Europris sets the stage for automated processes with a new platform for analytics and integration
Jan-Kaare Moskaug og Andreas Munch
Data and insights are essential for every business to run its operations. For Europris, this means having confidence in the data and making it accessible - both to humans and business applications. Europris no longer uses the term "data warehouse", and instead focuses on modern cloud-based platforms for analytics and integration.
![](https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=328&q=90&w=750&s=3d89f2a14f33aaeb9291bb03a0346fde 750w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=438&q=90&w=1000&s=f1b286b8db11805f5c44792ef37d8063 1000w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=547&q=90&w=1250&s=00746ef8f53c1ebad1f48a053f8910a4 1250w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=657&q=90&w=1500&s=cb3b2c5e3278c2df136fe7d68601a512 1500w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=766&q=90&w=1750&s=dfcd0a0b5756b34df13f0847d05a46e7 1750w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=876&q=90&w=2000&s=7e927b70206d43fac919c8f8317e9488 2000w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=985&q=90&w=2250&s=300e1de3ecc6623b4fa29b08fc9dfe34 2250w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Bilder-til-artikler/Europris.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1051&q=90&w=2400&s=895636ad36a154439b67a967572d0b4c 2400w)
Numbers matter
The numbers are a source of pride for many aspects of Europris's business, especially when it comes to sales results and gross profit. When Ole Petter Harv, the IT Director of Europris, visits the stores, he sees that store managers and their deputies have a good understanding. If there are any errors or inconsistencies in the data, employees are quick to report them, whether they work in stores or other parts of the company.
You should rely on your gross profit, and that's what our people do. It's not something to take for granted. We navigate the ship by the numbers every week, and they have to be accurate. A store manager who notices that the numbers don't match, alerts us. It's a good sign for us that they care about how their store is represented in the reports," says Ole Petter Harv, IT Director at Europris.
Maintaining focus and quality in the sales figures is essential, as this is data that is used by all the business units, up to the store manager level. It's important to be confident that all the data has a quality that allows Europris to trust its reports. Any deviations will lead to errors down the chain, which the IT director says will be very expensive and have major impacts on the business.
Has succeeded well – so far
Evidi has been a key partner for Europris in several delivery areas, and Harv credits this for its success. This gives access to expertise, and also flexibility and efficiency in internal deliveries and projects.
Data engineer Andreas Munch at Evidi has worked with Europris for over a decade. He says that Europris has succeeded by focusing on the back-end, and ensuring and providing quality basic data with good interfaces to various applications.
For Europris, it is important to decide based on experience and what they can get from a spreadsheet. The IT director says this is not about being data-driven. Top-line reporting is an easy way to report – as long as the quality underneath is there.
From data warehouse to data democracy with innovative analytics platform
Europris brought Thomas Nakken on board as head of its data warehouse project two years ago. Nakken's initial task was to upgrade the data warehouse and create an integration platform.
Creating an integration platform was a good idea, but upgrading the data warehouse was not enough. We had to be innovative and ambitious, and aim for building an analytics platform," Nakken says.
![](https://evidi.imgix.net/Selskapslogoer/Europris.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=398&q=90&w=350&s=f9f2a0403de8e189eaa62d6c3e1e7345 350w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Selskapslogoer/Europris.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=682&q=90&w=600&s=4eb9c70530fb28973df8745cfc9f250f 600w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Selskapslogoer/Europris.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=967&q=90&w=850&s=78053c45dabae5f13d06f5154ac1e8ba 850w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Selskapslogoer/Europris.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1251&q=90&w=1100&s=a0b1ed3167caaeee900d736df1d137be 1100w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Selskapslogoer/Europris.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1422&q=90&w=1250&s=1abe319e9e7ae9a4cc74f4166ae49c82 1250w)
Europris used to rely on a system that extracted data from Excel. This worked well for a long time, and helped to make data and insights accessible to most people in the company. By using different kinds of data sources than before, Europris now wants to gather as much data as possible in its analysis platform. To improve decision-making, Europris has introduced a solution that lets employees access data that is relevant to them and their role. This way, a more data-driven and open culture is fostered, where insights are available to everyone at all times. This is often called data democratization.
When the IT department visits the business units, the message is that those who need data and insight should have it! And they should not be dependent on the IT department to request a report.
Thomas Nakken, Head of Data Platform and Analysis at Europris
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Improving decision support with a new platform
Thomas Nakken is currently working on two major projects. One is about delivering insights in a better way through a new analytics platform, and the other is about creating a new integration platform. The platforms will together meet the needs that involve large amounts of data, and make them accessible to selected people and professional systems. Additionally, work is being done to replace the more traditional methods of generating figures for the final stage. For Europris' IT department, it's about collaborating closely with business and understanding how to operate more effectively and enable more advanced use of analytics data.
Thomas Nakken's vision is to build an analysis platform where humans and machines work together and leverage their respective strengths in a balanced combination. The platform becomes more intelligent as more data is fed into it, Nakken says.
