Insight into the complete sales funnel thanks to a data warehouse with dbt
Improved insights through connected data
- Customer case
- Data Engineering
Our consultants log the assignments they take on for our clients in our ERP system AFAS. In our CRM system HubSpot, we can see all the information relevant before signing a collaboration agreement. When we close a deal, all the information from HubSpot automatically transfers to AFAS. So, HubSpot is mainly used for the process before entering a collaboration, while AFAS is used for the subsequent phase. To tighten our people's planning and improve our financial forecasts, we decided to set up a data warehouse to integrate data from both data sources.
Approach
We formed a multidisciplinary team consisting of Data Engineers, Analytics Engineers, and Data Analysts.
- The Data Engineers worked on the infrastructure, setting up the database and configuring processes to retrieve the data. Data was extracted from various sources, stored in buckets, and loaded into the data warehouse. The Data Analysts engaged with internal stakeholders to understand their needs and requirements: what information should be made accessible and how it should be presented?
- Our Analytics Engineers used the tool dbt to connect the data from the two sources and prepared the tables for visualization. They designed the transformation process from raw data to the final tables for each topic. The advantage of using dbt was that we didn't need Data Engineers for this process. The Analytics Engineers could transform the raw data into final tables in the data warehouse by themselves.
- Once the first version of a final table was ready, the Data Analysts began visualizing the data in a PowerBI dashboard. They provided feedback on any issues encountered to the Analytics Engineers, who continued working on the next table and resolved issues with other tables.
- We documented this entire iterative process in dbt Docs, allowing us for each table to know what the contents are and what transformations were made. This makes it easier to transfer the work to other specialists.
- We presented the dashboard to the stakeholders and continue to engage in ongoing discussions with them to further optimize it based on their feedback and experiences.
Result
We now have a data warehouse where the data sources are connected. All data is stored centrally in the data warehouse, transformations are visible through dbt, and results are visualized in the PowerBI dashboard. If the need arises for different insights in the future, we can easily perform new data analyses as the data is already prepared in the data warehouse.
Thanks to the integration of AFAS and HubSpot, our sales team can precisely see when a consultant is available. It's also clear to everyone where certain consultants stand in the pipeline for potential new assignments. We have better insight into the number of hours booked by consultants compared to the number of hours sold. Instead of looking ahead a few weeks, we can now plan several months in advance.
The insights from the linked data are valuable for other teams as well. With an improved understanding of the pipeline, Finance, for example, can forecast much better. Recruitment can respond more quickly and hire the right profiles to meet customer demands.
Future
In the coming period, we will add more data sources. By integrating Google Analytics 4 data, for example, we will gain an even more comprehensive view of the customer journey. We also aim to make the recruitment process more transparent. Now that we have laid the foundation with dbt, we can continuously take steps to make not only our clients but also our organisation more data-driven.
Want to know more?
Our Business Manager Joachim will be happy to talk to you about what we can do for you and your organisation as a data partner.
Business Manager+31(0)20 308 43 90+31(0)6 23 59 83 71joachim.vanbiemen@digital-power.com
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