Microsoft SQL Server
Customer Solution Case Study
Electronics Firm Improves Forecasting, Saves
$100,000 a Year with Master Data Solution
Customer: VIZIO
Website: www.vizio.com
Customer Size: 450 employees
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Manufacturing—Audio and
video equipment manufacturing
“With SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services, our data
quality is significantly better. With more accurate data,
our product and sales forecasts will be better, and our
sales will be higher.”
Pete Girgis, Vice President of IT, VIZIO
Customer Profile
Based in Irvine, California, VIZIO is one of
the top manufacturers of television and
other home electronics in the United
States.
California-based VIZIO is the number-one seller of LCD
televisions in the United States. To keep up with business
growth, the company sought new technology to help forecast
sales and manage the supply chain. VIZIO implemented a
Solution Spotlight
 Provides more accurate, updated
master data and improves ability to
forecast products and prices.
 Saves U.S.$100,000 annually and
potentially millions more in the future
by improving supply chain efficiency.
 Improves employee efficiency with
familiar data management tools.
Microsoft master data solution that offers more accurate, timely
product data and improves the company’s forecasting ability.
The solution also saves VIZIO U.S.$100,000 each year and gives
employees familiar Microsoft-based data management tools.
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Business Needs
VIZIO is a leading producer of highdefinition televisions (HDTVs), Blu-ray disk
players, home theater systems, and other
consumer electronics. The company has
annual sales of $2.5 billion.
Over the past seven years, VIZIO has
experienced significant business growth.
To keep up with this growth, the company
needed a more sophisticated forecast and
price management approach. “We have to
be able to forecast the right product at the
right place and time to increase our sales,”
says Pete Girgis, Vice President of IT, VIZIO.
However, this was difficult because the
firm’s existing SAP Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) system did not provide
optimal planning management and
forecasting. Also, the company wanted to
gain more from its Microsoft Excel 2010
spreadsheet software environment. “It
took significant manual effort to enter
product data into spreadsheets,” says
Girgis. “We also had a limited ability to
track changes from historical data.”
The ERP system, meanwhile, was
populated with critical data from disparate
databases. Girgis says, “All of our master
data—such as detailed specifications on
our televisions, supplier and customer
contact information, and supply tracking—
came from different sources. That often
meant inaccurate data, duplicate records,
and multiple points of failure.”
the company plans to use SQL Server 2012
Analysis Services for improved data
analysis capabilities.
For VIZIO, that resulted in a credibility gap
with customers. “If we tell our customers
we’ll ship a certain quantity of LCD
televisions by a certain date and that
doesn’t happen, that’s a big problem for our
business,” says Girgis.
Benefits
To improve its forecast and data accuracy,
make processes more scalable, and reduce
multiple manual entry points, VIZIO began
looking for a new master data solution in
November 2011.
Solution
At first, VIZIO evaluated solutions from
several vendors, including SAP and
Microsoft. Ultimately, the company chose
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise data
management software. “Microsoft offers
excellent products with a great total cost of
ownership,” says Girgis. “We were very
confident in our decision.”
Starting in early 2012, VIZIO began
implementing a new central master data
solution based on SQL Server 2012
Enterprise. The solution uses SQL Server
2012 Master Data Services to enforce
supply chain management processes and
validations, while providing VIZIO with upto-date, accurate master data. The solution
also includes the SQL Server 2012 Master
Data Services Add-In for Excel. Using this
tool, VIZIO employees can collect product,
supplier, and customer data and publish it
to the central database from within
Microsoft Excel 2010.
The solution currently has 15 primary users
who input and maintain master data and 30
secondary users who consume the data.
Eventually, many more VIZIO employees
will use the solution.
VIZIO will also likely implement SQL Server
2012 Data Quality Services, which profiles,
cleanses, and matches data. Additionally,
The SQL Server 2012 solution gives VIZIO
more accurate, timely master data and
improves the company’s ability to forecast.
VIZIO also saves $100,000 each year and
the company’s workers can take advantage
of familiar Microsoft tools.
Provides More Accurate Data and Better
Forecasting Ability
With SQL Server 2012, VIZIO now has a
centralized solution for managing its
master data. SQL Server 2012 Master Data
Services gives the company more accurate,
updated data on product specifications
and supplier information while eliminating
the previous multiple points of failure. The
company also has a better ability to track
changes from historical data. “With SQL
Server 2012 Master Data Services, our data
quality is significantly better,” says Girgis.
“With more accurate data, our product and
sales forecasts will be better, and our sales
will be higher.”
VIZIO also expects to be more competitive.
“Our ability to be proactive and flexible
when it comes to pricing our products is
what differentiates us from our
competitors,” states Girgis. “The SQL
Server 2012 solution will help us be more
proactive in making aggressive pricing
moves, so we can be more competitive.”
Saves $100,000 Annually
VIZIO will also save money because the
new solution improves the efficiency of the
company’s master data management
processes. “Having better data and a
reduced reliance on manual processes will
Software and Services
Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise
 Technologies
− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2
Analysis Services

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
SUMMARY.
Document published May 2012
translate into large dollar savings in our
supply chain, because we can be more
consistent in understanding the accuracy
and timeliness of our data,” Girgis says.
“We will definitely save $100,000 a year,
and probably more than that, as a result.”
Once the full solution is implemented,
including SQL Server 2012 Data Quality
Services and SQL Server 2012 Analysis
Services, VIZIO expects to eventually save
millions of dollars by further improving
supply chain efficiency. “Our business is
about moving volumes of products, and
the ability to reduce even one day out of
our supply chain will result in millions of
dollars saved,” says Girgis.
Increases Efficiency with Familiar Data
Management Tools
Using the SQL Server 2012 Master Data
Services Add-In for Excel, VIZIO workers
can take advantage of familiar tools to
access and manage master data from
directly within Excel 2010. “VIZIO is a heavy
user of Microsoft Excel 2010. The SQL
Server 2012 Master Data Services Add-In
for Excel was one of the main reasons we
implemented this solution,” says Girgis.
“Our employees can now have fast access
to master data through Excel, and that
familiarity will make them much more
efficient in managing data.”
Girgis adds that the combination of SQL
Server 2012 Master Data Services, Data
Quality Services, and Analysis Services will
give the company a strategic advantage it
lacked before. “With Microsoft SQL Server
2012, VIZIO has the technology to improve
forecast accuracy and to migrate from a
tactically focused forecasting team to one
that is more analytical,” Girgis says. “It
positions us very well for the future.”
− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Data
Quality Services
− Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Master
Data Services