Retail demands constant control and comprehensive data to assess the market landscape effectively. To meet these requirements and ensure sustainable growth, the LotOK convenience store chain integrated Datawiz BI—an innovative retail analytics tool. With BI, the company could swiftly monitor key performance indicators, respond promptly to changes, and enhance business process efficiency. Implementing this solution has significantly improved strategic planning and daily operations, unlocking new opportunities for the entire chain.

• Operating in Ukraine since 2011.
• 102 stores across Kyiv, Kyiv region, and Khmelnytskyi region.
• The product range includes all major food and non-food categories.
• In-house production: from baked goods and ready-made meals to meat products, smoked goods, and frozen semi-finished products.
• Private imports and private labels (LotOK, National Traditions).
• Currently expanding its grab-and-go and quick snack offerings across the chain.

Implementing Advanced BI

Before adopting BI, the LotOK supermarket chain relied on another analytics system, which had significant drawbacks—mainly the complexity and time-consuming process of generating reports. Employees spent considerable time preparing data instead of analyzing it, slowing down critical decision-making.

The search for a new solution stemmed from the need to unify various processes into a single system. Datawiz BI immediately stood out for its simplicity and functionality. Its key advantages included the ability to quickly analyze product profitability, evaluate store performance, and forecast checkout load.

The user-friendly and efficient Datawiz BI platform consolidated essential retail metrics and reports, enabling the chain to:

• Identify peak and low checkout loads, optimizing workforce scheduling.
• Calculate product, store, or supplier profitability in minutes.
• Quickly analyze how one metric impacts another, such as product, brand, or store sales.
• Create custom dashboards, offering extensive analytical capabilities to address operational challenges.
• Utilize Datawiz Connector to upload data and test new data exchange settings, significantly reducing update implementation time.

This BI solution has streamlined operations and enhanced decision-making, reinforcing LotOK’s commitment to efficiency and growth.

Data-Driven Analytics for Enhanced Efficiency

Working with Datawiz BI allows us to focus on data analysis rather than report creation. Once a dashboard is built and configured, real-time results are accessible across the chain. Data visualization through graphs and numbers provides a comprehensive information view.

Roman Pavliuk

Head of Analytics, LotOK

Datawiz BI is utilized across multiple departments, including operations, commercial, marketing, and planogram management, to achieve common business objectives.

The operations department effectively leverages the Store Manager mobile app, which provides access to key store metrics and supports task execution, including routine operations. During store visits by other departments, financial performance (excluding certain expense items) can be reviewed for key periods. Additionally, if product issues arise, tasks can be quickly assigned to resolve them.

While Datawiz BI offers a broad selection of reports, some are used most frequently within the chain:

• Sales Plans – helps track store performance against targets.
• Basket Analysis – identifies product group combinations most frequently found in customer purchases.
• Hourly Analysis – provides insights into peak sales periods and traffic trends.

The planogram department primarily relies on Planogram Efficiency and Recommended Shelf Share reports. These tools measure shelf performance, providing clear insights into product allocation within the store space. They enable comparisons of on-shelf sales performance across individual stores and the entire chain.

"BI accelerates analysis and consolidates multiple metrics in real-time. Instead of spending time on calculations, you simply use ready-made data. Even complex computations are no longer a challenge—thanks to the 'Custom Formulas' feature, you can create and apply your own calculations."
— Roman Pavliuk, Head of Analytics, LotOK

Results of Datawiz BI Integration

With BI, the chain has optimized key processes, eliminating time-consuming calculations and enabling rapid performance analysis across stores.

Real-time analytics, swift problem detection, and seamless team collaboration have led to significant improvements, enhancing overall operational efficiency.

Time Savings and Productivity

The integration of Datawiz BI has saved valuable time and resources, allowing managers to make faster decisions that impact sales, staff scheduling, and shelf replenishment.

Previously, calculating store KPIs required multiple separate reports, consuming significant time. With BI, this process has been reduced to just a few clicks, replacing routine work hours with fast, efficient analysis.

BI has also streamlined cross-departmental collaboration. Standardized reporting ensures all teams “speak the same data language,” improving overall productivity and decision-making.

Advice for New Datawiz BI Users

"I would recommend focusing on analysis rather than report creation. In our case, BI has become a tool that helps us use working time more efficiently and make data-driven decisions that impact the entire business. The system enables us to identify issues in time and take action to maximize sales efficiency across stores, product groups, and suppliers." — Roman Pavliuk, Head of Analytics, LotOK