Forecasting with external data untaps new paths to market

A market leader in the Canadian Coffee and Beverage industry required a substantial increase in visibility on their 2nd largest business channel to drive strategic commercial decisions. The client had previously outsourced an analysis of this channel to a major consulting firm for 6 figures, which quickly became outdated and obsolete. Our task was to create a modern data-driven solution to augment strategic insights for years to come.
To solve this issue, we developed an automated, cloud-based solution to source and process external data, integrating it with internal data to model channel projections, identify high value segments, and highlight untapped opportunities.

The value proposition:

With brand new KPIs, the strategic insights for this channel have enhanced decision-making. An estimated annual revenue gain of 1% equates to $1.2M. Additionally, 70% of a full-time employee’s workload is removed as ad-hoc queries are no longer required.

Challenge: starting from scratch

As with any analytical solution, data is the foundation. Our client had very little internal data applicable to the business objective. We needed to thoroughly explore available internal and external data sources to develop new data models and enable success drivers for the business case.

Our solution roadmap consisted of:

  • Working with stakeholders to identify desired metrics to drive decisions.
  • Evaluating tools and visualizations to maximize project ROI.
  • Assessing the data points required to achieve the target state outcomes.
  • Sourcing industry data from the web, and reorganizing the company’s internal data.
  • Defining and implementing a production analytics environment.
  • Developing forecasting models to highlight new business opportunities.
  • Sharing insights through self-service dashboards and email alerts.

Key to success: sharing knowledge

This kind of solution was brand new and needed to be understood thoroughly by the end users to trust the insights. We worked closely with the client from the start to ensure the vision was clear and that every metric was designed in line with strategic objectives

Technical and analytical environment:

• Microsoft Azure
• Tableau
• Web scraping
• Statistical forecasting