![](https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=817&q=90&w=750&s=2a5bacfea44a5bef150175d03a69c7d4 750w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1089&q=90&w=1000&s=956dc482a6effa3885a530d4794079a9 1000w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1361&q=90&w=1250&s=9d17c900ae81b04976798004960bfa4b 1250w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1633&q=90&w=1500&s=381aa6034ed2784a6670b7932dc6fdd2 1500w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1906&q=90&w=1750&s=f4abc4cd2f97b70fd9e355289fd6207f 1750w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2178&q=90&w=2000&s=282e1ec683cfad774e3397fe04d990c0 2000w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2450&q=90&w=2250&s=a4766516f3e00114a645c9d3654eea71 2250w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Miljobilder/Halden/W1A4251.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2613&q=90&w=2400&s=ee7a1de83cc187810917c4fb5dae5097 2400w)
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At Europris, we aim to eliminate manual procedures, such as looking at the weather forecast to determine the demand for snow shovels in Alta stores - or barbecue charcoal if the temperature goes up. This should be automated with smart use of insights from sources that we do not own," says Nakken.
Another example that is emphasized is liberating the business from the monthly ritual where someone works from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. to produce reports, and then presenting them in PowerPoint. According to Nakken, such reports should instead be available through pre-made dashboards, which can easily be customized to the company's needs.
Integration and access to data, for increased value of professional applications
The data in Europris not only creates value for the people who read a report, but also for several of the professional applications used in the business. Considerable efforts have therefore been made to establish modern and efficient integrations between professional applications, so that data is accessible and can flow freely. In many cases, this is referred to as an integration platform. However, Europris has been clear about conceptually separating the analysis platform from the platform that incorporates the various environments," says Thomas Nakken.
Europris places particular emphasis on the order system as one of the most important specialist applications. The system is central to the management of the order process, and provides control over the entire supply of goods. The order system uses data from both the stores and the wholesalers to generate automatic order suggestions for the stores. These suggestions take into account variables such as sales figures, sales forecasts, inventory at wholesalers and own stores, as well as planned promotions. The result is automated order suggestions, tailored to each individual store.
The implementation of the various solutions at Europris involves several key players. Evidi has played a central role in laying the foundation for the automation of processes. The contribution includes the development of integration interfaces between different professional systems, which provide essential data for the order system. If the transmission of this data stops or quality issues are experienced, the store manager is in danger of having to compensate and in practice navigate blindly to prepare their order suggestions – a situation that can quickly become critical.
In the future, Evidi and Europris will contribute to the further development of the business, where the goal is to eliminate unnecessary resource use, get more satisfied employees and, of course, present good reports in user-friendly solutions.
So far, we believe that we have been successful in contributing to security and pride in data that is presented in the organization and used in various professional applications. Now we have to take a step further together with Europris," says Andreas Munch, Senior Architect at Evidi.
![](https://evidi.imgix.net/Profilbilder/Andreas-Munch.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=398&q=90&w=350&s=0dadcd4fa0d27f33243ee9068fb0b10c 350w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Profilbilder/Andreas-Munch.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=682&q=90&w=600&s=eb81de0395bd8ab1b2df42f785e83b1f 600w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Profilbilder/Andreas-Munch.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=967&q=90&w=850&s=f65c6299d6734757e77f266e161e9dde 850w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Profilbilder/Andreas-Munch.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1251&q=90&w=1100&s=246ce199a87d056fa2f20a4d98de2804 1100w, https://evidi.imgix.net/Profilbilder/Andreas-Munch.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1422&q=90&w=1250&s=e894bf23330c05e935e9b4af61e6dfad 1250w)
According to Ole Petter Harv, it is Evidi's task to deliver expertise, capacity and technology that gives Europris strengthened room for manoeuvre and ability to implement. This will give Europris good conditions to achieve its strategic and operational goals.
Our goal is to be customer-oriented and data-driven in everything we do, because it creates the greatest value for our customers," concludes the CIO.
Technical information about the tools Europris has used to automate its processes
About DataBricks and Power BI
- DataBricks and Power BI are powerful tools in Azure that help Europris modernize its analytics platform. Previously, the data platform was based on SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
- The new platform gives Europris better performance, flexibility and the ability to gain insights into the data more efficiently. With a new analysis platform, Europris can control, prepare and retrieve reports and insights and make them available to the last stage.
- With DataBricks, Europris gets a distributed and scalable environment for advanced data analysis and machine learning. By unifying data in DataBricks and a Lakehouse architecture, Europris benefits from its advanced transformation engine and parallel computing capabilities. They can perform complex analytics, build predictive models, and explore large data sets efficiently.
- By connecting Power BI to the analytics platform, interactive dashboards are built that visualize the data in an intuitive way that are then shared as reports with users. It provides a better basis for insight and results in making informed decisions.
About Azure Data Factory
- Europris has created a new and modern integration platform based on Azure Data Factory (ADF). This replaces what was previously developed in the SSIS. ADF is a powerful tool that modernizes the integration platform and moves data integration to the cloud. With ADF, Europris builds and manages dataflows that pull data from its various data sources, transform and load it into the desired destination.
- This has removed the need for on-premise infrastructure and given Europris a more scalable and flexible data integration process. Furthermore, this has given Europris better control and automation of the integrations with extensive monitoring and troubleshooting functionality.kings- og feilsøkingsfunksjonalitet.
- Azure Data Factory supports a wide range of data sources and destinations and allows you to integrate with on-premises SQL Server databases and cloud-based storage solutions. Azure Data Factory is tightly integrated with other Azure services, opening up a wide range of possibilities. For example, you can combine ADF with Azure Functions to build tailored transformations, or use Azure Machine Learning services to add predictive analytics to your dataflows. The road to Microsoft Fabric is also short if Europris wants this.