Thomas Concrete Group – Data Culture in Practice

Thomas-Concrete-Group-i-USACustomer Case from Random Forest Data Day, September 2022.

Thomas Concrete Group produces and distributes high quality ready-mixed concrete to commercial and private customers. The company also provides prefabricated concrete for housing projects and runs its own research and development facilities. Thomas Concrete Group operates nearly 160 plants in USA, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and Poland.

”Having reliable and easy-accessible data is key in our ambition to serve our customers in the best possible way. By creating a single source of truth (SSOT) we will be able to provide information and new insights to both clients and employees. This new digital platform enables us to develop innovative services that will help digitalize the industry.”

– Lennart Björnström, CIO, Thomas Concrete Group

“Thomas Concrete Group approached us because of our unique experience in building cloud-based data platforms in Microsoft Azure. The needed a scalable and reliable data platform capable of providing user access in near real-time, and that is what we delivered.”

– Simon Simonsson, konsult, Random Forest

Challenges

Thomas Concrete Group’s previous operating model made them heavily dependent on consultants to maintain and create new reports. The data was there all along but wasn’t accessible for ad hoc needs or when they wanted to create something on their own. Development of reports and analyses also took a long time, and KPI’s showed various results in different reports.

The company had established an IT strategy to become more cloud-enabled with both operational- and decision support systems. This would accelerate digitalization and increase availability of valuable information both internally and externally. The aim was to become more data driven to make more informed decisions on a day-to-day basis.

Solution

After having examined the company’s current mode of operations, Random Forest developed a BI roadmap for the future. A modern data- and visualization platform was then created based on Microsoft Azure technology. Through a data warehouse, Thomas Concrete Group was now able to allow broad access to users throughout the organization without compromising data integrity.

By gathering all business data in the same location (single source of truth / SSOT), it became possible for employees to make their own business decisions based on information available to everyone. Thomas Concrete Group could now measure and gain quick access to vital data within production, logistics and economy in a completely new way.

Unlike before, the company was now also in full control of their own system, which meant that they could reduce their dependency on consultants. Should a problem arise, they can now solve it internally and test ideas by themselves.

Benefits

  • With the new data platform in place, Thomas Concrete Group has gained access to a single source of truth (SSOT) that is both reliable, secure, and readily available.
  • End users can access data in near real-time and create reports through Power Bi. This makes the organization more data driven and flexible enough to make precise decisions on a day-to-day basis.
  • The new framework makes it easy for Thomas Concrete Group to add new subject areas and harmonize future data flows.
  • Thomas Concrete Group has reduced its dependency on consultant and lowered its maintenance costs.
  • Great scalability that facilitates implementation in new markets.

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