Global Sales Data Measurement

Overview

This large global organisation, with a broad range of products in a number of different categories, has access to data provided by an array of different data suppliers across the globe. This well-known client required a solution that stored all of their global sales measurement data in one place, that was easily accessible by any user in the organisation.

Wessex developed processes and systems to collect, consolidate, and transform all different data types, and deliver a cost-effective leading-edge Business Intelligence tool that allowed the client to leverage data to drive informed decision making and deliver insight and value to the business.

The Challenge

With over 200 datasets available to access, the client did not have the resources or capacity to manage this volume of data from disparate data sources. Aligning category, manufacturer, and brand definitions across databases, and markets, added additional complexity to this project. Different time periods are available in each database, and even when the databases are delivered to the client, are factors that also need to be accounted for and managed to ensure consistent reporting of the data.

The client’s main objectives were to find a partner that:
(1) had the knowledge and expertise to manage and align the different data sources available across the globe, and provide actionable recommendations when data discrepancies are identified
(2) could visualise the data so that users can quickly deliver insights and identify opportunities

The solution had to be fast, scalable and flexible to meet the changing needs of the business.

Ultimately, the client wanted all users to access and analyse the data provided by the preferred partner through the centralised solution proposed, rather than having to access local databases themselves to retrieve the data. To deliver one source of truth, with everyone talking the same language.

The Solution

Wessex were able to answer the brief by delivering a solution in two parts:

1. Global Data Management

With the client having access to a wide array of data from different data suppliers, Wessex provided a tailored and customised approach to meet the unique needs of the client to automatically download and retrieve the data from each database. The data is then processed and ingested into our proprietary data-intelligence platform which is fast, flexible, scalable, and can evolve with the needs of the business.  You can read more about our platform here.

Once absorbed into our platform, the data is further enriched – it is checked for any discrepancies or unplanned restatements, it is cleansed and harmonised to ensure, for example, that a product has the same description across markets and data sources, and is standardised so that each data source conforms to the same format regardless of where the raw data is sourced from. The data is only delivered to the client, and made available in our Business Intellignece tool (BI), once it has passed our stringent Quality Checking (QC) process.

Wessex manages this process on a monthly basis, accessing all 200+ datasets required to ensure that the data is updated in a timely fashion, is robust, and contains the latest information available to be used by the client.

2. Business Intelligence Tool

Sitting on top of this cleansed, harmonised, enriched dataset is a suite of easy-to-use modular dashboards designed to allow users to quickly generate insights. The tool is designed to be accessible to all users across the organisation; for those who have limited knowledge of the data, through to the power users.

The tool allows the client to visualise their data to drive insight and learning at a global, regional, or individual market level.

The Result

The solution developed by Wessex is a platform that manages and stores all different data types in a centralised repository that is accessible to everyone in the organisation. Its speed, power, scalability, and flexibility allows for new data sources, or new markets, to be processed and ingested quickly and efficiently. One of the key aims of the client was to remove the effort away from users having to access local databases themselves. This new data platform gives all users the data they require at their fingertips.

Our complete data management process takes all the heavy lifting away from the client. Wessex is responsible for all downloads, checking, cleansing, harmonising, and standardising of the data. Our Business Intelligence tool gives the client the ability to:

  • Quickly review performance dashboards at a global, regional, or individual market perspective
  • Understand how they and their key competitors are performing, and which causal measures are driving/affecting growth
  • Drill into the data for deeper analysis – from category right down to SKU level
  • Quickly produce comparative performance analysis across key markets
  • Perform Portfolio/Range Optimisation. Identify which SKUs in their range are top performing and deserving of deeper distribution
  • Take decisive action – remove poor performing SKUs and replace them with NPD or strong performing SKUs before the retailer makes that decision for you
  • Analyse their price positioning versus key competitors

Ready to talk?