LeverX built a scalable, fully integrated corporate solution that optimizes workflows, increases efficiency, and provides real-time insights. This digital transformation positioned FUCHS for long-term success and helped it maintain a leading position in the market.
About FUCHS
Nearly a century ago, in 1931, Rudolf Fuchs founded FUCHS, a well-known brand in the global lubricants sector. Undeterred by the challenges of the Great Depression, Fuchs started by selling oil canisters to shipping companies, laying the foundation for a company that would eventually operate in over 45 countries. With its current headquarters in Mannheim, Germany, FUCHS employs more than 5,800 specialists and achieved a record-breaking 3.4 billion EUR in sales in 2022.
Of course, success isn’t achieved overnight or guaranteed forever. Over time, the business reached its production capacity limits and could not meet growing consumer expectations. Compared to rivals' systems, their own enterprise management system was slow and inefficient. Additionally, the prior data display was time-consuming to analyze. To maintain its leadership position in the market, the company needed transformations.
LeverX saw it as an opportunity to play a significant role in the history of FUCHS, which motivated us to take on the project.
Challenges That Prompted the Need for Changes
Every project at LeverX begins with a discovery phase where we examine the current system to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. For this project, we identified the following challenges:
Lack of centralized data management
Mission-critical data, such as lubricant consumption, maintenance schedules, allocations, and equipment operating conditions, could not be stored and managed centrally. This fragmented approach proved costly and unreliable for all stakeholders.
Manual processes
Data collection and input were mainly manual, leading to inefficiencies in operational and pre-sales activities.
Equipment downtime
Early signs of equipment malfunctions were overlooked due to the lack of proactive analysis of equipment performance.
Project Scope of FUCHS’s Digital Transformation
For the project, the LeverX team used an agile, adaptable methodology enhanced by a LEAN approach. The project was implemented in several phases, each designed to meet FUCHS' needs and expectations while ensuring that the final product aligned with both corporate objectives and operational requirements:
Planning & research
We visited the client's manufacturing facilities and several production sites as part of our pre-development research. In collaboration with the customer, we defined the MVP feature set. We eliminated some of the features initially planned, allowing us to focus on the most important aspects:
- Product chemical and technical tests. Technicians can input and store test results, such as information on temperature, refractometer concentration, pH level, total acidity, bacterial activity, liquid and product consumption, and other metrics gathered from production equipment.
- Report generation. Using test results and data visualizations, managers can generate reports on product consumption, liquid characteristics, equipment locations, and other metrics. The reporting tool allows users to filter data by product, machine type, operating area, or shift, providing access to information for an entire site or specific equipment.
- Price calculation. The system automatically calculates the product consumption cost over a specified time period.
MVP Development
Our goal in creating the MVP was to test the bare minimum of features while identifying the best data processing techniques to ensure fast, precise, and cost-effective data collection and analytics for every client's customer.
We integrated IoT connectivity into the platform, enabling comprehensive reporting and real-time data collection.
Cloud platform selection & implementation
Initially, user data was stored in an internal database using IdentityServer4. However, as the client's requirements changed, its scalability capabilities were no longer sufficient. We evaluated several cloud hosting providers to ensure scalability before selecting Microsoft Azure.
- Azure is well-suited for enterprise-scale platforms that manage multiple data streams simultaneously and effectively handle massive data volumes.
- Azure facilitates easy global deployment, with a presence in major global regions such as the US, Europe, China, and Africa.
- Integration with Microsoft 365 simplified FUCHS document processing within a unified network.
- Through our comprehensive evaluation of cloud providers, we were able to minimize deployment infrastructure expenses by confirming Azure's higher fault tolerance and security.
Securing Code Quality & Continuous Improvement
We applied tried-and-true techniques to ensure platform scalability and stability. Throughout the development cycle, the team continuously refined these techniques to improve platform reliability and performance.
SonarQube integration
- For the client's CI/CD pipeline, we integrated SonarQube, a potent static code analysis tool, to perform automated code quality checks. SonarQube offers a proactive approach to code health by identifying potential issues, upholding coding standards, and ensuring quality throughout the development lifecycle.
Consistent coding styles and conventions
- We employed EditorConfig for the backend to provide consistent formatting across the team, maintaining consistent code styles across various editors and IDEs.
- For the frontend, we used ESLint, a customizable tool for identifying and reporting issues in JavaScript code, to help developers adhere to coding guidelines and avoid common mistakes.
Code review best practices
- To ensure excellent quality with a focus on details, we broke the code into smaller segments for a manageable, thorough review process.
- Code changes were tested on a local branch configured within the client's system to ensure proper functionality within the specific setup.
- Compliance with .NET coding standards was ensured by checking for consistent formatting, language usage, and naming conventions.
