Qualex Consulting Services

BACKGROUND

Can you describe your organization?

We are a professional sports team in Arizona.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the vice president for analytics. I perform research and analytics functions for our executives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company's goals for this project?

We worked with Qualex on a data warehousing project. My management team wanted to improve the quality and accessibility of information to executives and senior leadership. The data was inconsistent and hard to organize, and we used a manual process to create data reports. The executive team had no confidence in the data quality.

SOLUTION

Why did you select SAS for data warehousing?

SAS provided a suite of tools that addressed our needs now and in the future. It is good for data management, reporting, and dashboarding tools. SAS advanced analytics is very good. The SAS platform really improved our business intelligence.

What was your process for selecting Qualex Consulting Services?

We first selected SAS, and then looked at their partner list. We created a short list, and Qualex Consulting won the contract because they knew the entertainment industry well. They have done a lot of work for casinos and other hospitality industry clients, so they knew our industry.

What parts of the project were Qualex Consulting Services involved?

Their job was to centralize and standardize key business information by creating a central warehouse for the data. We wanted them to create a warehouse on site here that we could easily maintain. They had to use the SAS platform and customize it a little bit. Before this project, our data was scattered in many different places. Qualex’s job was to centralize the operational data but more importantly, present it in a way that would help our executives make business decisions.

Can you give us a sense of the initiative in dollar terms?

Less than $500,000

When was the project completed?

It was completed in September of 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement?

Most of our improvements are qualitative. There are lots of efficiencies in terms of less time spent on manual reporting. We have saved our employees a lot of time in creating reports. The dashboard function also saves us time and improves efficiencies.

How did Qualex Consulting Services perform?

They performed quite well. They have a great deal of technical skill with SAS. The warehouse works great, and it is easy for our team to maintain. Qualex's strength is their technical skill and knowledge of the sports and entertainment industries.

When working with Qualex Consulting Services, what is unique or special about them compared to other vendors?

Again, I would say their technical skill with data analytics and the SAS platform. They really know how to use analytics to improve business in the entertainment and hospitality industries.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that you think Qualex Consulting Services could improve upon or maybe you would do differently?

They could improve their project management to match their technical skill.

BACKGROUND

Can you provide a brief description of your company?

We’re an Indian gaming casino with seven properties.

What is your role and responsibilities?

Marketing database manager is my title. I oversee the direct-mail program, so I mail all of the free-play loyalty offers and manage that team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For this particular project, what were your company’s business goals?

Our goal was to automate our list pools. The mailing lists also needed to be automated. We also wanted some data analytics work done on our SQL database.

SOLUTION

Why did your company select SAS for data analytics?

I chose it because a top consulting firm recommended that we buy software or hire more people. So, we bought software and they recommended three options, which were the same top three Gartner matrix recommended products for campaign management. The three were SAS, Unica, and Primo. I looked at all three and I liked the BI toll for SAS the best.

What was your process for selecting Qualex Consulting Services to work with?

Since we’re a gaming company, we to go through our vendor licensing and get a gaming license and SAS professional services couldn’t do that because they’re privately held, and they can’t disclose their financials. Therefore, I needed a company who would go through a distributor, EIS, and my salesperson recommended Qualex.

Can you tell me about the scope of the project in terms of what Qualex Consulting Services did?

They did the installation. They also built fire campaigns and fire reports, and then provided training afterward.

Was the training effective?

The training went well. They did it onsite. However, the people they trained left and so they had to do it again. We have a maintenance contract with them, so we still work with them every month.

Can you give us a sense of the initiatives, in either dollar terms or personnel hours?

It’s $1,500 a month for 10 hours of maintenance work. They’re really cheap and good.

When was the project completed?

It took their team 16 weeks, and they finished in late March.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement?

No, we don’t. They finished ahead of schedule. We have saved ourselves a lot of time because everything is automatically uploaded through SAS. Before, the process was slow, and there were many chances to make mistakes. The system is much more efficient, but I can’t quantify it now. Their reports are good because they’re Web based so you can look at them from anywhere.

How did Qualex Consulting Services perform?

They’re great. If we have any issues we just call them up, and they fix it.

What is unique or special about them compared to other vendors that you’ve worked with?

They provide great value for a low price and are really flexible. If you want it, they’ll make it happen. They don’t complain about having to do extra work and add enhancements. They just take the requirements and do the work. They can work remotely or onsite, and they don’t charge us for every little thing.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or maybe you would do differently?

Not really, we didn’t have any issues. They even helped us buy servers, our group had very little IT expertise, and needed to be babied throughout the project. I think all the servers were around $40,000 total. They saved us thousands. They are experienced and told us what their other clients used. They also checked in with us later to make sure we were satisfied.