This case study explores how a leading multi-location cannabis operator leveraged the power of Snowflake, a cutting-edge data warehouse platform, to enhance their marketing capabilities by integrating the customer data from their AlpineIQ platform.
Through this strategic integration, the client was able to overcome the limitations of AlpineIQ's reporting capabilities and unleash a new level of data-driven insights that drove their business forward.
Our client is a large, multi-state cannabis operator with numerous locations spanning across several states. Each of these locations operates independently with its own AlpineIQ instance, creating a decentralized structure for managing customer data and marketing efforts. The client faced significant challenges in streamlining their operations due to the limitations inherent in AlpineIQ's reporting and analytics capabilities.
AlpineIQ's limited reporting capabilities required a cumbersome workflow that involved downloading CSV files from each dispensary, importing them into Google Sheets, and then running complex analytics. This process made it extremely difficult to compare performance across multiple locations and gain a holistic understanding of their customer base.
Extracting data from AlpineIQ was made relatively straightforward by its REST API, which provides access to all data entities. A notable advantage of AlpineIQ is the self-service capability for creating API keys, allowing users to generate keys independently without needing to submit a request or justify a business case. This stands in contrast to Dutchie, where API access requires a formal request and a detailed explanation of the intended use.
The design of AlpineIQ's API required us to extract all data during each update, rather than allowing for more incremental data retrieval. This approach increased the complexity and processing time of data extraction, making it necessary to handle larger volumes of data during each sync to ensure that the client's information remained up-to-date and comprehensive.
Consistent with modern ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) practices, we avoid any transformations before loading the data into Snowflake. This strategy allows us to preserve the raw data's integrity, enabling more flexible and comprehensive transformations to be performed directly within Snowflake. By centralizing transformations, we ensure that the data remains consistent and easily adaptable to evolving business needs.
We implemented a streamlined data loading process by first staging the data in AWS S3, ensuring a secure and efficient transfer environment. Once the data was prepared in S3, we seamlessly loaded it into Snowflake, taking advantage of its robust data integration capabilities to handle the process smoothly.
With the AlpineIQ data now securely housed in Snowflake, the team worked closely with the client to replicate their existing Google Sheets-based reports, ensuring a seamless transition and familiarity for the end-users.
Beyond just replicating existing reports, the team leveraged Snowflake's advanced analytical capabilities to develop new, powerful reports that were previously difficult or impossible to create using the limited tools available in AlpineIQ.
With the data now centralized and easily accessible, the team began exploring the potential of implementing AI and machine learning models to uncover even deeper insights and unlock new opportunities for the client's business.
The integration with Snowflake eliminated the time-consuming process of manually gathering data from multiple AlpineIQ instances, allowing the client to access their reports on-demand and with greater flexibility.
By combining data from AlpineIQ with other sources in Snowflake, the client was able to uncover new insights that were previously out of reach, empowering them to make more informed, data-driven decisions.
The seamless integration with Snowflake has sparked the client's enthusiasm to explore the potential of AI and machine learning, opening up new avenues for optimizing their marketing strategies and driving even greater business success.
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