Driving Manufacturing Digital Transformation with Alteryx

AGC Chemicals Company Tackles Digital Transformation (DX) and Cultivates Dual-Skilled Talent

AGC is a comprehensive materials manufacturer that produces a number of products with top global market share. Founded in 1907, its original business began with flat glass production, and the company has continued to provide materials and solutions needed by society in response to generational shifts. Today, the AGC Group operates in over 30 countries and regions, engaging in a wide range of fields including glass, electronics, chemicals, life sciences and ceramics.

Within the Group, the AGC Chemicals Company develops a diverse range of products, from basic chemicals to high-performance chemicals, originating in the electrolysis of brine. It manufactures and sells products such as caustic soda, vinyl chloride, urethane and fluorochemicals, balancing superior quality with environmental considerations.

“AGC Chemicals Company also covers a wide range of DX, and we promote DX by setting themes for each value chain segment, from the entire supply chain to engineering,” says Project Leader Mr. Taikan Yasui.

AGC Chemicals Company introduced Alteryx Designer in 2021 and began utilizing data in the manufacturing area. Alteryx Server was introduced in 2022, and in addition to knowledge of manufacturing operations, the company worked to develop “dual-skilled talent” with data analysis skills. Utilization in the business domain began in 2024, at which time Alteryx’s Analytics Innovation Program was also implemented.

The company achieved a reduction of 6,000 work hours annually within the first year of this initiative. Moving forward, they will continue efforts to promote digital transformation (DX) using Alteryx in areas such as office operations, supply chain management and human resources, contributing not only to enhanced speed of operations, but also improved data integrity and added value.

“In the future, we plan to further expand use of Alteryx and provide training to user departments so they can create and implement their own workflows. We also aim to expand the scope of application and improve work efficiency across the entire company by providing explanations and support to departments that have not yet implemented the system,” Mr. Yasui details.

Alteryx’s Common Platform for Business Automation and Data Standardization

AGC Chemicals Company manufactures a wide range of products that feature complex, advanced operations. Consequently, data is dispersed across diverse areas. The collection and transcription tasks are time consuming, and since adjustments are made manually, decision-making has been delayed, making it challenging to effectively utilize data.

“To remedy these issues, we are proceeding with the introduction of a common platform. By automating tasks that are repetitive or require tabulation in Excel, work time can be cut down drastically. Risk is also reduced by standardizing business procedures through tools utilization and improving data accuracy and consistency. Additionally, we aim to improve overall efficiency through automating operations and clarifying business processes, improving work speed and creating added value,” notes Business Innovation Group member Mr. Kazuya Sugiyama.

Enhance User Department Self-Sufficiency by Effectively Integrating Educational Support

In addition to providing a common platform, AGC Chemicals Company is also promoting education and technology sharing regarding Alteryx for users in the business sector.

“To facilitate the management and maintenance of data utilization with Alteryx, we have been conducting training across five sessions since the end of last year. The sessions focused on explaining the tools actually used, with an emphasis on data visualization and utilization methods,” says Mr. Sugiyama.

As a result, data management within user departments has become feasible, while advancing application to other operations as well. Additionally, in June 2025, the first user exchange meeting was held, a significant event with approximately 70 participants not only from AGC Chemicals Company but also other sites across the AGC Group.

Business Automation Through SAP Integration

Applications in “chemical substance management operations” are one example of AGC Chemicals Company’s business automation through SAP collaboration.

Major countries have registration systems for chemical substances, and exporting unregistered chemical substances to these countries constitutes a legal violation, posing risks of fines or suspension of sales.

Conventionally, checks to avoid such violations had to be completed manually. The workload was high, accompanied by inherent risk of mistakes occurring.

By utilizing Alteryx Server and DVW’s Alteryx Connector for SAP, the company developed an automated system to match shipment information obtained from SAP with the chemical substance master. This resulted in a reduction of approximately 1,700 cases and 140 hours of work time annually. Additionally, by automating the checks, the risk of violations was significantly reduced, enabling proactive measures.