Supernova Award Category

The Problem

CCBCC wanted a paradigm shift for how it worked with data. But getting the data to make data-driven decisions wasn’t easy. When Kevin King, Director of Reports & Analytics at CCBCC, joined the team, it was viewed largely as “report generators.” And creating those reports was hugely labor intensive, with some reports taking more than 1,000 steps just to compile. Many other reports were virtually useless. Such a time- and labor-intensive process for analytics made it difficult or impossible to make timely, data-driven decisions. Or to empower teams with the data they need to do their jobs every day. For instance, many reports would go to management only once each month—not nearly often enough for an organization that wanted to make data a part of its operations each and every day.

This difficulty was also creating a rift between IT teams and the business – IT was spending massive amounts of time working with data, while the business still wasn’t getting what it needed.

Furthermore, CCBCC knew it needed to modernize its sales force with mobile technology. In the 21st century, it’s not enough for a sales team to work at a desk. CCBCC rolled out iPads to its entire sales force to empower them to work more effectively on the road. But they now needed an analytics solution that would empower anyone—not just IT or data analysts—to create, view, and explore reports on-the-go.

The Solution

CCBCC needed to change the way it worked with data. It needed an analytics solution that was fast, that would streamline its reporting processes, that could be used on iPads, and that was easy enough to use that its business-users could see and explore their own data.

CCBCC chose Tableau for visual, analytics. Tableau is a self-service analytics solution built around simple drag-and-drop analytics that lets anyone, such as CCBCC’s executives and sales force, to see and explore data. Tableau also lets CCBCC pull data from many different systems easily.

Tableau dashboards are also compatible with iPads, a critical feature for CCBCC. In Tableau, CCBCC also saw an opportunity to change how IT worked with the business. The self-service nature of Tableau let IT move from a “reporting factory” to a team that worked in partnership with the business.

The results

: Tableau and self-service analytics has changed the way that CCBCC works with data. Prior to Tableau, it was a challenge to provide up-to-date data to the company. The old, labor-intensive way they built dashboards meant that dashboards were refreshed just once per month. And field sales teams and executives had to be in the office to view the results. IT and the business struggled to understand each other’s needs. This had a direct impact on CCBCC’s performance.

With Tableau, these dashboards are updated daily, with the work taking a matter of seconds or minutes. More than 800 employees are now able to regularly access these dashboards via mobile devices. And IT and the business are working together in a rewarding partnership like never before. 

Metrics

CCBCC moved from dashboards that refreshed once a month, to dashboards that are updated daily. More than 800 employees now regularly access these dashboards, including via the company’s deployment of iPads.

These dashboards are also easier to build than ever before, moving from a more than 1,000-step process to a process that takes only minutes.

Business users have also benefitted. They’re now able to get answers to their questions in seconds. They’re also able to drill down into data from a single dashboard, rather than having to rely on multiple sources and dashboards. This makes it much easier for business users to access information on the road.

The Technology

CCBCC rolled out Tableau for fast visual analytics. It also deployed iPads to its mobile sales force to help them access information on the road.

Disruptive Factor

By adopting an analytics solution that is easy to use, fast, and visual, CCBCC has created a data culture within its organization and has changed the way that IT works with the business. IT has gone from being “report generators” to a more productive partnership with the business, and business users are able to see and understand data like never before. CCBCC is taking a more agile approach to analytics, helping turn out product faster, engage the business, and get all kinds of employees—from business to sales to IT—excited about working with data.

Shining Moment

 CCBCC’s team was able to identify a million dollar opportunity for savings using Tableau. For CCBCC’s business, it’s important that the inventory they deliver to retail locations actually sells. When drivers have to go back to stores to pick up unsold product, that’s a million dollar expense. Functions in Tableau dashboards are helping CCBCC pinpoint the cause of this and find ways to utilize that profit to do other things.