Sembo, a tour operator based in Sweden, is leveraging Qlik Cloud analytics to improve operational efficiencies across its business. Andreas Elmgren, General Manager at Sembo, tells Intelligent SME.tech more about the implementation and how it will enable the business to scale.
Sembo, one of Sweden’s largest tour operators and part of the Stena Line Travel and Retail Group, is using Qlik Cloud analytics to improve operational efficiencies across its business.
Since 2000, Sembo has driven the development of e-commerce within the Swedish travel industry. In 2004, the company began building its analytics platform with the help of QlikView as its core solution.
Over 15 years later, it became clear that the company needed greater agility and mobility in its use of data in the company’s day-to-day operations. As a result, Sembo moved to Qlik Sense and has since bolstered this with Qlik Cloud analytics.
Andreas Elmgren, General Manager at Sembo, said: “Sembo sees itself, above all, as an e-commerce company. It is very important that we can make use of the data we have from our customer purchases and understand where we are making our money. Based on this data, our teams become more informed, enabling each to work together and optimise how we do business.”
Sembo’s business model is characterised by high transaction volumes and low margins. Profitability depends on how well the company understands and can adapt to customer behaviours. Data needs to be interpreted quickly and translated into insights for teams to make informed decisions.
“We are very pleased to be supporting Sembo as it undertakes a journey towards Active Intelligence, where data not only underpins decisions but helps everyone in the organisation take informed actions to improve processes and drive greater value from customer interactions,” says Adam Mayer, Senior Manager at Qlik.
“In a highly competitive marketplace, being able to shift from a passive to an ‘active’ environment will give Sembo the edge over its competitors through real-time insights that will enable them to drive even greater outcomes.”
Qlik’s complete data analytics platform sets the benchmark for a new generation of analytics. With its one-of-a-kind associative engine, sophisticated AI and high-performance cloud platform, Sembo can empower everyone in its organisation to make better decisions daily with Qlik.
Intelligent SME.tech spoke to Andreas Elmgren, General Manager at Sembo, to find out more about the project.
Tell us more about the challenges you were experiencing ahead of selecting Qlik?
We have been working with Qlik for many years and recognise the power and the value that that tool gives us. After using QlikView initially, we later moved to Qlik Sense and most recently Qlik Cloud analytics.
We have looked at other tools along the road to see what functionality they have but have continued to work with Qlik because of ease of use but also, from a technical perspective, it’s very easy to develop in and you can quickly introduce new reports on new visualisations.
With the cloud version it’s much easier for our users to access data. Previously, they had to either be in the office or had to log on via a VPN to access a claim but now they don’t have to – they can just log in from their mobile phone or laptop from wherever they are in the world and access data.
In addition, the possibility to integrate data is also easier in the cloud version than when we had it in running on our own servers.
How has the solution enabled you to optimise how you do business?
I think the big value in the cloud version is that we can easily access data wherever we are. Especially nowadays, when everyone is working remotely, it’s beneficial but also when you’re on a business trip and need to access the data it’s much easier than it used to be.
How do your end users benefit from this technology?
Our customers aren’t necessarily aware that we’re using these tools so it’s more about how we can deliver a better service for them by having access to the right data.
We also have reports and visualisations of customer reviews and customer happiness and that’s something we work on improving all the time. So, it’s more of an indirect impact on the end consumer.
How will this cloud solution enable you to scale?
Being in the travel industry, we undertake a lot of transactions with a very low margin. It’s about having control of the numbers and being able to always see where we are making money and where we’re not, and how to adjust that.
It would not be possible to scale up the business if we did not have control of the numbers and that’s all provided through Qlik.
What advice would you offer other businesses that might be looking to gain better insights into their data?
You need to have a good data structure first and have control of that data, otherwise, it’s difficult to visualise it.
And then it’s important to involve the business and work together. When you have the structure in place, it’s so easy and fast to build visualisations and reports in Qlik Cloud.
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