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Qlik helps boost store operational performance

Technology Category
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
  • Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries
  • Retail
Applicable Functions
  • Sales & Marketing
  • Business Operation
Use Cases
  • Supply Chain Visibility
  • Inventory Management
  • Retail Store Automation
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
  • Data Science Services
The Challenge
Urban Outfitters, a lifestyle retailer with 650 stores across the USA, Europe, and the UK, was struggling with siloed data across different systems and technologies. This made it difficult to gain daily visibility of actionable data, a problem further complicated by different time zones and the varying operating styles of the three business brands. The Covid-19 pandemic added another layer of complexity as the company had to manage store closures and differing pandemic strategies. The company's biggest roadblock was the inability to easily explore information to gain the necessary insights, resulting in reports that had to be manually compiled, consuming a significant amount of administrative time.
About The Customer
Urban Outfitters is a lifestyle retailer that was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Philadelphia. The company sells women’s and men’s clothing and accessories, a range of items for interior furnishing and décor, and a music and technology collection. With 550 stores in the USA and 100 across Europe and the UK, the company has a significant presence in the retail industry. However, the company was facing challenges in gaining daily visibility of actionable data due to the siloed nature of its data across different systems and technologies. This problem was further complicated by different time zones and the varying operating styles of the three business brands.
The Solution
To overcome these challenges, Urban Outfitters decided to consolidate its data and migrate to the cloud. The company implemented Qlik Data Integration to stream data into a Snowflake cloud and Qlik Sense SaaS for data analysis. This created an Active Intelligence environment with a connected end-to-end data pipeline that enables users to find data, understand it, and quickly act on it. The use of real-time data supports 'in the moment' decision making and rapid action when business challenges arise. More than 240 Qlik apps are now in production, providing insights over not only store performance but also e-commerce sales, operations, distribution centers, and supply chain logistics. The company can now easily scale access to near real-time analytics, making it easier to set up new stores and connect them from anywhere around the globe.
Operational Impact
  • Data now resides in one cloud-based repository where it is easily accessible to all.
  • Highly visual dashboards are quick to create and easy to understand, replacing complex multi-column reports.
  • Rapid real-time data access boosts store performance by giving staff the information they need when they need it.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Data streaming to the cloud is now down to less than five minutes for distribution centers and tops out at 15 minutes for the order management system (OMS).
  • One routine report that used to take a store manager two hours a week is now instantly available.

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