STAEDTLER SE: Unlocking Data Potential Systematically
Use Cases as the Compass for a Future-Ready Data & AI Platform
Data & AI Strategy for Global Market Leader STAEDTLER
STAEDTLER SE, a global market leader in writing instruments and creative products, needed to replace its SAP BW environment—including more than 200 legacy reports. Working with b.telligent, the company developed a solid Data & AI strategy in just twelve weeks: more than 40 prioritized use cases formed the foundation of a clear migration roadmap to Microsoft Fabric, backed by both IT and all business units.
Quick Facts About the Project
Location & sector: Germany, Writing Instruments, Office Supplies & Creative Products
Company size: Mid-market
Project duration: 3-6 months
Project type: Strategy & Consulting
Technology: Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure
40+
At STAEDTLER, over 40 use cases across six departments established a shared, robust foundation for the future data and AI platform.
Initial Situation & Challenge
STAEDTLER SE, a globally leading manufacturer and supplier of writing, coloring, drawing, and modeling products and one of Germany's oldest industrial companies, faced a pivotal strategic decision: how could data be used more effectively to support better decisions, optimize processes, and unlock new business opportunities?
Over the years, the company's data landscape had grown organically. Departments such as Controlling, Logistics, Manufacturing, HR, and Sales each worked with data from different sources—including SAP systems, MES solutions, Excel files, and SharePoint lists. This fragmented structure made it difficult to achieve a unified view of data and limited the scope for consistent analytics and reporting.
The approaching end-of-life of the existing SAP Business Warehouse (BW) gave STAEDTLER the opportunity to rethink its data strategy and build a modern foundation for analytics, data science, and AI. The goal was to systematically identify data-driven use cases and derive a clear vision for a future-ready Data & AI platform.
Solution
b.telligent structured the Data & AI Strategy Kickstart into five sequential work packages:
Potential Alignment Workshop: The engagement kicked off with an alignment session bringing together stakeholders and data owners from all relevant business units and IT. Together, the team developed a company-wide potential map—a structured overview of the most important data-driven use cases, organized by business area and strategic relevance. For the first time, the opportunities across all departments came together in a single, shared picture.
Data Landscape Assessment: The existing data landscape was systematically documented and evaluated: source systems, interfaces, analytics tools, and the reporting environment were all captured and assessed. This revealed that STAEDTLER operates more than 200 reports across legacy systems—SAP BW (SAC, AfO) and IBM Planning Analytics (TM1)—representing significant consolidation potential.
Canvas-Based Use Case Workshops: Building on the potential map, canvas-based workshops with the business units produced and prioritized more than 40 use cases spanning Human Resources, Finance, Manufacturing, Logistics, Procurement, and Sales. Developing representative use cases in canvas format created an ideal requirements baseline for the subsequent platform selection.
Platform Decision Paper: b.telligent prepared a management-ready platform comparison between Microsoft Fabric and SAP Business Data Cloud, evaluated across use case coverage, integration effort, total cost of ownership, and strategic fit. The outcome was clear: Microsoft Fabric was recommended as the preferred target platform. Its open, modular architecture and strong Power BI and Excel integration were compelling factors, as were its capabilities in AI and advanced analytics.
Horizon Plan: Guided by the principle "Business leads—people and technology enable," b.telligent developed a detailed Horizon Plan: a four-stage migration roadmap covering 2026 to 2027, tightly integrating business, technology, and people. The plan outlines the step-by-step build-out of the infrastructure, the decommissioning of existing reporting solutions, and the organizational enablement of business units and power users. Throughout, the focus remains on migrating and evolving business capabilities—and on deliberately building the technical and organizational capabilities needed to support them.
Voices From the Project
b.telligent guided us safely through the decision-making process for a new data and analytics platform in a structured and methodical way. We expect the platform we're building to unlock significant potential for data-driven decisions and valuable insights going forward.
Heiko Stranghöner
Head of Enterprise IT Solutions at STAEDTLER SE
The critical success factor was keeping the discussion anchored in the business perspective from the very beginning. The prioritized use cases became the compass for architecture, platform selection, and migration planning—enabling a well-founded decision with broad organizational buy-in.
Lennart Werner
Data Strategy Solution Lead at b.telligent
b.telligent Services at a Glance
Potential Alignment Workshop
Company-wide use case potential map, developed with IT and all business units as the content foundation of the data strategy.
Data Landscape Assessment
Systematic documentation and evaluation of the data platform, interfaces, source systems, and analytics tools.
Canvas-Based Use Case Workshops
Structured requirements capture and prioritization of more than 40 data use cases from across the organization.
Platform Comparison & Decision Paper
Detailed, management-ready comparison of Microsoft Fabric and SAP Business Data Cloud with a clear recommendation.
Horizon Plan & Data Journey
Migration roadmap for 2026–2027—coordinating technology, business, and people—as the launch point for the ongoing migration project.
Results & Successes
Highlights
Stakeholder Alignment Through the Potential Workshop:
In a structured workshop format, b.telligent brought together STAEDTLER's relevant business units and IT. The outcome: a shared view of data-driven opportunities, a common data vision, and the organizational commitment needed to move the transformation forward.
40+ Prioritized Use Cases as a Solid Decision-Making Foundation:
A potential workshop followed by use case ideation and deep-dive sessions produced more than 40 structured and prioritized use cases spanning HR, Finance, Manufacturing, Logistics, Procurement, and Sales. A representative selection was developed in canvas format and served as a concrete basis for architecture decisions and the migration plan.
Business-Driven Platform Decision and a Clear Transformation Roadmap:
The platform decision and migration plan were consistently aligned with the prioritized business use cases. A fact-based decision paper, a best-practice reference architecture, and the Horizon Plan gave management the confidence it needed to launch the transformation—and the migration project received official sign-off.
The Data & AI Strategy Kickstart delivered STAEDTLER a solid decision-making foundation for its data transformation within twelve weeks. More than 40 prioritized use cases spanning all business units formed the basis for architecture and investment decisions—and established a company-wide, aligned view of the most important data-driven opportunities.
Following the engagement, STAEDTLER's management decided to largely accept b.telligent's recommendations and officially launch the migration program. Particularly valuable was the cross-organizational alignment effect: IT and the business units are now oriented around a shared data strategy—with a clear mandate and a concrete roadmap for the next two years.
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The Tech Behind the Success
Microsoft
Innovation and integration, as well as interoperability, are key factors of the Microsoft product development. Learn more about our collaboration!
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