Project overview
A leading U.S. specialty grocery retailer sought to modernize its analytics capabilities to support rapid expansion and data-driven decision-making. With data spread across disconnected systems, business teams struggled to access timely, actionable insights. The organization needed an enterprise-scale solution that could unify data, enhance reporting efficiency, and provide real-time visibility into key performance metrics.
With our expertise, the retailer implemented Microsoft Fabric to consolidate its data infrastructure and empower teams with a centralized, scalable analytics platform.
Business challenge
The retailer’s analytics environment was heavily fragmented. Departments relied on static reports from siloed data sources such as Snowflake and Excel, resulting in:
· Delayed and inconsistent reporting
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Limited cross-functional visibility
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High manual effort for data preparation
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Difficulty scaling analytics with growing data complexity
These limitations impeded strategic initiatives across marketing, CRM, store operations, and inventory management. Without a unified data platform, teams lacked the ability to track campaign performance, optimize customer loyalty programs, or manage inventory shrink effectively.
Objectives
The project aimed to deliver both technical transformation and business value:
Business goals
· Improve visibility into customer behavior and loyalty engagement
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Enhance marketing ROI tracking across digital channels
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Increase operational efficiency through store-level insights
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Minimize inventory shrink through better analytics
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Enable self-service reporting and reduce IT dependency
Technical goals
· Centralize data ingestion into Microsoft Fabric’s OneLake
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Replace fragmented tools with governed Lakehouse architecture
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Automate data pipelines using Fabric’s Data Factory and Synapse
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Deliver real-time Power BI dashboards for cross-departmental use
Solution components
MAQ Software deployed a comprehensive Microsoft Fabric solution that included:
· Unified Data Ingestion: Integrated internal sources (Snowflake, Excel, SQL) into Fabric OneLake.
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Lakehouse Architecture: Created scalable, centralized storage for structured and unstructured data.
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Automated Pipelines: Used Data Factory to streamline ETL processes.
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Semantic Modeling: Built reusable models for consistency across dashboards.
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Real-Time Dashboards: Delivered functional Power BI dashboards tailored for marketing, sales, operations, inventory, and digital engagement.
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Governance & Security: Established access controls and auditing for trusted, role-based reporting.
Business outcomes
Implementing Microsoft Fabric delivered a wide range of measurable improvements across the organization, impacting marketing, operations, inventory management, and digital engagement:
Marketing & CRM
· Increased campaign effectiveness with detailed insights into delivery rates, open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe trends, and ROAS.
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Enabled personalization by tracking sales per customer, trips per customer, and discount impact.
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Achieved a 25% improvement in campaign performance tracking.
Sales & store operations
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Gained real-time visibility into store-level KPIs such as gross sales, comp sales growth, and foot traffic.
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Enabled timely interventions in underperforming stores.
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Transitioned from reactive to proactive decision-making.
Inventory management
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Reduced shrink and improved margin protection by analyzing shrink %, days of supply, and year-over-year shrink trends.
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Achieved a 15% improvement in inventory alignment and forecasting accuracy.
Digital engagement
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Tracked web activity and customer acquisition through dashboards showing account creation, session volume, and subscriber growth.
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Informed digital strategy using real-time behavioral data.
Reporting efficiency & cost savings
· 50% reduction in report generation time due to automated pipelines.
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Expanded access to over 200 KPIs across more than 10 departments.
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Scaled data storage from ~10 GB to ~85 GB, increasing historical data coverage from 2 months to 3 years.
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Cut report refresh time from hours to just 1–2 minutes.
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Delivered a single version of truth through centralized data models in OneLake.
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Reduced reporting infrastructure costs by approximately 50%—from ~$40,000/month (P4 Import Model) to ~$20,000/month (Fabric Direct Lake on F256 SKU).
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Eliminated data model size limitations under Fabric’s F256 tier, enabling seamless future growth.
“The implementation of Microsoft Fabric by MAQ Software has enabled our teams to access deeper, more accurate insights faster than ever before. From store operations to marketing, we now have a unified data view that drives smarter decisions across the board.”
