Retail Firm Boosts Data Maturity and Agility with Microsoft Fabric

Project Overview

A national retail sales and marketing services firm partnered with GOBI Technologies to modernize their fragmented analytics landscape. By implementing Microsoft Fabric, we transformed siloed data into a unified platform, enhanced governance, and enabled predictive analytics—unlocking faster RFP responses, strategic agility, and enterprise-wide data empowerment.

Challenges

This firm, known for delivering merchandising, marketing, and field sales execution for major retailers, faced mounting data and operational hurdles:

• Siloed Systems: Customer, HR, and project data was spread across Salesforce, SharePoint, Workday, and Power BI, creating fragmented insights.
• Outdated Models: Legacy analytics lacked documentation and repeatable structure, slowing delivery and increasing errors.
• Low Data Maturity: Teams lacked the tools, training, and confidence to harness data for insight or innovation.
• Slow RFP Prototyping: Relying on manual data prep made it difficult to quickly generate compelling client proposals or forecasts.

These inefficiencies resulted in productivity losses, delayed insights, and a reduced ability to win new business or adapt programs at speed.

Approach & Solution

GOBI Technologies delivered a phased transformation strategy using Microsoft Fabric, designed to improve speed, agility, and decision-making at scale:

• Unified Data Architecture: We integrated data across systems into Fabric’s lakehouse model, centralizing access while maintaining security and compliance.
• Governance Framework: Legacy data models were mapped and documented, definitions standardized, and ownership assigned, building trust and repeatability.
• Self-Service Enablement: Power BI and Fabric workspaces were optimized for line-of-business users, giving sales and marketing teams direct access to KPIs and dashboards.
• Advanced Analytics: We introduced forecasting models for program budgeting and campaign planning, increasing accuracy and flexibility.
• Faster Prototyping: Proposals were accelerated using templated analytics and reusable data sets—key to winning RFPs.
• Training & Literacy: Workshops and enablement sessions ensured teams adopted new tools confidently and consistently.

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