- We validated input parameters, evaluated edge cases, and verified proper behavior in various circumstances to guarantee code robustness.
- Finally, we evaluated the code's readability, structure, and organization to ensure it is clear, manageable, and easy for future developers to understand and use.
Solution Delivered by LeverX
Within the set timeframe, the LeverX team built a comprehensive platform based on Microsoft Azure.
Introduced features helped FUCHS to overcome operational challenges:
IoT-driven real-time data collection
LeverX implemented a robust IoT integration, enabling real-time data collection and monitoring across a wide range of equipment and resources. This allows users to track equipment performance under varying operational conditions and receive immediate maintenance inspection results. The system also predicts the depletion of raw materials for lubricants, facilitating proactive restocking.
Additionally, we integrated sensors from multiple vendors to enable real-time tank monitoring to provide users with insights into product levels, historical usage, and depletion forecasts, all presented through dynamic visualizations.
Secure Microsoft Azure integration with Global Identity Access Management
To enhance security and streamline authentication, we integrated Microsoft Azure Active Directory with global identity access management system. This centralized approach simplifies authentication across all applications and components, while advanced security features — such as Azure Active Directory, multi-factor authentication, encryption, and risk monitoring tools — ensure the protection of sensitive data and maintain GDPR compliance.
Customizable BI (Business Intelligence) reports
Our platform includes a flexible Business Intelligence (BI) suite that enables users to generate customized reports based on key criteria. These reports offer powerful data visualizations that simplify the analysis, making critical insights more accessible and actionable for faster decision-making.
Mobile application for technicians
LeverX developed a mobile application for technicians that supports offline data logging, allowing them to operate in remote areas without internet connectivity. The app consolidates test and consumption data into a single, organized file, ensuring all information is accessible, up-to-date, and easily manageable.
Automated task management
We integrated an automated task management system within the ERP, allowing technicians to automate and schedule recurring equipment service tasks. The system also supports route planning, helping technicians create task sequences that ensure efficient maintenance planning and consistent equipment performance checks.
Smart quality control
LeverX’s Smart Quality Control module provides proactive issue management, enabling FUCHS to detect, assess, and address production risks, such as equipment malfunctions. The system automatically evaluates repair times and costs for issues(e.g. leaks), helping managers plan accordingly to minimize production disruptions.
Automated document workflows
We streamlined FUCHS’s document workflows by automating updates to infrastructure data files whenever new manufacturers or facilities are added. This reduces manual data entry, enhances accuracy, and ensures information is always up-to-date.
System localization for global use
The platform is fully localized to support FUCHS’s global operations. With multilingual capabilities, the system can translate fields, settings, and configurations to meet the needs of international users. Additionally, it offers customizable field names, allowing clients to tailor the platform’s terminology to fit local or organizational requirements and ensure seamless usability across regions.
Overcoming Geography-Specific Challenges in One of the FUCHS Strategic Locations
China is one of FUCHS’s key strategic regions. However, the Chinese government's policies made the deployment process complicated. The primary challenge was that several Microsoft Azure services, such as SMTP (email service) and CosmosDB (a key Azure product), were unavailable in China at the time, although they were available in Europe.
Furthermore, due to China's stringent requirements that limit the data usage to inside the state borders, local cloud solutions, email distribution services, telecom providers, and other regional infrastructure must be used.
To overcome these obstacles, we set up an infrastructure based on Microsoft Azure that mirrored the European setup and implemented services specifically designed for the Chinese market, such as SendGrid for email distribution. This ensures operational consistency while adhering to local regulations.
Technology Stack Used in the Project
What the Client Achieved with LeverX’s Solution
The customer successfully automated numerous business processes with the modern enterprise solution developed by the LeverX team. This increased sales, enhanced technicians’ productivity, and streamlined data management with more accessible, actionable insights.
Key achievements of the project include:
- The new solution delivered a unified enterprise management system (ERP), fulfilling a crucial need for the client’s customers.
- The client can efficiently manage multiple equipment assets simultaneously, significantly improving overall enterprise productivity.
- Advanced data access management tools ensure the secure handling of critical platform data, meeting GDPR compliance standards and safeguarding user information.
- Real-time data monitoring enables quick data analysis and prompt reporting, which supports faster decision-making.
- The platform processes real-time equipment data—including performance metrics, test results with chemical compounds for lubricant production, and IoT sensor data—within two seconds, allowing for swift page loading and result filtering.
- Proactive maintenance alerts and procedures minimize equipment downtime and reduce operational costs.
With a centralized access point to databases and products, the platform fosters effortless coordination across the client’s offices. Intelligent data visualization also improves the interpretation of critical information, leading to quicker, more informed decisions.