—Business Analytics Lead, Fortune 100 Retailer
Conclusion
By adopting Microsoft Fabric and working with MAQ Software, this retailer successfully transitioned from siloed, manual reporting to a modern, scalable analytics environment. The solution unlocked real-time insights, improved operational agility, and empowered business users to drive value through data—setting a new standard for intelligent retail decision-making.
Interested in learning more?
As a Microsoft Fabric Featured Partner, MAQ Software brings deep expertise in helping organizations unlock the full potential of Microsoft Fabric. Whether you're looking for guidance on implementing data solutions or optimizing your existing platform, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Contact us at CustomerSuccess@MAQSoftware.com or explore our apps or consulting services on Microsoft Azure Marketplace:
Project overview
Real-time sales data provides a clear view of market trends, customer preferences, and product performance, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions. Our client, a Fortune 500 global leader in consumer goods, needed a unified, real-time reporting solution to support their operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. By leveraging Power BI with backend data in Snowflake, we helped our client optimize inventory management, allocate resources efficiently, and develop effective sales and marketing strategies.
Business challenge
Key stakeholders including the Chief Financial Officer, Marketing Directors, and Sales VPs lacked scalable, real-time reports that would enable them to respond swiftly to market changes and customer needs. With operations spanning over 100 countries, their Excel-based reports were fragmented across various internal departments. They relied on getting manual updates from each market on a recurring basis, an inefficient process that led to delays in decision-making.
Solution overview
We leveraged Snowflake as a backend data platform and delivered the unified report in Power BI. This report displayed market share data for business users to easily track KPIs across multiple markets. Instead of relying on manual updates from each department, stakeholders now have access to near real-time performance data in a centralized dashboard.
The report involved the following components:
· Data sources: Snowflake and SharePoint
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Visualization tool: Power BI
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Model editing: Tabular Editor
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Data pipeline: Nielsen data, managed by the client
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Data load frequency: Twice daily at 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM UTC
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Figure 1: Solution architecture
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The steps below outline our process for implementing the solution.
1.
Planning and requirement gathering:
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Collaborated with business users and stakeholders to gather detailed reporting requirements.
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Ensured all required data points were available in Snowflake.
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Created a detailed implementation plan to develop the project.
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Developed a report design document for stakeholder approval.
2.
Power BI setup:
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Connected Power BI to Snowflake using the Snowflake connector.
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Created data relationships, measures, and calculated columns.
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Used Tabular Editor and Power BI Desktop for model adjustments.
3.
Dashboard design:
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Defined key performance indicators (KPIs) and visualizations using bar charts and matrix views.
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Ensured the design aligned with the approved reporting templates and guidelines.
4.
Testing and validation:
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Performed thorough data validation by comparing the Regional Scorecard with Power BI reports.
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Conducted performance and responsiveness tests.
5.
Deployment:
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Published the reports to the Power BI service for end-user access.
“Key users have easily been able to track performance across multiple markets in one place, access the most up to date data, and have the key metrics they track available. Prior to this they were asking every market for their market share performance updates.”
—Stakeholder, Fortune 500 Global Consumer Goods Company
Outcomes and benefits
· Enhanced decision-making: Provided near real-time sales insights and comprehensive performance analysis of the client and competitors.
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Operational efficiency: Reduced manual reporting tasks, freeing up valuable resources.
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Improved data accuracy: Ensured consistent, accurate data across the organization.
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Optimized performance: Minimized dataset refresh times and improved responsiveness under high concurrent usage.
Contact us
MAQ Software helps you accelerate business growth by combining the power of Microsoft Fabric and Snowflake to deliver scalable, secure, and intelligent data engineering solutions. Our integrated approach enables you to unlock valuable insights, enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve significant cost savings.
To learn how we can help transform your data strategy and drive impactful outcomes for your organization, contact us at CustomerSuccess@MAQSoftware.com.