Case Study | Troy Story: How better Data Governance and Quality helps meet business goals

Read how Amplifi helped Troy rapidly become a company that not only understands the value of their data, but harnesses it to help achieve their company goals such as growth, efficiency and innovation.

Troy is a key player in the UK's industrial engineering supplies sector. They distribute industrial engineering supplies from top brands for all sorts of customer requirements at competitive prices. Beyond products, they also offer strategic and administrative services to help their members (wholesalers, retailers) improve their business efficiency and growth.

Troy have always had a thorough and insightful understanding of their data landscape, both recognising its shortcomings and having a clear vision of how their data ecosystem could potentially evolve. By understanding the importance of aligning their data initiatives with their business objectives, Troy were able to move towards becoming a truly data centric organisation.

Phase 1: Aligning business and data goals

Amplifi began working with Troy with an in-depth examination of Troy’s business vision. Together with senior leaders at Troy, Amplifi developed vision statements that were sustainable and built actionable goals like "helping members buy better." These statements steered both parties in aligning ongoing data projects with Troy's broader business aims, ensuring a unified strategy that could contribute towards the growth of the business.

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Prioritising stakeholder engagement

Early on, Troy understood the critical role of stakeholder engagement. Troy's CEO provided a clear and influential vision, establishing a strong foundation for our data governance initiatives. This high-level backing was pivotal in aligning Troy’s aims and securing widespread support throughout the organisation.

Phase 2: Transforming data governance and ownership

A key focus from the offset was establishing data ownership. With the help of Amplifi's data experts Troy were able to foster a culture of accountability and responsibility around data governance. Through regular, inclusive meetings across various departments, Troy was able to promote open and honest dialogue about both their challenges and triumphs, leading to a clearly defined sense of data ownership and stewardship.

Phase 3: Working towards improved data quality and report times

A key achievement was the enhancement of data quality and report usage. Once the initial data ownership and governance work had been implemented, Troy undertook a large-scale review of their reports and dashboards that are used daily to make sure the data is useable and accessible for their users. Troy were able to quickly increase the number of regular reports and dashboards the teams use to add value to help them make decisions.

Additionally, Troy did a large-scale review of their architecture to highlight any weaknesses. Post-review Troy implemented better infrastructure that allowed them to change their data refresh time from one hour to six minutes. That’s a reduction of 54 minutes just by reviewing their architecture and inputting technology to help the users. Amplifi also assisted Troy in implementing a data quality tool which helps them to monitor data quality issues regularly and fix them a lot quicker. To maintain their data quality, Troy established a dedicated data team, signalling a new chapter in their commitment to a data-centric approach.

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“Amplifi have been a reliable and supportive Partner to Troy throughout our data journey, providing insight into the industry, helping us identify the correct path and enabling our data to unlock value across the Group" said Gareth Thomas, Chief Data & Technology Officer at Troy

Becoming a data-led organisation

Troy underwent a profound change in their approach to data, centring it as a primary consideration in their daily operations. Data-centric thinking became ingrained in Troy’s culture, actively shaping their discussions and strategies from the outset of any new project or objective. This shift from considering data at the end of a process to placing it at the forefront marks a significant evolution in organisational mindset and has enabled the integration of Machine Learning into Troy’s business processes. Amplifi’s machine learning (ML) based product classification engine dramatically reduces the effort to place new products into industry standard and proprietary categories. This successful move to modern data techniques has paved the way for an internal ML/AI development team.

Amplifi delivered a set of repeatable, tangible data quality test, reports and processes which are now fully functioning as part of Troy’s business as usual. Our Data Governance advisory brought Troy’s data governance vision to life and enable the senior team member to continue this forward. Our ML/AI innovation centre streamlined an arduous, time-consuming activity.

Amplifi’s work with Troy serves as a testament to the transformative role of data in shaping and driving business strategies forward. Whether you're looking to improve your data governance, data quality, or looking more broadly at how your data can drive business objectives through a data strategy, Amplifi will be able to assist you. Take a look at our Data Quality, Data Governance or Data Strategy services pages, or perhaps download our Data Strategy Methodology guide below. Alternatively, if you're ready to have a chat please get in touch with one of our experts.

Download Guide: Data Strategy Methodology with Amplifi

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