COMPANY: Sika
TYPE: Chemicals
WEBSITE: https://www.sika.com
How Intelligence2day® helped break down information silos to better collect, organize, and distribute data to business units globally.
Sika, a Swiss company operating in 101 countries, is a chemical producer for the construction industry. With a widely dispersed team, Sika has to create efficient data usage processes to ensure the right people get the right information at the right time.
The Challenge
Despite numerous attempts, the Intelligence department at Sika couldn't find efficient methods to collect and organize information; attempts at procuring a suitable software solution were unsuccessful too. As a result, the Intelligence team conducted most of the work manually which required a lot of time and kept them from other work. After daily data collection, the information was processed and stored in a department folder, Excel sheet, or complicated pdf. Information was not easily accessible within the organization, despite employees knowing that Intelligence was available.
“We had a large amount of data that was not well-organized.” — Rick Padmos, Market Intelligence Analyst at Sika
When an employee within Sika required specific information, they would make contact with a member of the Intelligence team and outline their requirements. The Intelligence team searched through their reports manually to identify suitable results that could be sent to the employee who made the original request. The lengthy process consumed time that the Intelligence team could spend on more valuable tasks and created information silos within Sika.
The Solution
With Intelligence2day®, Sika’s Intelligence team managed to break down silos within the organization. Incorporating the platform across departments opened up access to information and allowed business units to use intelligence more efficiently for day-to-day operations such as decision-making, analyzing reports, and understanding what is happening in the industry.
Easier Access to Information
More than 400 Sika employees benefit from using Intelligence2day® daily. Some of these users get a snapshot of what is happening through newsletters or alerts, while others use the platform extensively to help make informed business decisions. Use reports from employees are overwhelmingly positive since relevant information is available faster than before. The usability of newsletters, alerts, and reports is compounded by the ability to access the original information source.
“It’s structured, it’s easy to use.”— Rick Padmos, Market Intelligence Analyst at Sika
Enhanced Time Utilization
Previously, the Intelligence team was flooded with requests for intelligence and reports from various business units. Now, the team no longer spends their time sifting through data at the request of colleagues because they get barely any requests for intelligence. When a request does come through, it’s mostly because the information cannot be found, which means it is not available anywhere.
Colleagues accessing information faster and autonomously frees up time for the Intelligence team to do more pertinent work. They now have sufficient time for research, analysis, and creating high-level reports to be shared across multiple departments.
“It’s faster because we get the information faster. And it’s shareable.” — Rick Padmos, Market Intelligence Analyst at Sika
Reducing Instances of Irrelevant Information
The structured approach brought by Intelligence2day® allows the Intelligence team to use automation while also curating content manually. It eliminates potential grey areas containing irrelevant information as the platform collects data from sources chosen by the team. If, by chance, irrelevant information does appear — which is rare — the team can investigate it easily and stop it from being sent on to other departments.
With Intelligence2day®, Sika employees are able to get the information they actually want, in other words, the right information to the right people at the right time. The Intelligence team has set up alerts and newsletter subscriptions that are sent to relevant individuals weekly. These updates contain only the most relevant information as curated by the Intelligence team; however, if a user doesn’t find the newsletter useful or no longer wants to receive it, they can unsubscribe at any time. An additional Intelligence2day® feature – that employees find favorable – is the ability to read these newsletters without accessing the platform at all. Doing so has increased the rate at which intelligence is being consumed by employees.
“Comintelli is the best because it’s very easy to use and they are very interactive. If we said we have a business requirement, then they would say ‘Well, we’re going to look and see what we can do for you,’ and they came back with a solution.” — Rick Padmos, Market Intelligence Analyst at Sika
Conclusion
Sika requires intelligence to be collected and disseminated throughout various business units distributed across the world. Previously, the organization struggled with information management which resulted in misspent time, poor information distribution, and intelligence silos. After implementing Intelligence2day®, the information silos no longer exist as intelligence is shared effectively with the relevant employees through automated alerts and newsletters. Employees find the information required to make decisions more efficiently, and the Competitive Intelligence team spends their time on more important activities. The future of Sika looks promising with Intelligence2day® as its intelligence partner.
About Sika
Sika is a producer of specialty chemicals used in the construction industry. Products for protecting, damping, reinforcing, bonding, and selling are manufactured in more than 300 factories. With an international footprint, Sika boasts a workforce of over 25,000 employees distributed throughout 101 countries.