Power BI Embedded and the car dealership revolution

"All in all, we're talking about around 80 million data records - every day."

Since 2017, the software company bekumoo has set itself the goal of sustainably digitalizing the automotive service and trade. At the heart of this project is the SaaS solution of the same name, which documents and evaluates key business figures. Founder and Managing Director Thomas Kurrelmeyer relies on Power BI Embedded, among other things. And for good reason.

Thomas, how would you rate the last financial year?

Basically, it was characterized by strong customer growth and the further development that we had to make due to this new size. There were many new topics that we had to adapt in Azure Synapse and numerous new functions and features that we had to implement in Synapse and Power BI. However, we have found that if we know what we want, the implementation works quite well, both in the Synapse and Power BI world. We are therefore happy with the decision to use these technologies. The fact that we have everything in the cloud also plays into our hands. Such high scaling and rapid further development would otherwise be inconceivable.

In addition to VueJS for the front end, Python and Javascript in the back end, Power BI Embedded is an important component of the bekumoo software as a framework. Why did you choose the Microsoft solution?

The main reason was certainly the integration of the respective technologies, i.e. Azure Synapse in conjunction with Power BI. They run seamlessly into each other so that we can trigger processes in Power BI from Synapse. But the costs also played a role.

What alternative did you have?

Our alternative at the time was Tableau, but it was far too expensive for us. In addition, Tableau was not as flexible for us for a long time. Our first software version was completely free-coded and Tableau was far too inflexible for changes. Power BI is not only cheaper, but also more powerful.

Power BI Embedded enables developers to embed Power BI reports and dashboards in their own applications, websites or software products. What requirements exactly does the tool fulfill for bekumoo?

Power BI Embedded allows a flexible design of the data model. We have many visualization options at our disposal, both Power BI standard visualizations and add-ons. We also work a lot with Zebra BI, which can be easily connected via Power BI. I also like the strong Power BI community. If I have any questions, I can always look them up or ask questions, as there are sometimes extreme developments.

"Power BI Embedded allows a flexible design of the data model."

How else do you keep your knowledge up to date?

Social media is a good source, X and LinkedIn often help me. And of course taod's BI & Breakfast with Leon and our exchange in the Weekly with taod. We then discuss various topics and possible solutions.

How many companies are now using your solution?

That is now around 350 businesses. This is great growth compared to 2022, when we had around 100 businesses.

Bekumoo is an important controlling tool for these companies. What advantages does the developed solution have for car dealerships?

bekumoo guarantees a transparent overview of all key figures in the respective dealership. The software ensures a permanent target/actual comparison. In the event of poor key figures, the dealerships can dive straight into root cause analysis.

There is probably a lot of data in motion every day. Do you have some figures?

Of course. Every company generates around 380 documents a day that need to be analyzed every morning. All in all, we're talking about around 80 million data records - every day. That has to work smoothly.

"I also like the strong Power BI community."

The fact that everything works smoothly is certainly also down to the customers' ability to use your tool with confidence. How can you provide support here?

Through communication. Right at the start of our collaboration, we provide comprehensive onboarding, validate the key figures in detail and offer extensive training. Even after the software has been introduced, we provide support on a weekly or monthly basis if required and continue to provide information afterwards. We have also set up a helpdesk, provide our existing customers with news via a weekly mailing and communicate content. Our educational mission is to strengthen and educate, with hard figures and sound knowledge.

And if problems arise?

We always try to speak directly with the customer, usually via online appointments. It is important that we remain in direct contact. We also proactively ask if we can help, for example if we notice that the tool is being used less.

What are you currently working on? Can you give us an outlook for 2024?

Sure. Among other things, we are working on integrating the new "Market opportunities" module. We are currently strengthening in-house potential, so we want to empower customers even more to analyze themselves. The next step for them is to be able to analyze their own market area. And of course we still have a few new bekumoo features in the pipeline, such as a comment function for open orders, which is currently in its final stages. In future, customers will not only be able to comment, but will also be able to enter information themselves. Ongoing product development is our main focus in the new year. And we will probably be taking on new employees. I'm looking forward to that.

Good luck for the future, Thomas!

This article first appeared in issue 02/23 of our magazine data! You can find all issues and articles here:

https://www.taod.de/data-magazin

Read the case study about bekumoo and Power BI Embedded!

https://www.taod.de/data-projects/bekumoo-embedded-analytics

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