Reworked IT architecture and created a roadmap for transformation for the music retail company "Muztorg"

CLIENT

"Muztorg" is a leading retail chain in Russia specializing in the sale of musical instruments and equipment. The company operates the largest retail network in the country with 50 music stores and an e-commerce website, muztorg.ru, which is the most popular in its segment in the Russian-speaking Internet.

"Muztorg" has been in operation for over 20 years and was the first company in the Russian musical instrument market to implement an omnichannel approach, synchronizing information on prices, inventory, and services between its website and physical retail stores.

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TASK

Conduct a pre-project survey and conceptual design of the corporate data management system.

In mid-2021, "Muztorg" faced an important task to transform its IT architecture. The company aimed to achieve:

1. Reduction in costs related to maintaining the IT landscape and minimize the risks of data loss and delayed delivery.
2. Implementation of a scalable management architecture.
3. Rapid scalability by increasing the throughput of information systems and the swift integration of new information systems.

The objective was to propose an optimal technical solution for the integration of both internal information systems within "Muztorg" and external services, including B2B functions.

Another research objective was to create a roadmap, a high-level plan, and a budgetary estimate for the future project involving the implementation of MDM (Master Data Management) and ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) solutions.

SOLUTION

The KT.Team conducted a pre-project survey with the following objectives:

1. To study the current IT architecture, the interaction of information systems, and product information models.
2. To audit the operation of existing services, identify weak points, and data conflicts.

Based on the results of the pre-project survey, we proposed a target architecture and information model for the corporate data management system within the framework of the company's digital transformation. For the further transformation, we formulated requirements for the future corporate data management platform in terms of the integration model and master data management model.

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BUSINESS PROCESS MODELING AS IS – TO BE

Throughout the project, we relied on modeling of business processes from "as is" (the structure of connections at the time of the pre-project survey) to "to be" (the project for the new architecture prepared for implementation).

Modeling of the current architecture allowed the project team, in collaboration with the client's representatives, to identify bottlenecks—areas that were slowing down the architecture's operation at the time of the survey or had the potential to do so. We paid special attention to these processes and integrations in the "to be" phase to ensure that the new architecture would not inherit the limitations of the previous architecture and would be more flexible and scalable.

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AS IS MODEL

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the "as is" model of this project, we conducted interviews with employees from 11 departments of the company involved in business processes related to MDM, including warehouse, retail, marketing, IT, and others. Simultaneously, we collected and reviewed documentation, including instructions, requirements, and regulations.

During the pre-project survey, the following activities were carried out:

1. Analysis of the project's architecture, information models of products, and mechanisms of interaction between structural units.
2. Evaluation of the effectiveness of system interactions.
3. Identification of deficiencies in elements of business processes.
4. Identification of directions for further development and construction of the "to be" model.

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TO BE MODEL AND DESIGN OF THE NEW INFORMATION CONTOUR

Based on the data from the pre-project survey, we created a map of information flows between subsystems and visualized it in a graphical format, accompanied by detailed explanations of what information should be transferred through the ESB from one system to another.

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IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP

We have prepared an implementation roadmap for the transformation of the IT architecture of "Muztorg" in the form of a Gantt chart and a structural diagram with marked project implementation sequences.

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CHOICE OF SPECIFIC IT SOLUTIONS

In addition to the architecture project and the project implementation roadmap, we prepared an analytical comparison of ESB and MDM solutions. ESB systems such as Mule, Talend, and WSO2 were compared based on 70 parameters, including:

1. Deployment speed and availability.
2. Technical features of the systems.
3. Scalability capabilities.
4. Technical support options.
5. The cost of specialists working with these systems and their availability in Russia.

The effectiveness of using ESB for each subsystem was also separately analyzed. The detailed analysis allowed "Muztorg" to make an informed choice of an ESB solution that met their needs.

The objectives of implementing an MDM system in the architecture of "Muztorg" included:

1. Maintaining auxiliary and cross-domain directories to support core processes.
2. Providing a single identifier for directory items in analytics systems.
3. Integrating unified directories into company processes (including support for current and prospective processes).

Based on the analysis, interview results, and "Muztorg's" requirements, we outlined:

1. Functional requirements for the MDM system (25 key points, including tools for creating, managing, and deleting master data; importing directory values from files, as well as support for API-based uploads; customizable data validation rules, and more).
2. Data integrity requirements.
3. Data quality control requirements.

We conducted a detailed comparison of MDM systems, including Pimcore, Riversand, and "1C," and provided the client with a detailed report on these parameters. We also analyzed the budgets required for the implementation and maintenance of these systems and considered storage options for directories and their attributes within the MDM system.

To ensure data security and controllability, we established a role matrix with access levels to specific data.