The retail world is changing at an unprecedented pace, driven by data, technology, and ever-changing consumer behavior and expectations. At the forefront of this transformation is Sam’s Club, a subsidiary of retail giant Walmart.
Sam’s Club has taken a proactive approach to managing its vast data resources by adopting Camunda. This powerful process orchestration and automation platform has streamlined Sam’s Club’s data governance, provided impressive returns on investment (ROI), and set a new (and welcome) standard in retail data management.
The challenge: A spaghetti bowl of data
Sam’s Club, with its massive scale of operations that includes over 600 clubs and more than 100,000 employees, faced an arduous task. The company had to navigate the complexities of data governance, such as defining sales metrics, ensuring data quality, and establishing clear data ownership across multiple channels and geographies.
Data governance is the framework for managing data availability, usability, integrity, and security within an organization. It’s complicated due to ever-changing regulations, vast amounts of diverse data, and the need for cross-departmental coordination and compliance.
During his presentation at CamundaCon NYC 2024, Wilson Gaitan, director for data governance at Sam’s, stated that the initial requirement was to “sync up in terms of what this is and what the problem is about, because data governance is a very complex topic.”
The solution: Strategic Camunda adoption
The turning point came with the strategic adoption of process orchestration. This decision was not just about selecting a process orchestration and automation platform; it was about embracing a culture that would embed data governance into the very DNA of their day-to-day operations.
Data orchestration automates the integration and management of data from multiple sources, delivering it where and when needed in harmonized formats. It’s essential for businesses to leverage their data for insights, efficiency, and enhanced customer experiences in today’s data-driven world—the only way to achieve a competitive advantage.
“Camunda ensures that people and data remain evergreen and up to date through sustainable orchestrated processes…with minimum effort and part of day-to-day business and technology operations.”
-Wilson Gaitan, Data Governance Engagement Lead, Walmart
For Sam’s Club, Camunda offered the tools necessary to automate and orchestrate processes, maintain accurate data, and ensure that governance was not an afterthought but an integral, seamless, and ongoing part of the business workflow engine.
Embedding data governance into daily workflows
In his presentation, Gaitan discusses how one of the most significant benefits of Camunda’s adoption was integrating data governance activities seamlessly into daily operations. As a result, engineers and analysts could automatically contribute to governance by documenting databases, assigning ownership, and ensuring data quality as part of their standard procedures. This level of integration meant that data governance was no longer a daunting task but a natural part of employee workflow.
Maintaining sustainability and good data hygiene
The platform ensured that all processes were kept current, crucial for the sustainability of data governance initiatives. “It’s given us sustainability. We don’t want to do data governance for one report; we want to do it for thousands,” explained Gaitan.
By automating these processes with workflow automation and orchestration, Gaitan discusses how Sam’s Club could focus on growth and innovation rather than getting bogged down by the maintenance of outdated or inaccurate information.
Real-time monitoring and proactive issue resolution
An additional transformative feature of Camunda was its real-time monitoring and alerts. This proactive approach allowed Sam’s Club to address potential issues before they impacted business decisions or reports. The platform’s ability to provide early alerts on data process failures meant that executives could take corrective actions swiftly, preventing any adverse effects on business operations.
System integration and a unified interface
For Gaitan, another area where Camunda shone was in its ability to integrate with existing systems, creating a one-stop shop for data governance and management tasks. This integration allowed users to access data, manage assets, and request security changes through a unified interface. This “single window of truth” significantly improved efficiency and reduced the learning curve for new users.
Flexibility for future growth and change
Camunda also provided the flexibility needed to re-engineer and optimize processes over time. This ongoing plug-and-play approach ensured that Sam’s Club could easily integrate new processes or adapt to changes without significant disruption—a critical factor in aligning retail processes with business strategy.
“We now have a 360-degree view of all data assets…a “one-stop shop” unifying all our data needs with end-to-end process handling, including functionality for finding and understanding data assets relationships and stewardship, thereby eliminating tribal knowledge.”
– Wilson Gaitan, Data Governance Engagement Lead, Walmart
As Gaitan put it, “You have to consider why you originally called processes, before you begin to re-engineer to improve their maturity. And then, it’s just plug-and-play.” The Camunda platform has brought significant improvements to Sam’s Club’s data governance processes, which will translate to a positive ROI through increased efficiency, reduced risks, and enhanced compliance.
By embedding data governance into daily workflows, automating processes, and integrating systems to create a unified data management interface, Sam’s Club has streamlined its operations and set itself up for sustainable growth. The platform’s real-time monitoring and flexible architecture has positioned the company to quickly adapt to the fast-paced retail environment and ever-changing regulatory and data compliance landscape.
Gaitan’s presentation is a 40-minute testament to the broader implications for the retail industry. As retail businesses grapple with massive volumes of data, the need for robust process orchestration tools like Camunda has never been more apparent. The ability to easily navigate the complex web of data governance gives retailers the agility to innovate and personalize, ultimately enhancing customer experience.
In today’s data-driven retail world, process orchestration is not just a strategic advantage; it’s an operational imperative.
This insightful video presentation chronicles Sam’s Club’s transformative journey with Camunda, with strategic insight and innovative solutions that reshaped their data management and set a new benchmark for the retail industry.
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