In most retail organisations, there is a hidden tax on every decision. We don’t see it on the P&L, but we feel it in every missed trend and delayed pivot.
It’s the Analyst Bottleneck.
When a business user must submit a ticket to get a basic answer, the organisation isn't just "following a process", it's quietly killing its own momentum.
Backlogs Train Your Team to Stop Asking
The most dangerous side effect of a data backlog isn’t the delay; it’s learned helplessness. Recent research shows that over 55% of analysts’ time is spent just maintaining or organising data sets, foundational work that exists only because teams get stuck answering basic descriptive questions that shouldn’t require a specialist in the first place. When a Category Manager knows a "Why" question takes four days to move through that queue,they eventually stop asking. They start relying on gut feel or outdated spreadsheets and dashboards.
When every question needs a ticket, the business stops being curious. And a retail brand that isn't curious is a brand that's about to be disrupted.
Your Best Analysts are "Ticket-Takers"
We hire senior analysts and data scientists for their ability to find complex correlations and build predictive models. Yet most of them spend much of their week answering versions of: "How many blue units did we sell in Melbourne last Tuesday?" or re-running and updating the same analysis they ran last quarter.
This isn't just a waste of money; it's a waste of talent. By forcing experts to handle basic data retrieval and analysis tasks, you aren't just slowing down the business, you're burning out your best people on low value work.
From an analyst’s perspective, as top-tier data talent, they don't want to be a human API. They want to solve the problems that move the needle. When you automate the"What," you finally give them the headspace to focus on the "So What?" and "Now What?".
Dependency Kills Agility
In retail,the gap between identifying a problem and solving it is where profit lives or dies.
By the time the analysis is finished, the opportunity has often moved on. Retail moves at the speed of the consumer, but our data architectures and operating models often move at the speed of a Jira board. Backlogs don’t just slow teams down,they train them to wait until the window of opportunity is already slammed shut.
- The Status Quo: Ask a question → Submit ticket → Wait 72 hours → Get data → Realise you need a follow-up → Repeat.
- The New Standard: Ask a question in plain English → Get answer → Make decision.
The goal of modern data tooling isn't to replace the analyst, it's to remove them as a gatekeeper for the "What" so they can become a strategic partner in the "How."
The Shift From Gatekeepers to Enablers
The future of retail belongs to organisations that treat data like a utility, available to everyone, instantly, rather than a guarded secret that requires a translator.
When you empower a Merchant or a Store Manager to get their own answers that they can trust, via natural language, you don’t just clear the backlog, you unlock the collective intelligence of your entire team!
The Solution: Stop Waiting, Start Asking
You don't need more dashboards. You need a way to talk to your data.
Candela’s RAI Engine unlocks the analyst bottleneck so anyone across your organisation from the boardroom to the warehouse, can get instant analytics insights by asking in natural language.
No more tickets. No more 72-hour wait times. Just the answers you need, the moment you need them.
Is your analyst backlog holding you back? It's time to break the cycle and start operating at the speed of your customers. Learn more about the RAI Engine.