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Case study

The challenge

A leading global convenience store chain needed to create a new data architecture and management foundation—modernizing its technology platform to improve access to sales data, better manage its supply chain and implement robust analytics for predictive decision making. 

Our client sought a scalable, flexible solution that could meet the demands of its diverse, complex system of franchisees. They needed a way to quickly integrate new applications, perform audits, increase and improve ad-hoc reporting capability, apply similar business rules across the organization and reduce overhead. 

Critically, management wanted to be able to aggregate and analyze store data in near real time, to customize sales at various locations based on specific customer needs.

Our approach

Our team of retail digital experts migrated three years of historical data to a cloud-based infrastructure on Microsoft Azure—moving more than 16 terabytes of data. We then implemented a cloud platform that improves data ingestion from the company's thousands of stores and allows for real-time availability of data, while lowering infrastructure costs and software licensing fees by 40% for on-premise applications.

Combining our newly streamlined AI-ready data model and cloud-based platform infrastructure together meant that the company could implement intelligent analytics to address prevailing business challenges and enable new initiatives. One project has made it possible for customers to enjoy carry-out self-service. Our client’s new cloud-based ecosystem not only improves query and reporting capability, delivering important information—including historical data—to the business more quickly, but also superior in-store customer experiences.   

With access to three years of data and to accurate current and evolving sales data, the company can now perform advanced, intelligent comparative analyses of trends in data, informing more rapid business decisions. The new infrastructure now provides visibility into sales, inventory and expense data on an hourly basis, helping management rationalize a path for other cloud-based projects.

 

Intelligent analytics provide real-time transaction-level insights

Comparative analysis of current and historical data simplifies business decision-making. Implementing new business initiatives on the platform is simple and fast. Infrastructure costs are significantly lower and data redundancy has been avoided. Streamlined report rationalization and maintenance has also enhanced reporting and analytics capability.

Zero downtime

due to infrastructure upgrades, with no negative impact on the business.

Migrated 16TB

to a hybrid cloud platform.

40%

reduction in infrastructure and software licensing costs.