When a major national retail chain was looking to undertake a massive data transformation effort for the sake of improved employee efficiency, SDG stepped in to provide expert guidance and an innovative solution. The company’s goal was to produce a near real-time solution for data management and synchronization across all of their stores throughout the United States. They wanted to better manage the high turnover rate that comes with being a large retail store. They needed a way to easily give access to the many roles each individual employee might have to play (cashier, floor advisor, manager, delivery, etc.) without sacrificing security.
Success Story: Major Retailer
Major Retailer Needs User Data Synchronization Across All Stores
They had to have multiple platforms running simultaneously—mobile applications and devices, kiosks, and other devices—for multiple users to access. They also needed a central database that all store kiosks could access, rather than having each store with its own database.
Working diligently behind the scenes, SDG architected a solution built on the sturdy backbone of Radiant Logic FID’s Virtualization & Integration platform. SDG was able to define narrow user segments based upon fine-grained data and create custom views with matching caches to speed up the login process. The infrastructure to support these enhancements was deployed in such a way that it was both responsive and highly available, enabling individual locations to perform user authentication onsite to satisfy its no-fail requirement. Password changes were allowed to sync instantly, thereby eliminating any delays in the subsequent employee login process.
The project made an immediate difference and performed better than the company had requested. They were so happy with the solution they continue to use it and have maintained their relationship with SDG to keep the data synchronization solution fluid to modify for expansion and scalability
Challenges
- The retail chain has 2,200 stores nationwide, with some in rural areas with slow internet speeds.
- The retail chain has a large number of daily personnel turnovers (as many as 1,500 a day).
- The retail chain was a beta test site and they were the first to use the product in a no-fail environment.
- Each user needed the sign-in process to be fluid and have easy access to multiple platforms daily.
- Data synchronization had to occur to a centralized location and propagate out in near real-time (a 180-second window).
- The retail chain needed the ability to remove, relocate, and have identities replicate for employees at any store with a swipe or log in.
Our Solution
- Leveraged Radiant Logic’s virtual directory solution to create an innovative and first-of-its-kind approach to managing employee user data, thereby easing access to important applications that are used every day.
- Implemented multiple caching strategies and built a metadata solution for authentication of all users to optimize access to the employee database.
- Employee data for all stores is contained in a single lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP).
- Virtual directory contains all user attributes (including passwords), but synchronization is segregated so that high priority attributes are done more aggressively.
- Password synchronization is seamless and effectively real time.
- Infrastructure is replicated to individual sites in such a way that it can be insulated from outages and catastrophic weather events.
Results
- Simplified and streamlined sign-on experience for more than 500,000 employees across 2,200 store locations in an industry with a nearly 60 percent employee turnover rate.
- Near real-time password synchronization eliminates unnecessary help desk tickets and employee frustration.
- Ability to avoid downtime in the midst of a catastrophic event, because each store can run independently as needed.
- Adopted by other national retail chains and a well-known financial institution.
- Current companies are happy with the product and want to extend the capabilities to keep it valuable and viable while being scalable.
- Was the exact solution the company was hoping for with a smooth implementation.
This project succeeded because SDG was able to apply creative thinking to complex problems, developing a solution built on the solid backbone of Radiant Logic products that no one had ever thought of before. The client was willing to invest in the SDG vision because they knew it was their best chance to provide the seamless experience that would improve employee satisfaction and, in turn, their bottom line.
