A regional retail chain was drowning in disconnected data. Sales, inventory, customer engagement, and e-commerce metrics lived in separate systems—making it nearly impossible to get a clear view of performance. As consumer expectations rose and supply chains became more complex, the company’s outdated reporting tools couldn’t keep up.
Merchandising teams couldn’t forecast demand accurately. Marketing lacked visibility into cross-channel customer behavior. Executives were frustrated with delayed, error-prone reports that left too many business questions unanswered.
The retailer needed more than a quick fix—they were looking for a unified data solution that would streamline operations, accelerate insights, and support AI-driven decision-making across the enterprise.
Mutually Human partnered with the retailer to transform their fragmented data environment using Microsoft Fabric. Our objective was to deliver rapid, measurable outcomes while building a scalable analytics foundation that aligned with business processes and team workflows.
Identified business goals, data sources, and gaps.
Integrated retail systems into a unified OneLake environment.
Created business-ready semantic models for consistent analysis.
Built Power BI reports tailored to each department’s needs.
Implemented Fabric pipelines to streamline data processing.
Equipped internal teams to own and expand the solution.
Connected Data with OneLake: We unified data from point-of-sale, e-commerce, inventory, and CRM systems into a single, governed OneLake environment. By leveraging Microsoft Fabric’s built-in access controls and OneSecurity framework, we enabled secure, role-based access to data—giving each team visibility into the insights they needed without exposing sensitive or irrelevant information. This balance of access and governance supported confident, compliant decision-making across the business.
Automated Data Pipelines: Using Fabric Data Factory, we built robust pipelines to ingest, clean, and transform data at scale. This reduced manual effort and improved data accuracy across teams.
Real-Time Data Processing
We implemented Microsoft Fabric Eventstreams to capture and transform streaming data instantly. This capability fed live dashboards and reports, allowing business users to act on real-time inventory updates, sales activity, and customer behavior with confidence.
User-Friendly Data Models: We designed intuitive semantic models within the Fabric Warehouse, enabling business users to explore and analyze data independently. Each model was built with clear data lineage and integrated cataloging to support transparency and traceability. We aligned core business entities—such as customers, products, and stores—to centralized master data, improving consistency across departments and ensuring reliable, enterprise-wide reporting.
Interactive Dashboards and Intelligent Insights: Interactive Power BI dashboards delivered real-time visibility into sales trends, inventory levels, and campaign performance—embedded directly into the retailer’s daily workflows. With Microsoft Fabric Data Agents, users could automate alerts, schedule report emails, and trigger actions based on changing data conditions. Built-in natural language processing and integration into Microsoft Copilot allowed users to ask questions and analyze data using conversational prompts—making insights more accessible across the organization.
Training for Adoption: We trained internal teams to manage and extend the solution, ensuring long-term success and minimizing reliance on external support.
With Microsoft Fabric, the retailer gained a single source of truth that unlocked faster, smarter decision-making.
The transformation gave the retailer the tools they needed to act on data, not just collect it. Teams across the organization now operate with clearer insights, reduced delays, and increased confidence.
With a centralized, governed data foundation in place, the retailer is ready to scale AI initiatives like dynamic pricing, churn prediction, and personalized product recommendations.
Marketing and e-commerce teams gained a unified view of customer behavior, improving segmentation, personalization, and campaign performance.
Real-time inventory insights reduced overstocks, prevented stockouts, improved allocation, and enabled strategic purchasing that strengthened supplier negotiations and secured better pricing.
Reporting cycles that once took weeks now deliver refreshed insights daily—fueling faster, data-backed decisions.
Merchandising teams now forecast demand with greater accuracy, reducing markdowns and lost sales.
Business users create reports and explore data independently, freeing up IT resources and accelerating insights.
Let’s talk about your unique challenges and explore how we can craft a solution that fits your needs. Whether you’re looking to streamline processes, innovate with new technology, or bring a bold idea to life, our team is here to help. Reach out today and take the first step toward turning your vision into reality with a trusted partner by your side.