Building BI Capabilities from the ground up for a high-growth CPG

How Common Insights used Tableau, Snowflake and SPINS to develop BI capabilities from scratch.

Team Augmentation

Via advisory or hands-on keyboard work.

Advisory

Expert POV to help support C-suite & Leadership.

Fully Outsourced

Results like internal team,
but better.

Case Study

Common Insights was approached by an emerging middle-market beverage brand to help unite data sources and establish basic reporting processes with the hopes of improving the quality and transparency of their financial reporting.

What initially began as a limited engagement soon transitioned into a multi-year partnership. The Common Insights team fully integrated into the CPG organization, becoming the company’s first-ever business intelligence (BI) department. From building out the initial data infrastructure to creating reliable self-service reporting practices, Common Insights was able to develop a BI function from the ground up.

Industry: Consumer Packaged Goods – Beverage

The Problem

Disparate data sources, the absence of company-wide reporting, and the lack of a central business intelligence unit created operational and strategic obstacles throughout the organization.

Our client used different ERPs (Netsuite and Encompass) for different business units, and was relying on brute force and spreadsheets to get data from the two systems aligned. Third-party distributors were emailing monthly reports via Excel, and the client was also doing excel-based reporting of syndicated Spins data.

The Approach

Common Insights worked hand in hand with the client to ensure a smooth transition as it upgraded its analytics and BI suite. Key wins include:

  • Managed the selection and implementation of a modular BI stack including dbt, Snowflake, Daasity, and Tableau
  • Instituted comprehensive and recurring Tableau reporting packages across financial and trade sales
  • Standardized and democratized reporting by defining KPIs and creating automated dashboards

The Results

Common Insights’ contributions led to large scale shifts in the client’s distribution strategy, improving their overall profitability. By establishing a stable BI infrastructure including integrating data from 100+ third-party distributors, increasing data transparency and accessibility, and enabling extensive planning and performance capabilities, Common Insights equipped the client with the tools necessary to help them maintain their rapid upward trajectory.