About our client
Our client stands as a trailblazing force in Vietnam’s restaurant chain industry, established in 2005. The company has expanded to own 23 distinct brands, with more than 450 diverse-style restaurants spanning nearly 50 provinces and cities throughout Vietnam. This restaurant chain operator has served more than 18 million customers annually, and continues to actively expand and grow. And to do that, our client has a workforce of over 25,000 employees, both behind the scenes and at the forefont.
The brand is not just a culinary destination, it’s a thriving enterprise. This brand remains committed to active expansion and sustained growth, being a pioneer in shaping the culinary landscape across our country – Vietnam.
The challenges
At Golden Gate Group, the primary hurdle in the pursuit of analyzing customer behavior, not lies in the financial constraints, or insufficient workforce, but the lack of big data, and the struggle to transform it into the real asset, making it deliverable and actionable for every department to take data-driven actions.
This realization underscored the critical role of data in shaping their business decisions, leading them to learn how to embrace data as an indispensable pivot for their next business stage. Yet, the pivot was made complex with their existing challenges, impacted by both internal and external factors:
Internal factors
- Complex Data Sources: In the dynamic Food & Beverages industry, Golden Gate faced a data challenge akin to assembling a scattered puzzle. The data, sourced from various points, posed a significant hurdle for the business operations team. Additionally, the manual creation of data stored in diverse formats like .csv and .xlsx on different computers further complicated the situation.
- Complex Data Sources: In the dynamic Food & Beverages industry, Golden Gate faced a data challenge akin to assembling a scattered puzzle. The data, sourced from various points, posed a significant hurdle for the business operations team. Additionally, the manual creation of data stored in diverse formats like .csv and .xlsx on different computers further complicated the situation.
- Reporting Challenges: Beyond the inefficiencies of manual data creation, the manual report generation process added another layer of complexity, becoming a time-consuming ordeal. The absence of efficient tools for managing and extracting reports intensified the struggle, leaving the team grappling with inefficiencies. This reached a critical point as management found themselves unable to access real-time results of business operations.
- Domain Knowledge & Organizational Complexity: The requirement for the reports is to cover diverse departments, from accountng, and marketing to HR and Operations, creating an extensive scope, demanding deep expertise to propose effective solutions. This is further beyond what the in-house team could manage.
External factors
Two years ago, during the latter half of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, external factors, notably the Covid-19 pandemic and economic downturn, significantly impacted Golden Gate and other restaurant chains. These events triggered a transformation in consumer behavior, with individuals tightening their budgets for dining out.
This shift in consumer behavior not only reflected budget considerations but also increased selectiveness in dining choices. It was a pivotal period for Golden Gate, necessitating navigation through the challenging business landscape and adaptation to the evolving preferences of consumers.
Work with us
Golden Gate Group came to Synodus with the existing problems above, seeking to elevate their current reporting system to new heights and get prepared for a data-driven future. As a client-first consulting company, we prioritize understanding and addressing our clients’ persistent issues. Therefore, we conducted extensive interviews with various roles within the Group. This approach ensured a comprehensive understanding of their specific problems, and allowed us to tailor data solutions that precisely met their requirements.
Here is the roadmap that we crafted to ensure that our suggested solutions aligned seamlessly with the Golden Gate Groups’ problems:
Rebuilding the reporting system
Recognizing the complexity of Golden Gate Group’s organizational structure, with intersecting and independent departments, we proposed the re-development of their reporting system. The new system incorporates key performance indicators tailored to meet the data needs of all departments, including finance, sales operations, marketing, and human resources. Notably, we focused on creating a comprehensive report list for the executive-level business management team.
Company structure reorganization and implementation of ROW LEVEL SECURITY (RLS)
Acknowledging the need for a structured approach, we collaborated with Golden Gate Group to reorganize their company structure. Subsequently, we assisted in the distribution of reports across separate departments, implementing ROW LEVEL SECURITY (RLS) to ensure that each staff member could only access data granted to them. This granular permission system was tailored for each department, enhancing data security and access control.
Addressing data silos
As we acknoledged that our client had confronted with data silos, we provided support by consolidating manual files, suggesting standardized formats for each document type. We then organized a centralized repository and devised procedures to automate the extraction of data into the database. This initiative streamlined the process, breaking down silos and ensuring a more cohesive and accessible data environment.
Optimized and cost-saving solutions
Our commitment to finding optimal and cost-saving solutions led us to recommend leveraging existing Microsoft services. Given Golden Gate Group’s use of Microsoft services, our data team proposed integrating and sharing reports on Power BI Service – Microsoft’s online Software as a Service (SaaS). As a Microsoft Gold Partner in Data Analytics, we drew on our extensive experience with this platform to build a robust data model, implement Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), create a variety of charts, and configure permissions on Power BI. This integration not only optimized the reporting process but also ensured compatibility with the tools already familiar to the Golden Gate Group.
Results & impacts
In every data consulting and execution project, our primary goal is to ensure our clients achieve two key outcomes: Firstly, it is our client’s satisfaction and seamless operation with the data reporting systems we assist in building. Secondly, our client is capable of leveraging data for insights that drive revenue growth and increased profits compared to the previous years.
The project with Golden Gate Group exemplifies this commitment. Following a collaborative and happy engagement, the Golden Gate Group team now enjoys the following benefits:
Well-designed data visualization improved understanding
Each department now works with user-friendly and customized reports, facilitating easy interpretation of charts and enabling them to answer critical questions. This includes:
- Insights into menu optimization, such as identifying top revenue-generating products, best-selling combo dishes by season, and products with the highest price but lowest profit.
- Marketing optimization is enhanced by determining the most and least effective campaign channels, while financial control insights cover expenditures affecting company profit and departmental budget usage.
- Employee productivity is also evaluated by department and time, identifying factors that impact performance the most.
The reporting process is now automated and updated every hour
The reporting process is now automated and updated every hour, alleviating concerns about urgent requests and allowing managers to track performance at any time without relying on prompt updates from subordinates.
The remarkable increased in sales
As a testament to the project’s success, by the end of 2022, the Group witnessed a remarkable 108% increase in sales performance compared to the same period in 2021.
This positive outcome demonstrates the tangible impact of our collaborative efforts in optimizing data systems and leveraging insights to drive substantial business growth for Golden Gate Group.
What does the future hold our collaboration?
Our client and Synodus Team have jointly decided to extend our collaboration, with the mutual goal in mind of automating the cost forecasting system. This endeavor is of utmost importance, given the dynamic nature of the current F&B industry, which demands a strategic approach to optimize costs.
The implementation of a cost forecasting system is poised to be a game-changer, enabling Golden Gate Group to set prices strategically and gain a competitive edge over rivals in the market. This collaboration reflects our commitment to ongoing innovation and empowerment, ensuring that Golden Gate Group would not only succeed in harnessing their data, but they also remain successful in their own industry.
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