The image features an advertisement with a white car on display at a car show. The car is surrounded by various machines and robots that are part of a futuristic setting. There are two people present in the scene, possibly attending to the car or observing it from a distance. The background of the image is predominantly white, which further emphasizes the car as the main focus of the advertisement.

Audi of America Turns
Fragmented Sales Planning Data
Into Decision-Ready Analytics

Data

Analytics

Executive Summary

Audi of America's Sales and Logistics teams managed and analyzed extensive data related to dealerships, sales objectives, vehicle models, historical performance, and pipeline inventory. The information existed, but reporting remained fragmented: spreadsheets, SQL and SAP BusinessObjects reports, manual ad hoc requests and disconnected planning workflows. Executives, regional directors, area managers and logistics teams worked from separate reporting views when making planning decisions.

Darwin studied the existing reporting setup, mapped the business logic behind sales planning and established the data processes needed to support it: cleaning, validation and daily reporting. That foundation supported a centralized dashboard system covering national sales overview, dealer ranking, custom reports, long-term history and pipeline tracking. The platform connected dealer, regional, model, target and pipeline data, defined sales performance comparison, metric ownership and reporting clarity, and turned scattered reporting flows into shared views each stakeholder group could use.

The result was a more reliable analytics layer for sales planning decisions, one that has expanded as Audi's planning needs evolved.

The Approach

Through the Darwin Flux lens, this work covers four connected levels: the reporting interface sales teams worked in, the data feeding it, the logic defining every metric and the speed of the decisions that followed:

Surface

The operational interface where Audi's sales teams used planning data: reporting views, dealership inputs and pipeline updates, each maintained in its own tool or manual workflow.

Connections

Darwin connected dealer, region, model, target, historical and vehicle-status data into a single planning flow. Daily cleaning and validation kept that flow reliable.

Clarity

Each metric followed a defined calculation logic, so every stakeholder group read the same numbers the same way.

Momentum

Reporting turnaround shortened to minutes where it previously took hours, and teams spent that time on higher-priority planning work and dealer conversations.

About the Client

Mission

Audi of America is the U.S. division of Audi Germany, one of the world's leading premium automotive manufacturers. Audi of America's sales planning operation supports more than 250 dealerships, over 15 vehicle carlines, and a dealer network spanning 49 states and territories across the United States.

Problem Overview

Sales planning decisions involved multiple stakeholders, executives needed a national view of performance, sales teams required visibility into dealer results and targets, and logistics teams tracked vehicles throughout the delivery process. Without a shared reporting environment, critical planning information remained fragmented across systems and workflows.

The image shows a computer screen displaying a list of car lines and their corresponding states and territories. The screen is divided into two columns with the left column containing the names of the car lines and the right column showing the respective states and territories where these cars are available for purchase. There are several car models displayed in both columns, providing a comprehensive view of the available options.

The image shows an iPad screen displaying various settings and information about a car's performance. The display includes details such as fuel efficiency, engine temperature, and other important data. The screen is divided into multiple sections, each providing specific information related to different aspects of the vehicle's operation. This type of dashboard allows drivers to monitor their car's performance in real-time and make informed decisions about maintenance or driving habits based on the displayed data.

The image shows an electronic device displaying a calendar on its screen. The calendar is filled with various dates and times, providing information about different events or appointments throughout the year. The device appears to be a tablet, which is placed on a table in front of it.

The image shows two tablet computers side by side on a table. Both tablets display the same spreadsheet with rows and columns of data. The spreadsheets are identical, indicating that they might be used for comparison purposes or to analyze similar information across different sources.

The Challenge

Audi's teams had access to the data they needed. Reporting inputs came from several third-party vendors, each with its own process and timeline. The challenge came from the way reporting flows had grown: every team and tool followed its own reporting routine, with no shared structure connecting them.

Fragmented Reporting Sources

Sales planning data was stored in three places: Excel spreadsheets, a SQL Server database and SAP BusinessObjects reports. Teams handled more than 35 manual ad hoc reporting requests each month. As the scope expanded to include logistic and certified pre-owned data, that number grew past 45. Every reporting cycle required manual assembly from disconnected sources.

No Shared Logic for Comparing Sales Results

Understanding sales results meant working with several dimensions at once: region, area, dealership, model line, reporting period, target progress and historical trends. Reporting with no defined comparison logic made it harder to identify what was driving results, where attention was needed and how one period compared to another.

Limited Support for Dealer Conversations

Area managers needed current sales and target data to prepare for dealership visits. That preparation depended on manually pulling numbers from different sources, a process that added time and introduced inconsistency in the figures managers used.

