Case Study - Multi Business Multi System Co-operative

The Problem

• There are a number of different Legacy POS systems that provide limited user generated reports for retail business reporting and management

• There are a variety of legacy wholesale and manual systems in place for wholesale and logistics business reporting and management

• There is a desire to implement a number of modern non integrated cloud based systems for specific areas of the business (truck electronic diaries, timeclocks)

• The business uses a legacy ERP that does not have a native integration to any of the retail or wholesale systems

• The business has a growing administration burden due to the variety and complexity of managing  unrelated systems associated with a larger cooperative business

• Consider additional data sources not considered by the business owner

  • Phone system integration to monitor telephone activity (especially related to sales staff)

  • Vehicle GPS data

  • Social Media analytics

  • Time sheet integration to monitor staff activity

  • Merchant provider data to analyse customer purchasing patterns 

The Solution

• Install and configure an appropriate secure and private data warehouse for the business

  • Replicate all of the required data sources into the data warehouse including ongoing updating direct from the source

    • This means that the live data sources are read only and never modified in any way

    • All aggregation and reporting loads are derived from the data warehouse which ensures the performance of the live business systems are not compromised in any way

    • Appoint a data champion and subject matter experts from within the business to manage the data replication (timely and accurate) and automation of each system

  • Aggregate the required data into useful views

  • Fully Document the data warehouse schema, automation and aggregation processes including a detailed risk analysis of data corruption and gaps

  • Liase with the various subject matter experts and system providers to resolve all major system risks and data gaps

  • Publish the data into visualisations customised to deliver the clients requirements

    • Make available user logins and mobile app for viewing and monitoring

    • Create and automate alerts, notifications, reports and visualiation loops

    • Provide URL links of the visualisations for internal publishing to secure websites, TV sources dependant on client needs

• Create a defined ERP interface for all data sources from replicated data including sales, purchases, stock adjustments, account payments, GST, credits

The Costs (all in AUD) (indicative as at 2023 and excluding GST)

• The data warehouse cost is dependent upon the size of the data being stored but ranges from $30 pcm (small) to $200 pcm (large)

• The integration to a legacy ERP cost would be dependent upon the ERP capability to import and process transactions from an outside source, expect this to be a once of cost plus a monthly management cost to monitor and upgrade as the various systems schemas change.  Expect a cost of $5000 per system as a once off cost plus $250 pcm per system to monitor and upgrade.

• The data visualisation cost is dependant on the number of visualisations required but ranges from $200 pcm (small) to $500 pcm (large)

• The other cost is the development time for defining the end solution

  • This is generally a once off up front fee and can range from $750 to $5000 depending on the number and complexity of the visualisations required

  • As the business becomes confident in the  data, expect to request more visualisations and  redefine existing ones

    • Generally, minor infrequent changes would be included in the monthly costs quoted above

    • Major changes or enhancements would be quoted but expect them to be in line with the one off development rates described above

• What DOES NOT affect costs

  • Initial on site meet and greet is obligation free and at no cost

  • Number of users, you can have as many as you need at no additional cost

  • Initial training and onboarding is included (limited to staff that will champion the solution)

  • One on site visit per year to review the solution and results are translating to benefits (i.e. the data is being used proactively)