Product Development Saas Platform Uses Sisense to Maximize Value for Customers
Product
- Smartflow
- Sisense
Tech Stack
- Elasticube
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Productivity Improvements
- Customer Satisfaction
- Digital Expertise
Technology Category
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Applicable Industries
- Consumer Goods
- Food & Beverage
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Process Control & Optimization
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Gap Systems helps companies streamline the product development process, organizing complex supply chains and getting new products to market faster. Their core product is “Smartflow,” a web-based SaaS product used to navigate and manage workflow, collaborate with partners, maximize value, and avoid getting locked into any one vendor. However, Smartflow lacked graphical reporting tools of its own. Customers couldn’t make full use of their data or figure out the “pinch points” in the process. Gap System’s clients were having to make decisions based on their gut, rather than facts and evidence. Sisense was brought in to help clients fight daily fires, get a clear idea of company performance and keep project on track - but Gap Systems clients now use it to raise their businesses to the next level through predictive analysis and future planning.
The Challenge
When a food retailer launches a new item, many people are involved in the process: chefs, suppliers, procurement teams, taste testers, marketing, focus groups, legal teams, manufacturers, shipping companies, etc. Moreover, Gap Systems’ clients manage hundreds, even thousands, of product launches a year. That’s a lot of moving parts - including mountains of data that needs to be managed and interpreted to ensure a successful launch. Smartflow was intended to track these disparate items, so you know who is doing what at any particular time. Except, this wasn’t how customers were using the tool in reality. As a result, clients weren’t getting the value or insights they needed. They would say things like, “It seems our legal department is slowing us down, we need to do something about that,” when in fact, they couldn’t really show either way whether legal was the problem. It was all based on instinct or assumption, rather than the hard data they had at their fingertips. Evidently, choice wasn’t working. Customers needed high-end reporting embedded into the product to make Smartflow a success.
The Solution
As Managing Director of Gap Systems, it fell to Paul Goldberg to find a solution. Paul has a background in enterprise software/product development, and works closely with customers/ prospects/ the product development team, so he understood precisely what Smartflow was missing to fix the problem. As a result, Paul zeroed in on Sisense fast. It was the only platform that did exactly what he needed, balancing versatility with affordability. He found it simple to configure the Elasticube, organize data flows, and design preliminary client dashboards. Paul decided to host Sisense online in a similar way to Smartflow, and allow clients to pick the license they wanted, putting them in control of access and costs. Client dashboards were set up to be fully interactive and flexible. This means clients could filter data however they wanted and make any changes they needed, without having to alter underlying data or reports; they could modify filters to see changes in real time. No time or technical skill was required - so no reason not to make use of these valuable functions. Now, data is refreshed daily, guaranteeing accuracy. Visual reports are easy to understand at a glance, meaning clients can identify process flow and pinch points immediately, especially when managing hundreds of projects with many data points and rapidly accumulating information pools. What’s more, user permissions stored in the Elasticube have enhanced security.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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