J.B. Hunt:
The Road to Better Data

The Challenge: Data Availability You Can Drive Home

BigQuery Data Modernization

To provide the best-in-class service that J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. is known for, they need to capture and maintain mountains of data. This means that everything from order details to tracking updates to supply chain information must be stored, secured and easily accessible from anywhere.

As part of their commitment to data modernization and AI-driven insights, J.B. Hunt identified several areas of opportunity where improvements could be made to their existing enterprise data warehouse (EDW). By migrating from an on-premises Db2 solution to a cloud data warehouse, they could quickly process greater volumes of data, eliminate data siloes to keep information centralized, arm stakeholders with near real-time reports to make critical decisions in a timely fashion, and accelerate future AI modeling efforts. Optimizing their data storage solution had the added benefits of eliminating redundant records, reducing latency and tackling technical debt.

Google Cloud was J.B. Hunt’s platform of choice for this undertaking, largely due to the benefits of their infrastructure and the reporting capabilities offered through BigQuery. They wanted an expert in data modernization to help them make the most of their migration. As a Google Cloud Premier Partner, TEKsystems was more than up to the task.

Our Solution: Revving the Engine to Race Forward

Data Modernization Plan and Optimization for Google Cloud

The first step to a successful data migration of this scale was prioritization. We worked with J.B. Hunt’s internal experts to identify the highest priority data tables, breaking down the entire migration plan into key milestones supported by our customer’s stakeholders. We then prepared a project backlog and performed a migration pilot test to ensure a successful strategy.

J.B. Hunt wanted to optimize their EDW to seamlessly integrate with their internal analytics and reporting tools. These tools would give them a competitive advantage by providing on-demand access to shipping reports and changes in pricing to their network of customers. Think more efficient delivery turnaround, more accurate forecasting capabilities and improved operational support overall. By harnessing the power of BigQuery, they could clean up data easier and fix broken integration processes.

Powerful Collaboration: Keeping Our Customer in the Driver's Seat

Prioritizing and Troubleshooting for Better Data

Our key focus: usage and adoption. We wanted J.B. Hunt’s analysts to see the concrete benefits of this data modernization effort. To do this, we targeted a combination of the highest priority data tables alongside smaller, quicker projects. With this strategy, we gained buy-in from critical stakeholders and made it easier for the business to quickly adopt the new data platform. We continued to tune our development strategy as we progressed, giving their team the opportunity to reprioritize as needed.

Our direct involvement with the integration effort of this migration allowed us to gain critical insight into the reporting and processing challenges that J.B. Hunt faced, as well as their business goals. This put us in the perfect position to offer strategic guidance for the future and make recommendations for internal technical skillset development that would ensure their long-term success.