Schmidt Groupe worked with Google Cloud partner CGI to implement BigQuery as its central data management solution, together with Apigee.
The way we shop for home furnishings is changing, and for several years now Schmidt Groupe has been focusing on better connecting their customers' journeys from ecommerce to the showroom. "The customer journey has become less linear, with multiple entry points, explains Virginie Parent, IT Manager at Schmidt Groupe." "If we want to retain our position in our sector, we need to take a more omnichannel approach, implementing the right technologies to help us do that."
As part of its ongoing digital transformation, three years ago Schmidt Groupe decided to modernize its IT infrastructure for the retail side of the business. With the help of implementation partner CGI, it chose Apigee API Management on Google Cloud for the first stage of this project. "Following an audit to study our IT retail system, new customer behaviors and retail channels, we identified several key areas for our transformation,'' says Parent. "To create a more omnichannel infrastructure, we needed an API management solution and a data repository, and Google Cloud was the right choice for both aspects."
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Creates a central repository of consumer orders data across channels
Creates a data centric vision of 2 key records: Consumer and their orders (+ retail stores) Schmidt
Ensuring a smooth implementation with CGI
To ensure a smooth implementation, CGI hosted workshops with the Schmidt Groupe team to define its target architecture (including security, finops, surveillance, CI/CD strategy, etc.), as well as design the data models (orders, consumers and store) and develop the required interfaces, API backend, data transformations and flows. CGI also worked with Schmidt Groupe to help them define their data models for new centralized data model of orders (ecommerce, web site in-store specific application). Every week, CGI held sessions together with Google Cloud to discuss any challenges Schmidt Groupe might be facing with the products or their implementation, focusing on Architecture and Finops.
Since implementing Google Cloud in SaaS mode for its internal services, Schmidt Groupe has greater visibility over its services and data flows, enabling it to troubleshoot its applications more easily. "With Google Cloud and Apigee, we're able to look at service statistics and identify exactly where there are issues with our applications" says Virginie Parent. "Our goal is go a step further and to implement a customer data platform and a marketing automation system.";
Supporting omnichannel development with new data repositories
The next step for Schmidt Groupe will be to enrich its Google Cloud implementation with new data repositories and key records, and finalize work on CDP and marketing automation projects. The team will then take a step further to support its omnichannel ambitions.
Virginie Parent has been speaking to other leading brands in the retail sector who have created data repositories and has been working closely with Google Cloud and its customers to understand the business benefits that it will bring. She can now testify that Google Cloud is offering greater security, scalability, and an entire ecosystem of tools within one platform. "Implementing Google Cloud has helped us secure our data and our web services, as well as encouraging us to standardize the development across the whole group" Virginie Parent concludes. "We’re looking forward to making the most of all the tools it offers to support our business goals, and that can go through challenging our entire Dataviz solutions, maybe with Looker."
