Insights and scalable growth with a data warehouse on an in-house server
Zuiver
Ridder iQ Power BI dashboard
For each project, we bring estimates, actual costs and work in progress from Ridder iQ together in one Power BI model. We built a data warehouse with Zuiver, another manufacturing company.
Step by step, manufacturer Zuiver worked with us to build its first data warehouse
“They took us by the hand and guided us step by step […] worked with us to identify what information we need to make better decisions. […] For us, they’re a fantastic partner, and we’d recommend them to other SMEs.” Richard Aznar Webster, CEO Zuiver Interior Group
Why do we only know a project’s margin once it’s finished?
The cost estimate, logged hours, purchases and instalment invoices are in Ridder iQ, but someone still puts together the overview for each project in Excel. A Power BI model shows them side by side for each project, including those still in progress.
A Ridder iQ dashboard shows each project’s margin while it is still under way
Project margins while work is under way
Estimated costs alongside logged hours, materials and purchases, by project and phase, so you can spot an overrun before the project is finished.
Work in progress by project
The hours and materials invested in a project compared with what has been invoiced, using the same rule for every project.
Order backlog in hours
Projects sold but not yet delivered, converted into hours by discipline and compared with the people you have available.
Build step by step
Just as we guided Zuiver step by step towards its first data warehouse, we start with the project overview that currently takes the most manual work.
We define what counts as a project cost before we build
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Projects and definitions
Cloud or on-premise, which types of projects to include, and which hours, purchases and instalments count towards project costs.
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Data access and first model
Agree on the approach with ECI or your Ridder partner, then build a single project overview and check it against Ridder iQ.
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Expand and manage
The project portfolio, work in progress and finance all use the same model. Data refreshes and access permissions each have a designated owner.
Is Power BI worth it for our project-based business alongside Ridder iQ reports?
A good fit if
You manage projects and want to see margins, work in progress and your project portfolio in one view, or compare Ridder iQ figures with planning, CRM or time-tracking data.
Not a good fit if
The project reports in Ridder iQ already answer your questions and no one is combining lists in Excel. In that case, an additional layer takes more maintenance than the value it brings.
What determines the scope
Whether your setup is cloud or on-premise, how many project types and accounting entities are included, how time and purchases are allocated to projects, which other sources are added and who manages the model.
Can Power BI access our Ridder iQ data?
That depends on your installation and your agreements with ECI or your Ridder partner. We agree the approach with them, use read-only access and write nothing back.
Project overview as an export, directly from Ridder iQ or via a data warehouse?
A regular export
Choose this if one project overview per week is enough. It’s quick to get started, but every new question requires a new export, and historical data doesn’t accumulate automatically.
Directly from Ridder iQ
Choose this if Ridder iQ runs on your own server and your partner allows read access. Our advice: keep data retrieval separate from the model so it survives a switch.
A data warehouse
Choose this if you want to retain project history or combine Ridder iQ with other sources. See how to have a data warehouse built.
We often replace separate lists with a single source of figures for manufacturers
Data Science Lab has been building data and AI solutions since 2016 and is a Microsoft Partner for Fabric. Zuiver worked with us to set up its first data warehouse, while Ammega received Power BI dashboards for management, planning and finance.
Project costs and how you record them are the first things we discuss in our initial conversation
Stef Stoelwinder
Business DevelopmentStef is your first point of contact. In our initial conversation, we’ll discuss your Ridder iQ installation, your project types and the project overview you currently put together in Excel.
E-mail info@datasciencelab.nl
Phone +31 (0)20 3636 724
Which ongoing projects in Ridder iQ would you like to see with their margins?
Tell us whether Ridder iQ runs in the cloud or on-premise, how you set up projects and which reports you’re missing. We’ll reply by email or suggest an initial conversation.
Message sent
Thanks for your message. We’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
Frequently asked questions
ECI Software Solutions, the supplier of Ridder iQ, does not publish public API documentation. The way you access the data therefore depends on your installation: read-only access to your own server, if your partner permits it, or the option ECI provides for the cloud version.
We load the data and build the model on top of it. To see how a dashboard starts with the decision it needs to support, read about Power BI dashboards.
Yes. ECI offers Ridder iQ in the cloud and on-premise, as well as Ridder iQ Essentials as a cloud ERP system for smaller manufacturing companies. Only the data-loading step differs between versions.
If you move from on-premise to the cloud, the model and definitions stay the same. We replace the data-loading step and compare the figures for each project before and after the move.
ECI lists live job costing — tracking actual costs while work is under way — as a Ridder iQ feature. In Power BI, we compare those figures with estimates and payment milestones by project, phase and cost category, and track the margin over the project’s lifetime.
We agree in advance with project managers and the finance team which entries count, such as additional work or service hours.
ECI describes Ridder iQ on its site as an ERP system for manufacturers, such as machine builders working on an engineer-to-order basis. If you use Ridder iQ for installation projects, the model works in the same way: project, estimate, actual costs and work in progress.
What may differ is how hours and materials are booked to a project. We look at that in our first conversation.
Isah and Ridder iQ are both ERP systems for manufacturing. The Isah page focuses on the production order, with on-time delivery and the work queue by department; here, the focus is the project, with margin, work in progress and the order book. See the Isah Power BI dashboard.
For more on data and AI for manufacturers, see manufacturing.
Usually, they track margin by project while work is under way, work in progress against invoiced milestones, the order book in hours by discipline, partial deliveries by project, and each employee’s hours against the schedule.
For revenue, cash flow and budget versus actuals at management level, see the financial dashboard in Power BI.
The account we use to read Ridder iQ data has read-only access to the data being loaded. In Power BI, row-level security limits what each person can see: a project manager sees their own projects, while the leadership team sees everything.
For how we set up workspaces, apps and refreshes, see Power BI consultant.
When the reports in Ridder iQ already answer your questions. Or when hours and purchases are not consistently booked to projects: in that case, you start with data quality, not Power BI.
If one standard export a week is enough, we’ll say so.