Business Challenge

A prominent multinational corporation faced the significant challenge of developing a sophisticated Analytics Platform to meet the diverse needs of its Business Units (BUs) scattered across the globe. Each BU was at a different level of data standardisation, necessitating a consistent, standards-based approach to ensure efficient and rapid adoption of the new platform. The corporation aimed to merge bottler information with its internal data, generating insightful analyses about consumers and customers to create value for both the corporation and its bottlers. Moreover, the need for a subscription-based model to minimise the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for each unit added another layer of complexity to the project.

Solution Delivered

To overcome these challenges, we devised a comprehensive solution that combined advanced technology with strategic methodology. The solution began with a product-based approach that established a standard framework for all BUs, ensuring consistency and facilitating faster adoption. A toolkit was developed to assess and onboard new bottlers globally, aligning them with the corporation’s standards. Integration of bottler data with internal data created a unified repository that enabled in-depth analytics.

We employed agile development methodologies, with iterative 2-week sprints that ensured continuous improvement and timely feature delivery. We used Azure cloud to underpin the platform, providing a flexible subscription model that reduced TCO and enhanced scalability. The solution also featured a Big Data lake for extensive data storage and scalability, complemented by geo-distributed databases using Cosmos DB and Azure SQL for high availability.

Standardised data processing was implemented through Informatica BDE, ensuring data consistency and quality. Additionally, the platform leveraged Azure Analysis Services and Power BI to provide fine-grained metrics, empowering users with self-service analytics capabilities. A Java-based data steward application was also developed to manage and maintain data quality and governance.

Impact

The deployment of this comprehensive solution brought numerous benefits to the client. Our experience and technical expertise enabled the rapid development of the product within 90 days, meeting tight deadlines and setting the stage for quick implementation. A 90-day onboarding plan was established for all bottlers, ensuring a seamless and efficient transition to the new platform.

The Azure cloud-based subscription model provided a flexible, cost-effective solution, significantly reducing the TCO for each business unit. Bottlers were given the flexibility to submit data in either a standard form or a bottler-specific format, accommodating diverse data submission preferences and enhancing user satisfaction. The integrated platform offered a powerful tool for generating consumer and customer insights by combining revenue and volume information, driving better decision-making and value creation for both the corporation and its bottlers.