Qlik > Case Studies > Qlik helps boost store operational performance

Qlik helps boost store operational performance

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Qlik Data Integration
Qlik Sense SaaS
Snowflake cloud

Tech Stack

Cloud Computing
Data Integration
Data Analytics

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Productivity Improvements
Digital Expertise
Innovation Output

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

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 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.

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.
The democratization of data creates a more inclusive environment for store staff who can make quick decisions, see current challenges, plan for the future, and appreciate the impact their work has on the wider picture.
The ease with which Qlik dashboards can be created was of great benefit during the pandemic. As stores became pack-and-ship fulfillment centers for direct business during Covid-19 lockdowns, a Qlik dashboard was quickly created to give management a measure of store and brand performance.

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.