Pipeline Tracking Disconnected From Sales Planning

Vehicle delivery status was tracked separately from sales planning data. Logistics teams and sales managers worked with different views of the same supply chain, so coordinating planning decisions around inventory and delivery timelines required extra alignment at every step.

The Solution

Darwin started with the reporting setup itself. The team analyzed Audi's data sources, clarified the business logic behind sales planning and defined how sales results should be compared: by region, dealer, model and reporting period, in the combinations each stakeholder group needed.Daily data operations supported everything that followed: cleaning, validation and delivery of verified data. SQL Server, SAP BusinessObjects, Integration Services, Alteryx and Tableau Prep provided the technical foundation for a centralized reporting system that replaced manual assembly from disconnected sources.

National Overview

Darwin built a custom reporting layer that linked GA4, Salesforce and BigQuery into one reporting hub. The connector established the pipeline through which all marketing and sales data flowed into Looker Studio.

Dealer Ranking

The Dealer Ranking module was built around the work area managers do before and during dealership visits. Managers entered each dealer conversation knowing how the dealer ranked against targets, how results compared to the region and how specific model lines were selling over the current period. A searchable dealer selector made it faster to open a specific dealer profile directly out of the national view.

Custom Reports

Custom Reports gave each stakeholder a way to build the view they needed and reduce reliance on manual ad hoc reporting requests. Three predefined datasets (Sales, Inventory and Car Line) covered the most common reporting needs. Users could also create individualized views by adding or removing KPI fields, saving up to five custom report configurations for repeated use.

Long Term History

The Long Term History module gave teams historical context for current results. Managers compared current figures with previous years, identified seasonal patterns and separated short-term fluctuations out of longer trends. The module also supported dealer-to-dealer and dealer-vs-region comparison, giving area managers a structured way to benchmark results against past periods.

Pipeline Summary

The Pipeline Summary connected sales planning with vehicle delivery status. Teams tracked each vehicle through several pipeline stages, covering initial order, production, transit, port arrival and final sale, all in a single view. On-the-water cards showed projected arrival dates; port status covered customs clearance. Logistics and sales planning now drew on a shared data view.

Darwin's partnership with Audi of America created a centralized planning foundation supporting 250+ dealerships, 15+ carlines and 49 states & territories.

Start with the Foundation

Key Outcomes

Reporting Turnaround in Minutes

Reports that previously required hours of manual assembly now reach planning teams in minutes, built on data cleaned and validated daily.

Reduced Manual Workload

More than 45 manual ad hoc requests each month drove the reporting workload. Self-service reports and saved configurations reduced both the request volume and the corrections manual assembly generated.

Consistent Data for Dealer Reviews

Dealership reviews are now prepared in a single system, with ranking, targets and multi-year history based on the same verified data for every region.

Shared Pipeline Data for Planning and Logistics

Sales planning and logistics teams make inventory, allocation and delivery decisions using the same pipeline data. Shared tracking reduced the delays that separate views created.

Before-and-After
Comparison

Area

Reporting structure
Data reliability
Reporting turnaround
Sales results comparison
Dealer conversations
Custom reporting
Pipeline tracking

Before Darwin

Spreadsheets, SQL Server and SAP BusinessObjects reports maintained separately
Manual corrections, inconsistent numbers
Hours of manual assembly
Harder to compare by region, dealer, model and period
Dependent on scattered reports and manual preparation
Required repeated ad hoc requests
Disconnected from sales planning

After

Centralized analytics and dashboard system
Data cleaned and validated daily
Reports delivered in minutes
Shared views with region, dealer, model and MTD / QTD / YTD filters
Prepared in a single system with consistent numbers
Self-service KPI views with saved configurations
Sales planning and logistics decisions based on shared delivery data

Client Feedback

“Darwin efficiently executes initiatives to produce quality deliverables that advance internal processes. The team’s expertise enables them to fulfill a multitude of roles, mitigating potential knowledge gaps. They learned about the business, which has ensured their deliverables meet requirements.”

Senior Sales Planning Manager, Audi,

Name withheld in line with Volkswagen Group policy.

For Audi of America, the value of the work lies in what supports the dashboards: reliable data, defined reporting logic and planning decisions every team makes with the same numbers.

What began as an MVP in 2017 has evolved into the analytical foundation that Audi's sales planning relies on today. Since then, the foundation has grown to support logistic and certified pre-owned teams through data delivery.
Additional margin management and ETA forecasting were built as dedicated internal logic to improve planning and predict vehicle arrival times. Darwin's analysts have also contributed to Audi's strategy discussions alongside the reporting work.

The partnership continues today, with a foundation built to grow as Audi's planning needs evolve.