case — GetSales

How a data platform drives an e-commerce operation

Question

Reliable insights in a fast-growing e-commerce environment.

Solution

A cloud-based data platform that brings all sources together into a single scalable model.

Result

Real-time insight into the entire e-commerce operation.

Getsales, the e-commerce company behind brands such as Dartshopper and Lightexpert, is expanding internationally. With peak periods such as Black Friday, thousands of orders a day and a landscape full of different systems, reliable data is becoming increasingly important. With Blenddata, Getsales is building a centralised and scalable data platform that provides real-time insight into the entire e-commerce operation.

Making the black box transparent

According to Mark Heesters, Director of Commerce & Technology at Getsales, the old data warehouse was a black box: insights arrived too late, data wasn’t always reliable, and teams spent too much time on manual checks. This made it difficult to make quick adjustments to marketing, logistics, returns and operational performance.

Mark: “Success in e-commerce stands or falls on the quality and speed of data. Blenddata has set up a completely new data platform that aligns much better with our ambitions and growth. For us, data is not just a support function, but a truly strategic part of the organisation.”

Data is playing an increasingly important role within our organisation. Thanks to our partnership with Blenddata, we now not only have better insights, but also much greater control, confidence and scalability for the future.

Mark Heesters

Director of Commerce & Technology | GetSales

Data is playing an increasingly important role within our organisation. Thanks to our partnership with Blenddata, we now not only have better insights, but also much greater control, confidence and scalability for the future.

Mark Heesters

Director of Commerce & Technology | GetSales

A data platform with immediate impact for Getsales

Faster response times in marketing and sales

The data platform provides real-time insights into campaigns, marketplaces and margins. Getsales can respond more quickly to performance, advertising budgets and commercial opportunities.

Quickly get a handle on dispatch and returns

See immediately where delays, returns issues or rising shipping costs are occurring, so that operational teams can take immediate action.

Greater confidence in data

Thanks to centralised data sources and automated validations, dashboards are more consistent and teams spend less time on checks and corrections.

Phase 1

A reliable foundation for data and reporting

The first phase of the project focused on migration and stability. Together with Blenddata, a new central data platform was set up in which existing data sources were reconnected and translated into a single, consistent data structure. The aim was to make reliable and comparable data available to the entire organisation, enabling teams to manage operations, marketing and logistics more quickly and with greater confidence.

  • Migration to a new cloud-based data platform
  • Consolidating data sources into a single data model
  • Improving the reliability and timeliness of data
  • Fewer manual checks and corrections
  • Laying the foundations for scalable growth and new online shops
Phase 2

More data sources, more insights and the ability to make adjustments more quickly

New data sources and use cases have been added to provide even more operational and commercial insights. The focus is on up-to-date management information for marketing performance, advertising budgets, delivery costs, returns and marketplace data. As data is increasingly used in real time to make decisions, there was also a need to refresh datasets more frequently. This enables Getsales to respond more quickly to deviations, optimise campaigns and better manage margins and performance.

  • Expanding with new data sources and analyses
  • Gaining insight into marketing, returns and shipping data, profitability
  • Unlock marketplace data from Bol and Amazon
  • Refresh data more frequently for faster decision-making during peak periods

Our aim is to continue building up knowledge and ownership within the organisation, whilst Blenddata remains involved as a strategic partner to support the further growth of our data platform.

Mark Heesters

Director of Commerce & Technology | GetSales

Our aim is to continue building up knowledge and ownership within the organisation, whilst Blenddata remains involved as a strategic partner to support the further growth of our data platform.

Mark Heesters

Director of Commerce & Technology | GetSales

Getsales & Blenddata

Collaboration as an extension of the team

For Mark, the strength of the collaboration lies primarily in the way Blenddata works with Getsales’s internal team. He explains: “What we like is that Blenddata not only carries out the work but also contributes ideas. There is plenty of scope for consultation and optimisation. Issues are identified early on and discussed transparently, so the team doesn’t have to discover afterwards that data is incorrect or processes have stalled. With our previous setup, we had far less insight into how things worked technically. As a result, it remained more of a black box and we were heavily reliant on external expertise.”

Partnership without dependency

In addition, knowledge sharing plays an important role in the process. Blenddata ensures that Getsales’ data team can continue to develop and manage the system independently. According to Mark, it is precisely this combination that makes the difference: “A partner you can trust, without becoming completely dependent.”

Let’s talk business!

Curious to find out what data can do for your business? Book an appointment with one of our engineers. We’d love to hear about the challenges you’re facing.

Contact

Harm Hoebergen

Operations Director

@harm.hoebergen@blenddata.nl
T+31 6 13 19 16 60