CASE STUDY
A Leading U.S. Automotive Service Provider
Scaling BI Infrastructure With Integrated
Data Engineering
Project Overview
This leading U.S. automotive retailer’s mobile-focused division operates with a robust internal BI environment that supports mobile service logistics, staing, and performance tracking. Their infrastructure includes SSRS and Power BI dashboards, underpinned by a complex backend of ETLs, data lakes, and reporting databases.
As business demands increased, the team needed to expand their BI capacity, as their bandwidth was maxed out. That’s where Distillery stepped in.
Project Overview
This leading U.S. automotive retailer’s mobile-focused division operates with a robust internal BI environment that supports mobile service logistics, staing, and performance tracking. Their infrastructure includes SSRS and Power BI dashboards, underpinned by a complex backend of ETLs, data lakes, and reporting databases.
As business demands increased, the team needed to expand their BI capacity, as their bandwidth was maxed out. That’s where Distillery stepped in.
Challenges Faced
With more data, more reports, and more systems requiring integration, the client needed hands-on support across their BI pipeline. They were looking for a contributor who could ramp up quickly, own infrastructure pieces, and help maintain the pace of delivery.
Maintaining the BI ecosystem required a wide range of capabilities, including modifying visualizations, handling ETL updates, introducing new data sources into the reporting lake, and adapting reports to keep pace with shifting business requirements like a recent HR system migration.
Solutions Implemented
Distillery deployed a senior data engineer who brought immediate value by integrating into the team and picking up critical pieces of the work. With a lean team setup where each data engineer contributes across development, QA, and infrastructure, our resource quickly became essential to the project’s stability and progress.
Challenges Faced
With more data, more reports, and more systems requiring integration, the client needed hands-on support across their BI pipeline. They were looking for a contributor who could ramp up quickly, own infrastructure pieces, and help maintain the pace of delivery.
Maintaining the BI ecosystem required a wide range of capabilities, including modifying visualizations, handling ETL updates, introducing new data sources into the reporting lake, and adapting reports to keep pace with shifting business requirements like a recent HR system migration.
Solutions Implemented
Distillery deployed a senior data engineer who brought immediate value by integrating into the team and picking up critical pieces of the work. With a lean team setup where each data engineer contributes across development, QA, and infrastructure, our resource quickly became essential to the project’s stability and progress.
Over the course of two years, he:
• Maintained and enhanced Power BI and SSRS reports
• Managed and modified ETLs using Azure Data Factory, SSIS, and Fivetran
• Migrated data from a PostgreSQL replica of the production environment into a SQL Server-based reporting lake
• Adapted reporting systems and backend workflows during the transition to a new HR platform
• Took on an informal leadership role, mentoring other engineers and guiding infrastructure decisions
His ability to jump in, absorb context, and contribute across technical and operational layers helped the client not just maintain their BI systems,
but continue to evolve them without losing momentum.
Technologies
Client
The mobile division of this leading U.S. automotive retailer delivers convenient vehicle maintenance and repair services across the country, bringing trusted automotive care directly to consumers’ homes and workplaces. Their operations rely on robust data infrastructure to ensure eiciency, performance visibility, and customer satisfaction.