Data Extraction and Reporting in the Agrifood Industry

Nowadays, the importance of having coherent and precise data in a real-time environment is really valuable for a good decision-making process. These data are collected through ERP systems and, to be more precise, through Extraction, Transformation and Loading (ETL) flows, which help companies gain information from them. This thesis explores the potential of using Pentaho, a complete set of free and open-source business intelligence (BI) tools created to assist businesses of all kinds in making data-driven choices, in a project with the aim of helping an Agrifood company migrate its ERP system from a traditional one to SAP and the use of analysis software to provide reports to the client. The project provides a practical example of how Pentaho helps businesses in the management of ETL from the collection, to the processing and transformation of data and finally to the storing of them in the Data Mart, making them available to use for analytics dashboard. The flow of the thesis presented starts by providing the background and significance of the project, highlighting the need for efficient planning in organizations. Thereafter, the scope and objectives of the study are defined. The main focus of the thesis regards the exploration of how the whole implementation process of SAP was conducted, with a particular focus on the sections about the tool used to manage the flows and the software used to create reports and dashboards. The above mentioned project is also presented from a practical perspective, through the internship carried out in an Italian reality.