Optimization of Corporate Processes in Quality Management through Business Intelligence Tools: the Bosch case

Business Intelligence tools facilitate real-time data processing and, among other functions, enable the automation of numerous activities. Their implementation in corporate processes is crucial as it allows for the reduction of inefficiencies by optimizing business processes and serves as a means to not only identify potential problems but also to discover novel solutions and opportunities. This thesis aims to enhance corporate processes in quality management by focusing on workload reduction, the elimination of non-value-added tasks, and the promotion of agility through the implementation of BI tools, with the ultimate goal being higher customer satisfaction. To assess this, a deep understanding of the processes was required, as well as the identification of activities that were subject to improvement. Self-service BI tools were chosen since they provide interfaces with intuitive features that allow nontechnical users to work with them. Two Power BI tools were implemented. The first one related to the management and sharing of 8D reports. The second one related to reporting activities when considering Supplier Quality Performance. Thanks to the implementation of the tools, processes were optimized, the workload was reduced, most non-value-added activities were eliminated, mistakes were avoided due to process automation, better resource allocation was achieved and improved KPI accuracy led to better analysis. All these results translated into time and cost reduction, as well as higher customer satisfaction. Ultimately, it was realized that the greatest advantages are not related to the costs saved in the sense of process optimization, but rather to the possibility of getting data updated almost in real time. The former costs are minimal compared to the cost savings of poor quality that could be avoided by having real-time information. All in all, a project of BI tools that started as a solution for workload has ended up being a simple solution for larger potential problems and costs. There is still plenty of room for future improvements. This thesis serves as a starting point and triggers ideas for using tools with unlimited scope.