ODTH First Class Logistics puts data at the center of business operations with SAP BDC

Growth requires a new data approach

ODTH currently employs 140 people, operates across four locations, and manages more than 150,000 m² of warehouse space. What once started as a logistics partner for a limited number of customers has grown into an organisation serving more than sixty clients across a wide range of industries. That growth also brought additional complexity. Financially, the company had long worked with a single profit center where all activities were grouped together. As the business expanded, the need for more detailed insights increased: visibility by location, by activity, and even by customer. Reporting was often done only when there was time available. It required a lot of manual effort and was therefore not always consistent. At the same time, the CEO wanted daily visibility into how both operations and financial results were evolving.

“We always had valuable data, but it was scattered across different systems and wasn’t being used to its full potential. Today, we can bring that information together and turn it into meaningful insights.”

SAP Business Data Cloud: one central data platform as the foundation

To address this challenge, ODTH chose to build a central data foundation with SAP Business Data Cloud. Within this environment, SAP Datasphere is used to model and harmonise data from different systems, while SAP Analytics Cloud provides dashboards and reporting capabilities. According to Koen Vanderwegen, Managing Partner at Flexso Analytics, simplicity played a key role in the project’s success. “For an SME like ODTH, it’s important to keep the technology landscape manageable,” he explains. “By staying within one SAP environment, you avoid unnecessary complexity and can deliver tangible results much faster.”

First results in just three months

Thanks to this approach, the first phase of the project was completed in approximately three months. This allowed ODTH to quickly demonstrate the value of the solution and continue expanding the platform from there. According to CFO Nicolas Heymans, the biggest challenge was not the technology itself, but data governance: defining clear standards and making sure everyone looks at the numbers in the same way. That proved to be more complex than expected. “Take something as simple as revenue per day,” says Heymans. “Do you calculate based on calendar days or working days? Everyone has a logical explanation, but in the end, you need one clear definition. Only then can you build reliable reporting.”

Daily insights that make a difference in operations & finance

The new data layer makes it possible to combine operational and financial data on a daily basis. As a result, management gains much faster insight into performance by customer, activity, and location. Issues or deviations become visible earlier and can therefore be addressed more quickly. Warehouse supervisors now also have daily visibility into volumes, workforce allocation, and operational performance. These insights support not only planning, but also pricing and process optimisation.

ODTH can now much more accurately estimate how much workforce is needed for a specific customer or activity. This makes it easier to improve processes and work together with customers to identify efficiency gains. The new approach also plays an important role in margin management.

“We try to make results as tangible as possible. For example, by looking at how many euros per minute a specific activity generates. That immediately shows where we can create the biggest impact.”

Less discussion, more focus on decisions thanks to SAP BDC

An additional benefit of this approach is that discussions about numbers have largely disappeared. “In the past, everyone worked with their own reports and spreadsheets,” says Chief Innovation Officer Bart Weymans. “That meant conversations often started with debating which figures were correct. Today, we work with one central model and can focus on what really matters: making the right decisions.” With one reliable source of truth, ODTH can now respond faster, plan more efficiently, and optimise margins with greater precision. Data has become a true driver of business operations.

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