For an automotive group, every day counts. Every hour in the workshop, every car sold, and every decision can have a direct impact on the results. That was precisely the challenge that RMGA stood for: a Belgian automotive group active in Walloon Brabant and Hainaut, met around 20 concessions and more than 350 employees.
A recognizable problem… but with a big impact
For a long time, RMGA only gained insight into its performance at the beginning of each month. For example, the results from February were only visible at the beginning of March.
Management was groping in the dark and didn't know (had no clear view of):
- if the workshops met their goals
- how performance developed during the month
- where immediate action was required
The need was thus clear: to monitor activities daily, instead of analyzing them afterward.
The Discovery of Power BI
During a European after-sales meeting, I heard Olivier Verheyden for the first time Power BI. The idea was simple, yet powerful: extract data directly from internal systems and create dashboards that are automatically updated daily.
For Olivier, After Sales Manager at RMGA, that was a real eye-opener.
“When I heard what was possible, I was truly starry-eyed.”
The project quickly took shape, with one clear goal: to build a reporting system that reflects the reality of the business in real time.
A fateful encounter with scapta
Through an internal referral, RMGA came into contact with scapta.
From our very first meetings, it was clear that we were a good fit. The elem3nts team quickly grasped RMGA’s challenges and the technical complexity of the project:
- a complex database
- multiple systems
- data in different languages
- and highly specific KPIs for the automotive industry
Despite that complexity, the first dashboards were developed quickly.
“Sylvio quickly understood what we wanted to achieve and how we could achieve it.” According to Olivier Verheyden.
Dashboards that transform how the organization is managed
Today, Power BI is an essential tool within RMGA. The dashboards combine data from various sources:
- ICAR, the DMS for after-sales activities
- one in-house ERP system for the sale of new vehicles
- Sage for the financial data
Thanks to this centralization, RMGA now has a clear and up-to-date overview of performance.The teams can track, among other things, in real time:
- workshop revenue
- mechanics' performance
- sales results
- financial indicators
Rapid adoption within the organization
At first, only five employees used the dashboards. Today, about 40 employees consult the reports on a daily basis, including:
- the executive committee
- Branch Managers
- coordinators
- after-sales managers
To accelerate adoption, RMGA organized internal training sessions where employees learned:
- use filters
- Interpret reports
- efficiently analyze dashboards
The result is clear For Olivier and his colleagues
“Today, no one can do without it. Everyone is waiting for the daily update of the numbers.”
More than a project: a long-term collaboration
The collaboration between RMGA and scapta went beyond simply building dashboards. It grew into a long-term coaching program. The RMGA team gradually developed their own Power BI knowledge, while continuing to rely on elem3nts' expertise for more complex issues.
This is about, among other things:
- solving technical problems
- improve reports
- Develop new KPIs
(According to) Or in the words of Olivier Verheyden:
“Sylvio knows Power BI inside and out. He always has a solution and often comes up with improvements we hadn't thought of ourselves.”
And the future?
RMGA continues to grow and wants to further expand its network of dealerships.
With this growth, the volume of data will also increase, making reporting and analyses even more important.
But one thing is certain:
Data plays a central role today in how RMGA manages and shapes its organization, forming the basis for their decision-making.
In Power BI remains a key driver to support that growth.