Company Overview

Since its founding in 1979, the Willke Group has grown from a family-owned business in northern Germany into a Europe-wide specialist in railway construction.

With around 500 employees across 13 locations in three countries, Willke covers all key areas of railway construction—from track renewal and engineering services to maintenance.

Innovation and efficiency are at the heart of Willke’s operations, making the consistent digitalization of core processes a top priority.

The Challenge

As the company expanded and developed seven specialized business divisions, managing the growing number of machines, tools, and equipment became increasingly complex.

While ERP systems and Excel spreadsheets served their purpose for a time, they proved inadequate for a dynamic, multi-location organization.

Key challenges included:

  • Tracking machines, tools, and equipment across multiple sites
  • High administrative effort and susceptibility to errors from manual entries
  • Difficulty monitoring maintenance cycles and responsibilities
  • Lack of real-time overview of inventory and staff qualifications

In railway construction, where every piece of equipment and every skilled worker must be deployed precisely, delays and incomplete data not only cause inefficiencies—they compromise safety, productivity, and project planning. In 2021, Willke began searching for a sustainable solution, which ultimately led to Timly.

The Solution

The goal was a centralized, cloud-based inventory solution combining robustness, flexibility, and ease of use. Timly proved to be the perfect fit and was implemented successfully in a short time.

Implementation highlights:

  • Establishment of a unified, digital database for all asset master data
  • Use of the Timly app for mobile asset tracking directly on construction sites
  • Integration of QR-code labels for quick identification and assignment
  • Utilization of the integrated ticket system for fault and maintenance management
  • Digital tracking of employee training and qualifications

Thanks to the cloud-based solution, employees now have access to up-to-date information from the office, warehouse, or directly on-site. Its intuitive interface ensures rapid onboarding across the team.

The Results

With Timly, Willke fully digitized its inventory management and significantly improved efficiency across multiple areas.

Key results include:

  1. 100% digital, real-time overview of all assets
  2. Dramatically reduced search and administrative times
  3. Simplified maintenance planning and documentation
  4. Digital management of employee qualifications and certifications
  5. Improved compliance and workplace safety through clear documentation
  6. Better-informed decisions for procurement and maintenance

Willke leverages this data to make strategic decisions, optimize investments, and maximize the use of existing resources.

Key Takeaways

  • Digitalizing core operational processes creates transparency, efficiency, and planning security
  • An intuitive solution like Timly ensures team-wide adoption—from administration to the construction site
  • Combining asset tracking, maintenance management, and employee qualifications builds a connected, data-driven organizational structure
  • Willke demonstrates that digital transformation in asset management is not just an IT project—it is a critical competitive advantage for the future