FLYERS TURN TO KRAFT ANALYTICS GROUP TO BUILD OUT DATA INFRASTRUCTURE
- The Flyers and Kraft Analytics Group (KAGR) have begun working together in recent weeks, reports SBJ’s Mark J. Burns. The shop, led by CEO Jessica Gelman, will now support the NHL club’s data warehousing and analytics needs.
- When Flyers Chief Business Officer Mike Shane joined the organization last spring, he said it was apparent that the franchise had a lot of work to build out its data infrastructure. Instead of the time-intensive — and expensive — task of constructing a custom back-end system, the club decided to partner with KAGR following an extensive RFP process.
- Shane: “The sports landscape was changing rapidly pre-COVID. It’s only going to change and evolve further. Having a partner with the infrastructure, knowledge and foresight and not being reactive to our requests but evaluating the industry daily and bringing things to us, that’s going to be really important for us.”
- Gelman, an SBJ “Forty Under 40” honoree in 2014, said that over a dozen different areas of emphasis and information will be ingested into the KAGR system, including Flyers’ sponsorship sales, retail, ticketing, food and beverage, parking and marketing, among others. According to Gelman, the chief focus is providing not only a single view of the Flyers customer and those fans who enter Wells Fargo Center, but also, “providing a single view of the entire business operations.” For example, that includes ensuring the Flyers have the right products in-venue for their customers based on historical sales and an inventory perspective.
- More Shane: “All of the data that we’re pulling together and looking at in one smart, combined way and across these different channels … it’s going to allow us to optimize the experience, enhance the fan experience and ultimately, bring more people through the building.”