly and decisively based on daily updated data, instead of relying on reports that are weeks old.
The main advantages
Management always has a clear view of the financial situation and can make strategic decisions based on solid data.
Daily updated KPIs allow deviations to be identified immediately and countermeasures to be initiated, which is essential in a volatile market.
Detailed insights into contribution margins and cost structures per profit center enable targeted control and optimization of operational business.
The running costs for the Google Cloud infrastructure amount to just 5-10 Swiss francs per month, while the reporting tool (Looker Studio) is free of charge.
The project has laid the foundation for a data-driven corporate culture and can be flexibly expanded to connect additional systems (e.g., time tracking, PPS, ERP) in the future and leverage potential in the areas of AI and forecasting.
Read the Ammann Components success story now
