The Leiden-based company In Ovo is on a mission: they aim to improve animal welfare in the poultry industry. After years of research, they have adopted fast, accurate, and effective technology for hatcheries. This allows them to lead the sector while also complying with all regulations. And, in fact, that’s exactly what BrightAnalytics does for In Ovo behind the scenes, but in the realm of financial reporting.
When CFO Tiemen Dalhuisen joined In Ovo, he quickly decided to take the company’s reporting in a different direction. “We were using Exact Online, a versatile system, but as soon as you have multiple entities-we have five, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany – you end up at losing a lot of time on reporting. You have to do a lot of things in Excel, which increases the risk of errors, and it’s often to maintain consistency across different locations. Having been in the business world for some time, I immediately decided that this needed to change.
After coincidentally receiving an email around that same time in which BrightAnalytics introduced itself, Tiemen decided to reach out for a conversation. With nine out of ten emails that land in my inbox, I usually do nothing. Everyone always wants something from me. But this time I thought: no, I will engage with this, because this tool is going to make my life a lot easier. Besides, I’m not very good with Excel, “he laughs, “so if I can do things differently, I’m definitely open to it.”
And so it happened. Tiemen knew exactly what he wanted: a reporting tool that fits In Ovo and could support their ambitions for the coming years. “It was important that we could close the books with accurate numbers, and receive alerts if there was any discrepancy in the figures. Additionally, we needed to be able to do reporting for all our entities, despite differences in regulations and, for example, chart of accounts. When I saw that BrightAnalytics offered almost everything I needed, I was immediately convinced. Although I usually compare multiple vendors, I felt that BrightAnalytics was the right choice. There may be other solutions, but what BrightAnalytics offers is truly unique. Plus, the communication was smooth, and it turned out to be a competitively priced system. That’s how I found my solution.”
What was discussed during that first meeting is exactly what has been implemented in BrightAnalytics for In Ovo today. “We met a few times to go over everything, after which BrightAnalytics carried out the implementation. It went smoothly and was completed in about six weeks.” Today, he primarily uses the system for reporting to stakeholders and to quickly perform internal analyses. “We work with three users in BrightAnalytics. As soon as the month is closed, I have all the information available for my reporting. The system also handles the consolidation for us, which is important given that we have five entities. Everything happens very quickly. You wouldn’t believe how much time our employees used to spend working in Excel. If I wanted to, I could now check every day to see how we’re doing in terms of results, cash position, balance sheet, and transactions, across all five locations. What I also appreciate is that I can click through to see the details behind the number whenever needed.”
Tiemen regularly receives positive feedback on his reporting. “I haven’t heard a single negative comment about it. Previously, I worked in the corporate world, where expensive and cumbersome IT solutions are typically used. It’s quite different here. This system has been developed by people with a finance background, and you can really tell. The ease of use for me is tremendous.”
Does the tool align with In Ovo’s growth ambitions? “Absolutely. Our mission is to conquer Europe and to launch our application for the poultry sector far beyond that. We know that BrightAnalytics can support us in that growth, so we’re well-positioned for the future. What’s also important is that it’s an accessible system, making it easy for new users to learn. And if we do have a question, the staff at BrightAnalytics do their best to help us. The collaboration and service are simply excellent. They take our feedback into account and make adjustments where possible. So if someone were to ask me if I’d recommend them, I’d say: ‘Just give it a try.’ Many large companies aren’t as well set up as we are with BrightAnalytics.”
In Ovo was founded in 2013 as a spin-off from Leiden University and has devised an innovative solution for the poultry industry: through gender screening in the first half of the incubation process, no day-old chicks have to be culled, the hatchery emits less CO2, consumes less energy, and chicks experience less stress from manual selection. Given the company’s ambition growth plans- combined with a reluctance to manage all the figures for the currently five entities in Excel- the CFO of In Ovo opted for a partnership with BrightAnalytics in 2022. He has not regretted this decision.