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The Container Store's Mobile App 'The Score' Enhances Sales and Payroll Performance Analysis
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Applicable Industries
- Retail
Applicable Functions
- Sales & Marketing
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Services
- System Integration
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- Training
The Challenge
The Container Store faced the challenge of needing actionable, consistent, and timely reporting for their store leadership team. They had been relying on email and spreadsheets for reporting, which was not efficient or effective. The executive team identified gaps in store reporting as the greatest opportunity for improvement and innovation. They needed a solution that could provide comprehensive sales and payroll performance analysis, and also optimize personnel schedules based on current trends and predictive analysis.
About The Customer
The Container Store, founded in Dallas in 1978, is a retail chain devoted to storage and organization. With 60 stores across the US and annual sales growth in the double digits, the company forecasts sales of approximately $766 million for 2013. They stock over 10,000 products, adding nearly 2,000 new products annually. The company prides itself on being a workplace of choice, with no layoffs or store closings during the recent economic recession. Employees are compensated much higher than the industry average, which helps attract and retain talented and dedicated people. The Container Store has been on Fortune’s 100 best companies to work for 14 years in a row, ranking number one for two of those years.
The Solution
The Container Store partnered with MicroStrategy to develop 'The Score', a mobile app that provides executive sales recap, payroll performance, company sales, store sales, flash sales, and trend reports. The app was developed using a 'whole brained approach', involving all business units to decide on KPIs and create storyboards for the app's design. The app includes 14 dashboards and provides information about payroll and actionables to optimize schedules based on current trends and predictive analysis. The QuickStrike initiative demonstrated the power of the MicroStrategy platform to bring dashboards to mobile devices, shifting from email and spreadsheet reporting to mobile devices.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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