Information Builders > Case Studies > AutoZone Shifts Into High Gear With Big Data Analytics

AutoZone Shifts Into High Gear With Big Data Analytics

Company Size

1,000+

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

WebFOCUS
Report Caster

Tech Stack

Oracle
DB2
Informix
Microsoft SQL Server
Hadoop

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics
Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Applicable Industries

Automotive
Retail

Applicable Functions

Human Resources
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Predictive Maintenance
Vehicle Telematics

About The Customer

AutoZone is the leading retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the U.S. Since opening its first store in Forrest City, Arkansas in 1979, this fast-moving company has depended on information technology (IT) to move to the forefront of the automotive aftermarket industry. Leveraging a highly efficient business model for logistics and distribution, the company has grown steadily throughout the U.S. and recently penetrated international markets in Mexico and Brazil. Today, AutoZone is continuing its tradition of technical leadership by using the WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) and analytics platform from Information Builders throughout its organization. From HR training to inventory control, store operations to customer satisfaction reporting, AutoZone depends on WebFOCUS to manage and run its business.

The Challenge

AutoZone, the leading retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the U.S., needed to roll out a flexible analytics environment to thousands of stores without burdening field workers with custom software or complex report procedures. The company wanted to work with its existing computers, databases, and information systems to create a self-service reporting and analytics system that casual users could adopt quickly. In the past, the IT department generated most of AutoZone’s corporate reports at the Store Support Center. While these reports were adequate for monitoring basic activities, managers discovered they needed additional reporting capabilities as the company grew. They also wanted better utilities for drilling into and analyzing data. They envisioned an analytics environment that could reveal operational metrics on demand, while also serving users in the field.

The Solution

AutoZone decided to use the WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) and analytics platform from Information Builders throughout its organization. The software was found to be easier to use and less expensive than competing solutions. The company embarked on a big data initiative to stay abreast of how its fleet of 12,500 delivery vehicles is performing. Analyzing this information helps the company monitor driver habits and predict maintenance intervals. Sensors on AutoZone’s commercial delivery vehicles convey real-time information about where each vehicle is located, how fast they are traveling, and a wide range of service metrics. Raw telematics data is stored in Oracle for analysis, in conjunction with other enterprise information. AutoZone delivers self-service analytics across all of its stores. Each store relies on WebFOCUS dashboards to access and drill into sophisticated HTML displays. The IT department has the ability to control the data on the WebFOCUS servers, and people throughout the organization are able to help themselves to the information they need.

Operational Impact

AutoZone’s web-based analytics environment delivers accurate information throughout the enterprise and helps to automate key business processes, from store operations to customer satisfaction reporting.
Division, regional, and district managers can visualize data from multiple stores under their purview and roll it up into performance summaries.
Store managers can view sales activities at their individual stores. It’s easy to see how their stores are performing with respect to sales, timekeeping, inventory, payroll, and many other business functions.
They can drill down to individual employees to see which specific transactions each person has completed during the day.
Store managers and operations personnel like to receive information from WebFOCUS ReportCaster, which sends updates by e-mail each morning.

Quantitative Benefit