Industry
Kitchenware, housewares
Mashed-up
QlikView, Google Maps
“I always took Geo-Marketing into great account, a fundamental methodology in marketing, especially for a company like Alessi. Having fought in the past with the complexity of traditional GIS systems, I immediately grasped the potential of leveraging Google maps with their simplicity and low cost.
I really appreciated the relationship with KT Labs: they implemented new functionalities at amazing speed (like the Google Earth integration), helping us win the daily complex challenges of marketing.”
Dario Carissimi
Alessi - Marketing
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“We were looking specifically for a GIS tool compatible with our BI platform (QlikView), but we immediately recognized with the first demo that KS, with its ‘glue’ approach for quick mashup deployment, had a much broader potential. We especially appreciated its ability of integrating also with document management and sales force automation systems.
We selected KS after a quick proof-of-concept, which gave us the opportunity to test its features and its simplicity, a perfect match for QlikView.”
Erasmo Vitiello
Alessi - IT
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“For a company like ours, devoted to world-class software design, it is an honor and cause for pride to serve a historical leader of industrial design like Alessi.
Working with their team of expert managers is a continuous incentive to enrich KS with new functionalities
while preserving its simplicity.”
Andrea Traverso
KT Labs
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QlikView and Google Maps in synch: Alessi’s recipe.
Needs
To improve the analysis of stores’ (4500 across the world) performance by integrating information analysis (done with QlikView) with geographical representation with maps.
Solution
With Knowledge Services (KS), and its connectors for QlikView and Google Maps, users can navigate QlikView documents and the maps in synch: the document selections filter the stores shown on the map. Each store is represented by an icon: a click on it brings up a balloon with the store details, the picture and a sales chart. Just a click on the synch button and, in a third window, a second QlikView document shows the store performance with reports and charts.
In the initial phase, the geo-localization module allowed adding latitude and longitude to the stores’ master file, directly on the AS/400. The dynamic connection between the maps and the stores master file was quickly configured using KS interface and stored in a XML file. To create the composite views (or mashups), it was then just a matter of selecting on one end the name of the QlikView documents and on the other, for the Google Maps, the XML file.
The final step consisted in defining the users and their access profile in KS. They use simply a browser (MS Internet Explorer) to access the system.
Benefits
The adoption of Knowledge Services, with the QlikView and Google Maps connectors, delivered:
- A browser-based solution
- An environment where users are at ease, thanks to Google Maps
- Speed and simplicity in development, thanks to KS zero-programming approach
- Direct integration with the stores’ master file on the AS/400, through a simple XML configuration file
- Zero-impact on the existing QlikView installation: KS accesses existing documents thanks to QlikView Internet Explorer plug-in
The new KML export feature (implemented upon Alessi’s request) helped improve the communication: with a mouse click it is possible to send the list of selected stores (and all their information) in KML format via email, which can then be opened with Google Earth.
Alessi SpA
Alessi, founded in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi Anghini, is a manufacturer of small appliances for the home in metal and other materials, based in Crusinallo di Omegna (Verbania - Italy).
Originally a metallurgic laboratory and a foundry, Alessi became a manufacturer of home articles and accessories, especially known for its ‘shiny’ and sophisticated production of stainless steel objects, innovative and elegant shapes created by famous architects and designers. The partnership with great masters of Italian design helped make Alessi a leader in its industry. The careful choice of projects and the special attention to detail are an enlightened example of how even small every-day objects can be ennobled and become important.
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Alessi's recipe