ByHeart leverages customizable, scalable data analytics using Google Cloud solutions

Bespin Global designs a custom, scalable solution for ByHeartʼs data analytics on Google Cloud Platform using BigQuery, Looker and other data integration products.

AT A GLANCE

• Consolidated 7+ data sources for e-commerce and financial applications.

• Designed integrated solutions with smart analytics capabilities.

• Built a customer data platform that provides real-time analytics and self-service capabilities.

THE CHALLENGE 
Using research and data to launch a better infant formula 

The founders of ByHeart launched their company with a mission in mind. They wanted to develop a scientifically backed infant formula using only clean ingredients of the highest quality.

When they embarked on the journey, they had no idea that it would take five years of planning, researching, clinical trials, and testing before they could finally launch their first Clean Label Project-approved formula into the market. The project certifies products that meet its independent testing requirements for heavy metals and other environmental contaminants.

As the launch approached, ByHeart took a hard look at its data sources and inventory management systems, kept production on track, and obtained FDA approval.

In order to stay agile and continue making informed decisions, ByHeart needed precise data. This would also help the company reach sales goals, stay on top of inventory, and manage advertising costs. Its employees needed to easily access reports that pulled information from multiple departments—but because each department had different methods and systems for collecting data, it was challenging to build a comprehensive database.

THE APPROACH

Conflicting data hinders scalability and meaningful insights

David Archuleta, Senior Director of Digital Products, and Caroline Doyle, Controller, both had experiences with faulty data systems at previous startups. Growing pains and data silos resulted in decisions that were based on inaccurate data. Ultimately, this led to missed opportunities, additional costs, and employees who had to spend their days reconciling conflicting information.

“As a part of putting together the website, I started asking questions,” said Archuleta. “Where is this data going? Where are we storing this?”

Doyle looked at the situation from a financial point of view and came to a similar conclusion. “So much of finance is only as good as your inputs,” said Doyle. “So if you have all these different teams who get information all sorts of different ways, it might not be accurate. No one’s checking how it got there.”

Both of them wanted to ensure ByHeart used the best possible data to make decisions. Together, they began looking for a scalable solution that could carry ByHeart through its product launch and continue supporting the company as it grew.

THE SOLUTION

Bespin Global, a Google Cloud Premier Partner, leverages GCP Data best practices to build a robust data platform

ByHeart’s vision included having all its data in one place, along with a business intelligence process and data warehouse that could scale as the company grew. Since ByHeart needed a customized end-to-end solution, it hired Bespin Global to build a custom system that was capable of integrating with Google products.

“We chose Bespin Global partly because we felt like the company would be willing to work with the lack of processes that come from being a growing business,” said Doyle. “As a startup, things are just not simple and sometimes priorities shift.”

Bespin Global used agile and sprint-based iterative development, gathering feedback and encouraging participation from ByHeart at every juncture. Using four 12-week statements of work, Bespin Global integrated data from seven different heterogeneous SaaS data sources including Deacom, Shopify, Zendesk, Segment, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads, to provide real-time marketing insights.

It also built an analytics data warehouse and customized reports for both e-commerce and financial applications using BigQuery and Looker for Google Cloud Platform. Bespin Global built every integration and customized reports for each one, pushing the data platform providers to supply information to ensure and accelerate the successful development of ByHeart’s data systems.

“Bespin Global found tools to pull in all our data and reports, and worked with us to get requirements for customized reports,” said Archuleta. “They understood our vision and were able to plan for it.”

Bespin Global built self-service business intelligence dashboards and reports in Looker for Google Cloud Platform to track key performance indicators and business performance with smart analytics.

THE RESULTS

An integrated analytics solution reduces data silos and offers quicker access to insights

Bespin Global enabled ByHeart to reduce data silos with its integrated data analytics platform. The new platform empowered ByHeart to make informed decisions on marketing campaigns and initiatives based on real-time analytics.

Real-time dashboards offered improved inventory management and quicker time to insights using replication and sync processes.

“Bespin Global helped train everyone on Looker and got everyone comfortable with consistent methods of pulling data across ByHeart,” said Doyle. “Everyone across the business who has a responsibility to gather and report data will be doing it in the way we intended thanks to this cloud migration project.”

Shortly after ByHeart launched its formula, the United States experienced an unprecedented formula shortage, caused in part by supply chain issues and recalls from other formula brands. President Joe Biden invited executives from ByHeart and other manufacturers to a roundtable discussion focused on mitigating the shortage. ByHeart’s new data systems and streamlined inventory management database provided much-needed insight into their production capabilities and ability to meet the national demand for formula.

ByHeart plans to work with Bespin Global on an as-needed basis while it continues to grow and add new systems. Accelerating innovation and achieving continued digital transformation with Bespin Global will ensure ByHeart’s data systems continue meeting its needs. “I would tell other companies not to think about what you need today, but about where your company wants to be in a year or two,” said Doyle. “If you wait until you need it, you’re already too far behind.