Group-Wide Reporting Consistency and a Foundation for Advanced Analytics and AI

A diversified Nordic retail and wholesale group needed to modernize an aging and fragmented reporting landscape. Different companies within the group had adopted different reporting tools, financial planning relied heavily on Excel, and the existing technologies were becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and develop.

Norrin and the organization's teams designed and implemented a shared Microsoft Fabric data platform that delivers consistent reporting across the group and creates a scalable foundation for analytics, automation, and AI.

Solution

The platform was built on jointly defined architectural principles, governance practices, and development model for a shared Microsoft Fabric platform. The implementation included separate development, testing, and production environments, a layered data architecture, automated deployment practices, role-based access control, and reusable data products.

Finance was selected as the first domain to validate the approach and deliver immediate reporting value. The platform was subsequently extended to Sales, Operations, and HR.

Business value add

A more consistent basis for financial and operational reporting across companies and business domains
A shared and governed data foundation for developing data products, analytics, and reporting across the group
Secure consolidation of group-level data while maintaining company-specific access boundaries
A scalable architecture that supports new domains and use cases without rebuilding
Reusable data products that reduce duplicated integrations, transformations, and reporting logic
Greater internal ownership through joint development, training, and knowledge transfer
A foundation for future financial planning, analytics, automation, and AI

A fragmented reporting landscape

The group’s reporting environment had developed over time into a fragmented collection of aging technologies and company-specific practices. Different companies used different tools, making it difficult to maintain consistency or reuse logic across the organization.

Financial planning also lacked a shared group-wide solution and depended heavily on Excel-based processes. While spreadsheets provided flexibility, they did not offer the governed and scalable foundation required for developing common reporting and planning capabilities across several companies. The organization needed to consolidate group-level data while protecting company confidentiality, requiring centralized governance with controlled access and data isolation.

The organization needed a sustainable, shared approach to managing data with clear ownership, secure access, and consistent development and deployment practices.

A scalable Microsoft Fabric implementation

Norrin deployed the Microsoft Fabric environment with separate development, testing, and production environments. The implementation established repeatable processes and environments for developing and testing before production.

Security was managed through role-based access control, allowing consolidated group reporting while keeping data securely separated by company, role, and business responsibility. Monitoring and production-readiness practices supported a controlled operating model.

Finance as the first business domain

Finance was selected as the first domain to validate the architecture and demonstrate how the platform could support the business need. Norrin integrated data from the customer’s on-premises ERP environment together with the required Excel-based sources. The implementation included a harmonized foundational Finance data product, a business-modeled data product for reporting, and a Finance profit and loss dashboard in Power BI.

This created an end-to-end example of the new operating model where data integrated centrally, standardized, modeled by business needs, and delivered through Power BI.

Norrin also worked closely with the customer’s internal development team throughout the implementation, providing training and knowledge transfer to support continued ownership and development of the platform.

A foundation for broader business use

Following Finance, the platform extended through additional data products and reporting use cases. Implementation work has covered Finance, Sales, Operations, and HR. New reporting areas can build on the same architectural patterns, development practices, security model, and reusable data foundation.

The customer now has a shared platform for developing governed data products and reporting capabilities across the group. As additional companies and business domains are introduced, they can use consistent practices while retaining the flexibility to address their own requirements.

For a diversified retail and wholesale group, this provides a stronger foundation for connecting financial and operational information, expanding reporting coverage, and creating more consistent visibility across the organization. With structured and reusable data in place, the platform also establishes a foundation for future financial planning, analytics, automation, and AI initiatives.