CUSTOMER STORY // URBAN OUTFITTERS
Urban Outfitters Reduces Store Level Reporting from
Hours to Minutes
Retail leader uses real-time data to support in-the-moment decisions.
50GB
Daily streamed
data
Rapid real-time data access boosts store performance by giving staff the information they need when they need it.
240+
Qlik apps in use
Store staff can make quick decisions, see current challenges, plan for the future, and appreciate the impact their work has on the wider picture.
650+
Store locations worldwide
Access to an array of dashboards and reports updated with fresh data every two minutes enables quick, in-store decision-making.
CHALLENGE
Data was locked inside 650-plus stores
Gathering actionable data from more than 650 stores spread throughout the USA, Europe, and UK was a huge problem. Time zones, operating styles of three business brands, and different information systems created remarkable challenges. Covid-19 made it even worse, because of store closures and inconsistent pandemic strategies.
“We were dealing with many different systems and technologies, so we could not easily gather, explore, or learn from information,” said Director of Workforce Management, Joanna Matthy. “It meant that reports had to be cobbled together which took a lot of administrative time.”
APPROACH
They stream data to the cloud for real-time reporting
Urban Outfitters migrated to a Snowflake cloud fed by Qlik Data Integration. They could stream 50 GB of data per day from all those on-premises data sources.
Qlik Data Analytics became the company standard for in-store reporting and data analysis.
Working together, the two Qlik solutions created unprecedented access to critical data and enabled more informed action. Reports that took hours, now take minutes.
RESULTS
Data management makes information more useful
Qlik Data Integration enables small packets of data to be constantly streamed to the cloud rather than a big-bang approach that takes hours. Previously, data could only be manipulated once the ETL (extract, transform, load) process had started, which meant hours of delay. Now, it takes fewer than five minutes for distribution centers, and at most 15 minutes for the order management system (OMS).
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Find lost opportunities in your data
The takeaway here is that you can get the most from your data, even if you’re dealing with archaic systems, incompatible platforms, decentralized data stores, or any of the other countless hurdles to business insights and planning.
Urban Outfitters said: “Qlik has provided a longer runway and a more sustainable way to operate with fewer inhibitors than we had before. Using it to obtain a holistic snapshot of a store’s performance throughout the day is our ultimate aim.”
Here’s what other customers are saying
We needed to consolidate data in one place, from heterogeneous sources, updated in almost real-time. That’s what Qlik enables for us.
Qlik Gold Client solves a major problem typically encountered in SAP systems: size and complexity. The solution allows us to select data precisely, transfer it to the test environment and start testing immediately.
We needed a BI partner that could enable us to report and dashboard with visualizations to provide our clients with more insights. With Qlik we achieved this and enable our clients to make data-driven decisions. It's been a phenomenal partnership which will continue on.
We started an automation process with Qlik and now we only have half the people managing reports. The other half is doing activities allowing us to leapfrog the competition by providing even more proactive analytics vs. reactive.
By building AI into everything they deliver, while still maintaining a cloud agnostic approach, Qlik is meeting customers where they are in their AI journey while providing the flexibility needed to expand AI where and how it makes sense.
