DENSO accelerates data-driven decision-making and optimizes planning with Power BI

DENSO is a world-leading supplier in the automotive industry, headquartered in Japan. The company provides high-tech components and systems in among others mobility, thermal systems, electronics, powertrains, and safety. DENSO invests heavily in R&D and is a frontrunner in technologies for electrification, connectivity, and autonomous driving. In Europe, DENSO is active in manufacturing, distribution, and engineering. In the Netherlands, it hosts the headquarters for European parts distribution and OEM customer support.

Limitations of Oracle BI

Although DENSO has long aimed for operational efficiency and a data-driven approach, the company encountered limitations with its existing BI system, Oracle BI. Elena Kutlemina, Corporate Services Senior Manager at DENSO and responsible for the IT team and user support within the aftermarket sales business unit explains:

“Around 2021 we wanted an overview of all systems and applications we were using to see where optimization was possible. During this review, we discovered that users were dissatisfied with Oracle BI.”

The outdated version of Oracle BI offered mediocre visualizations, and many processes were cumbersome:

“We were busy with all kinds of manual steps. Reports had to be downloaded, pivoted in Excel, and converted into charts for management presentations.”

These frustrations led to low user adoption. Only a handful of users had the skills to create their own reports and dashboards, heavily burdening the IT team and causing delays in obtaining critical data. Elena adds:

“It often took too long for the right people to get the right insights. We were continually faced with a choice: either make a decision based on gut feel, or wait until we finally had the right insight. It felt like choosing between two evils.”

Power BI and a modern data platform

These challenges limited DENSO’s ability to fully leverage data-driven insights, essential to remain competitive in the aftermarket sector. As part of a broader “data culture improvement project,” DENSO decided to move from Oracle BI to Microsoft Power BI. The choice was strategic:

“Power BI better fits our needs, is more user-friendly, and is part of the Microsoft suite already used across our organization,” says Elena.

Because internal capacity and expertise were limited, DENSO engaged Cadran Analytics. Cadran specializes in unlocking and visualizing business data with modern BI tools such as Tableau and Power BI, with deep knowledge of ERP processes and data analysis. The collaboration began with a thorough analysis of the existing data models and reports in Oracle BI. The business necessity of reports was validated with end users, while data flows were examined to set up a robust data platform. The new architecture uses Snowflake as the central datalake, aggregating data from sources such as JD Edwards, Logility, and Excel. Power BI then retrieves the required data. Jelle Huisman, Managing Partner at Cadran Analytics, explains:

“A key advantage is that this setup aligns seamlessly with DENSO’s corporate standards (Snowflake, Power BI, AWS). It also delivers much better performance and provides modern capabilities such as version control, making changes easy to trace and roll back.”

Project scope and setup

The project started in 2024, with the official go-live on April 1, 2025. In total, it covered about 200 dashboards, 17 end-to-end data models (each comprising numerous sub-models), and infrastructure configuration for the Aftermarket Sales (AMIS) business unit, including logistics, sales, business planning, and product management. This also included onboarding and training for around 20 key users.

Smooth implementation and strong collaboration with Cadran

Elena was “utterly impressed” by Cadran’s professionalism during the project. She highlights the monthly steering committee meetings, where Cadran provided detailed updates:

“Thanks to that strong communication, I could effectively manage internal stakeholders on deadlines and budgets. Expectations were absolutely exceeded.”

A key success factor was the intensive collaboration between Cadran and DENSO’s key users. The Cadran team worked on-site weekly with key users, ensuring rapid knowledge transfer and efficient problem-solving. Elena emphasizes that success also depended on DENSO’s own commitment:

“You have to make the project a priority and make it clear to key users: ‘We’re doing this for you, but you also need to invest in it.’ We ensured key users could free up time, which was crucial.”

Even after go-live, DENSO continues to invest in data literacy through training and “Digital Fridays”. This is essential for adoption, especially given the varied digital skills across the company.

Measurable results and future plans

Since implementing Power BI, DENSO has seen measurable benefits. Elena herself now saves substantial time producing a sales incentive report:

“What previously took hours of manual work in Excel (downloading, renaming, pivoting, filtering) I can now do entirely on my own in under an hour!”

Improved visualizations and ease of use have also led to new strategic insights. For example, product managers used Power BI visualizations to show that sales of newly introduced products double within a year and increase by 150%–300% over three years—contrary to earlier conservative estimates of annual 10% growth. This had a major impact on sales planning and reduced friction between the sales and product management teams, who now make decisions based on the same, concrete data rather than assumptions. The project has made DENSO even more data-driven. The usability of Power BI means that even customer service staff now use the tool to analyze master data and backorders.

DENSO’s management is enthusiastic about further digitalization—including planning platforms, data management, and AI—and sees this as a significant competitive advantage.

Roadmap and further digitalization

Looking ahead, DENSO has already planned three new projects with Cadran Analytics, with potential for more. A key step is fully automating P&L reporting, which is currently performed manually in Excel. NPI (New Product Introduction) reporting will also be further optimized—for example, to identify which new items have not yet been sold to specific customers—providing the sales team with proactive insights.

Together, DENSO and Cadran are not only building on a successful partnership.  but also reinforcing their shared ambition to use data as a strategic foundation. Thanks to this partnership and confidence in modern BI technologies, DENSO is ready for the next step in its digital transformation—remaining both competitive and agile in an increasingly fast-changing market.