Business Intelligence in Agriculture: How KWS Benefits from Data-Driven Decision-Making [Success Story]

Agricultural machinery autonomously driving on fields; animals being fed based on algorithms and caressed by petting robots – such futuristic scenarios in agriculture are still rather utopian. However, considering the low precipitation last year, it would already make a big difference if we could breed maize varieties that can cope better with extreme drought than the current ones.

The question relating to the future success of agriculture is not so much about robots, but rather about which plant varieties can best cope with changing conditions. This question is crucial to the daily work of our client KWS. As one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies, KWS is constantly finding new answers to this question – and it does so in a data-driven, digitally savvy manner and, for quite some time now, with the help of a business intelligence system as its central analytics tool.

To the success story

Business Intelligence Systems Bring Together Data in Dashboards

Founded in 1856 and headquartered in Einbeck, Lower Saxony, KWS has around 6,000 employees in 70 countries. In the financial year 2020, KWS generated consolidated revenues of about 1.3 billion euros. Plant breeding, crop production and the sale of seeds form the core business of the listed company.

For KWS, research is particularly important because it wants to help agricultural companies make continuous breeding progress and boost yields. That is why a significant share of the company’s profits is reinvested in research; however, other science-related topics, such as smart farming, are also constantly being worked on. To evaluate these measures in a data-driven manner, KWS has been using a modern business intelligence tool for quite some time now.

Business Intelligence as an Analytics Tool Promotes Sustainable Decisions

Aggregated insights for data-driven decision-making are critical for companies that are well aware that decisions should not be made based on gut instinct. In a world that is getting increasingly complex, data-driven analysis and planning enable more resource-efficient processes. Getting to grips with the issues surrounding business intelligence at an early stage also helps companies reach the next evolutionary stage on their way to becoming a data-driven business.

KWS opted for Microsoft Power BI as its analytics tool. A major advantage of this system is that it can grow flexibly with companies and their specific insights and data volumes. It is therefore just as suitable for medium-sized companies as it is for globally operating enterprises.

Business Intelligence as a Scenario Simulation Tool

To be able to effectively analyse data, obtaining such a software licence is not enough. The success of an analysis stands and falls with the harmonisation of the tool and the system landscape.

After the in-house implementation of Microsoft Power BI, KWS was looking for support. As its long-standing digitalisation partner, dotSource has since provided ongoing support in the establishment and use of the analytics tool with experts from the »Data-Driven Business with BI & AI« team. This is the only way to really harness the full range of features of the Premium licence.

Gaining and Promoting Data-Driven Insights Thanks to BI

Since then, KWS has primarily benefitted from a regular weekly meeting, which serves to strategically define the tasks to be carried out. Moreover, a hotline has been set up and KWS employees receive regular training.

The efforts are bearing fruit: KWS is very satisfied with the insights gained and the collaboration – and more and more employees from different company departments are using the BI system for data-driven insights.

Data-Driven Business with BI and AI Thanks to dotSource: Download the KWS Success Story for Free Now!

Find out in our new »Business Intelligence System for KWS: Becoming a Data-Driven Business with Microsoft Power BI« success story how to

• gain data-driven insights and make use of them
• harmonise a BI system with a system landscape
• improve the quality of your analyses
• achieve your data-driven business goals with the help of experts who are always at your disposal

 
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