Power BI Embedded and the Car Dealership Revolution

“All in all, we're talking about 80 million records here — every day. ”

Since 2017, the software company bekumoo has set itself the goal of sustainably digitizing automotive service and retail. 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 uses Power BI Embedded, among other things. And with good reason.

Thomas, how do you rate the last financial year?

Basically, it was characterized by strong customer growth and the development that we had to make as a result of 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. But we've found that when we know what we want, the implementation goes pretty well, both in the Synapse and Power BI worlds. We are therefore happy with the decision to use these technologies. The fact that we have everything in the cloud also plays into our cards. Such high scaling and rapid development would otherwise be unthinkable.

In addition to VueJS for the frontend, Python and Javascript in the backend, 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 together so that we can trigger processes in Power BI from Synapse. But costs also played a role.

What alternative did you have?

Our alternative back then was Tableau, but it was far too expensive for us. In addition, Tableau wasn't as flexible for us for a long time. Our first software version was completely freely coded and Tableau was far too inflexible for changes. Power BI is not only cheaper, but also more powerful.

Power BI Embedded allows developers to embed Power BI reports and dashboards into their own applications, websites, or software products. What exactly does the tool meet for bekumoo?

Power BI Embedded allows a flexible design of the data model. We have many visualization options available, both Power BI standard visualizations and ad-ons. We also work a lot with Zebra BI, which is easy to connect via Power BI. I also like the strong Power BI community. If I have any questions, I can always check or ask questions; there are sometimes extreme developments.

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

Otherwise, how do you keep your knowledge up to date?

Social media is a good source, X and LinkedIn often help me out. And of course that BI & Breakfast from taod with Leon and our weekly exchange with taod. We then discuss various topics and possible solutions.

How many companies are now using your solution?

That is now around 350 companies. Compared to 2022, where we had around 100 companies, this is great growth.

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

bekumoo ensures a transparent overview of all key figures in the respective car dealership. The software ensures a permanent comparison between target and actual. If indicators are poor, companies can dive directly into root cause research.

A lot of data is probably in motion every day. Do you have a few numbers?

Sure. Each company receives around 380 documents a day, which must be analyzed every morning. All in all, we're talking about 80 million records here — every day. It must work smoothly.

“I also like the strong Power BI community. ”

The fact that everything works smoothly is certainly also due to the ability of customers to use your tool confidently. How can you support us here?

Through communication. Right at the start of our collaboration, we carry out extensive onboarding, extensively validate the key figures and offer extensive training. Even after the software has been introduced, we will provide support on a weekly or monthly basis and will continue to provide you with information afterwards. In addition, we have set up a help desk, provide our existing customers with news via a weekly mailing and provide content. Our educational mission is to strengthen and make people smarter, using hard figures and in-depth knowledge.

And when problems arise?

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

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

Sure. Among other things, we are working on the integration of the new “Market Opportunities” module. We are currently strengthening in-house potential, so we want to empower customers even more to analyse for themselves. The next stage for them should be able to analyse their own market area. And of course, we still have some new bekumoo features in the pipeline, such as a comment function for open orders that is just in the final stages. In future, customers should no longer only be able to comment, but also write in information themselves. Continuous product development is our main topic in the new year. And we'll probably be hiring new people. I'm looking forward to that.

Good luck, Thomas!

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

Data! Magazine for Cloud Services, Data Analytics & AI

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