Magnit Converts to New Big Data Analytics Platform

Krasnodar, April 23, 2020: The retailer has converted to a modernized big data analytics platform based on Oracle and NVIDIA solutions. The platform collects data about over 20,000 Company’s stores of different formats, as well as about customer behavior under the loyalty program, data from client applications and call center, DCs and others. Technical innovations will soon allow Magnit to start personalized communication with customers, as well as optimize key business functions using advanced analytics and big data.

The platform updates included the launch of components to process large data volumes, use advanced analytics and machine learning, as well as accelerate information capture and transport from source systems.

During project implementation, Oracle Exadata, NVIDIA and Hadoop solutions were used. Magnit’s analytical customer data arrays are now complemented by a server cluster with NVIDIA Tesla V100 graphical processing units, cutting-edge solutions for demanding calculations, including Big Data analysis and work with neural networks. The data hub based on optimized Oracle Exadata hardware and software suite, Oracle Database and Oracle GoldenGate technologies will ensure fast information delivery. The event hub will capture information from all source systems, perform information quality checks, and provide users with consolidated minimum-delay data. This will allow data to be used in near real time. The platform will be operated by ca. 200 company analysts.

The updated platform will help multiply the speed of analytical products creation, ensure quick scaling of ready-made solutions, such as new promo forecasts, shelf availability management, category management and supply chain analytics projects, as well as enrich customer portfolios and improve personal offers.

Magnit completed its loyalty program scaling in mid-February this year. As of today, it accounts for ca. 30mln active participants. The Company has already accumulated and analyzed the data volume on a significant part of customers. This volume is enough to convert to the targeted digital marketing activities. Magnit seeks to develop an “end-to-end” data collection and analytics process to cover each aspect from identifying customer preferences to assessing customer responses to the offers. For example, the Company is already tracking how the customers “switch” to other goods, if they fail to find what they want on the shelf, and is going to inform its customers of their favorite goods delivery.

In addition to analyzing customer behavior, Magnit will actively use the new platform to forecast and optimize promo activities, as well as optimize pricing and category management processes. The retailer will also keep developing the Effective Merchandising project, under which the algorithms to assess the probability of lack of goods on the shelves, determine the virtual stock in the warehouses, and identify other causes of sales anomalies are being created. The Company is already sharing this analytics with suppliers, which leads to a joint sales increase.

«The new data processing platform has become a timely step which will allow us to quickly deploy the already implemented analytical products and speed up the development of the new ones. Overall, it will facilitate the Company’s further development towards customer-oriented approach and improving the efficiency of business processes by means of advanced analytics and big data», – noted Artem Alekseev, Director of Analytics and Big Data of Magnit.

«We welcome Magnit as one of the most innovative companies that seek to take data-driven decisions. Optimized Oracle Exadata and Oracle Big Data Appliance hardware and software suites will ensure a new level of performance and data processing. We are positive that the Company’s advanced approaches to working with big data coupled with Oracle technologies will allow the largest retail chain to achieve its objectives and increase customer loyalty», – stated Alexey Kurochka, Director of Oracle Systems in Russia and the CIS.

«Presently, the efficient retail sales management is impossible without machine learning and AI advanced solutions. NVIDIA hardware and software platform will allow Magnit to adopt the world’s best practices for both optimizing internal processes and improving service quality», – commented Sergey Shatov, Senior Enterprise Business Development Manager of NVIDIA Russia.

Magnit converts to new Big Data analytics platform