Business Driver: Building Analytics in Parallel with a Spin-Off

As part of a corporate spin-off from a parent company, the newly formed CDMO needed to exit legacy JD Edwards systems and implement Salesforce (CRM) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (ERP) from the ground up. While the business wanted a clean break from the past, it still required access to historical financial and operational data from JD Edwards.

Compounding the challenge, ERP and CRM implementations were happening in parallel with new manufacturing facilities coming online in the U.S. and Germany. Leadership could not wait 6–12 months for a traditional data warehouse project after go-live. Analytics needed to be available immediately, even while the source systems were still stabilizing.

“The Data Products Accelerator enabled the organization to shift from siloed reporting to reusable, trusted data products—accelerating insight delivery while improving governance and scalability.”

Solution: Standing Up Snowflake Analytics in Parallel with ERP and CRM

KPI Partners leveraged its Data Products Accelerator to establish a Snowflake-based analytics foundation in tandem with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation.  Instead of waiting for ERP stabilization, the project team used:

• Pre-built ingestion patterns

• Domain-aligned data models

• Reusable transformation logic

• A phased rollout framework 

This allowed the organization to:

• Ingest new Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 data as modules went live

• Integrate historical JD Edwards data alongside modern systems

• Deliver dashboards and reports during the implementation window

• Avoid a lengthy custom analytics foundation build

An offshore development team accelerated delivery while maintaining governance and architectural standards.

Architecture & Data Platform Design

The solution was built on a cloud data platform using a modern medallion architecture.  Snowflake provided the scalable compute and centralized storage needed to unify legacy and modern ERP environments while supporting phased global expansion.

Core Source Systems

• Salesforce (CRM – Revenue Modules)
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 (ERP – Financials and Manufacturing)
• Veeva QMS (Quality Management System)
• Legacy JD Edwards (Historical Data Migration)
• Microsoft SharePoint 

Data Platform

• Snowflake (centralized cloud data platform and analytics engine)
• Data Ingestion: Fivetran, Azure Synapse Link
• Transformation & Data Quality: dbt
• Orchestration: Pre-built Data Products Accelerator framework 

Analytics Layer

• Microsoft Power BI (executive dashboards and operational reporting)

Phased Data Product Rollout

The analytics foundation was delivered in waves aligned to business milestones.

Wave 1 – Salesforce (Revenue Modules)

Delivered commercial visibility at CRM launch.

Wave 2 – Microsoft Dynamics 365 Financials

Integrated AP, AR, GL, and Fixed Assets to establish a financial reporting backbone.

Wave 3 – Microsoft Dynamics 365 Manufacturing 

Enabled analytics for Inventory, Projects, and CapEx — aligned with the opening of two new manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Germany.

Wave 4 – Veeva QMS

Integrated life sciences–specific quality processes, including Complaints,  Deviations, Audits,  Quality risk management,  Supplier quality management, and Change control.  This provided visibility into regulated quality workflows alongside financial and commercial metrics.

Wave 5 – ERP Refactoring & Real-Time Manufacturing Analytics

The next phase will support legacy ERP and new-generation ERP processes, real-time manufacturing line quality insights, and expansion to two additional global facilities.

What this enabled: A scalable, governed data foundation that supports enterprise analytics today and advanced analytics initiatives in the future.

Results & Business Impact

By leveraging the Data Products Accelerator, the organization avoided a traditional 6–12 month custom analytics foundation rollout and instead delivered an initial production release — including dashboards and reports — in under three months.

This parallel approach ensured that analytics was not a downstream afterthought, but a core component of operational independence post-spin-off.

Quantitative Outcomes

• 70% reduction in infrastructure cost compared to a custom-built analytics foundation
• Initial production release in <3 months
• Avoided a traditional 6–12 month custom rollout timeline
• Enabled analytics availability aligned with ERP and CRM go-live

Strategic Outcomes

• Maintained continuity of historical JD Edwards data while transitioning to modern systems
• Supported global manufacturing expansion
• Established a scalable Snowflake foundation for future ERP refactoring
• Positioned the organization for real-time operational and quality analytics

Recognition & Validation

The initiative received a CIO Excellence Award in the Innovation Team category, recognizing the team’s forward-thinking approach to building a scalable, cost-efficient analytics foundation during a critical business transition.

Future Roadmap

With Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Veeva QMS, and Snowflake fully integrated, the organization is now positioned to:

• Expand analytics across additional manufacturing facilities

   

• Support next-generation ERP refactoring

   

• Enable real-time manufacturing and supply chain operational reporting on a large mission control-style LED wall

   

• Scale globally without rebuilding the analytics foundation

“This initiative was recognized for its innovation, collaboration, and measurable business impact, earning a CIO Excellence Award in the Innovation Team category.”

Why KPI Partners

The organization sought a partner that could deliver a scalable, product-oriented data platform while reducing the operational burden on internal teams. KPI Partners was selected for its accelerator-driven approach, deep experience with enterprise SaaS data, and ability to deliver governed, reusable data products aligned to business domains.

www.kpipartners.com

KPI Partners brought an accelerator-based framework that reduced complexity and accelerated delivery.