Introduction
US Lumber is a specialty construction products distributor headquartered in Georgia, operating across the United States and Canada. Over the past eight years, the company has grown rapidly through acquisition: expanding from seven distribution centers to more than thirty. To support this growth, US Lumber needed a modern, scalable data warehouse that could rapidly assimilate disparate ERP systems and deliver trusted insight quickly. WhereScape became the foundation for this transformation.
Pre-WhereScape Challenges
- Rapid acquisition growth: New businesses introduced disparate systems, naming conventions and data models.
- Multiple ERP systems: Five ERPs fed the warehouse, with more expected as growth continued.
- Manual ETL processes: Stored procedures and SSIS packages were hand-coded and difficult to scale.
- Limited data team capacity: A two-person warehouse team struggled to keep pace with demand.
- Legacy architecture constraints: The existing warehouse lacked robustness and scalability.
Why WhereScape?
US Lumber needed an automation platform capable of handling the complexity of Data Vault modelling while remaining accessible to a small team. WhereScape offered built-in support for Data Vault architecture, automated code generation, and flexible modelling: making it possible to deliver enterprise-grade analytics without expanding headcount.
“WhereScape has an excellent solution for handling Data Vault complexity and making it possible for our team, which was at the time just two people on the data warehouse, so we could never have done it manually.”
– Marc Porlier, BI Manager, US Lumber
The Solution
Data Vault–Driven Architecture
US Lumber adopted a Data Vault modelling approach to manage disparate source systems and support rapid integration of acquisitions.
Model-First Design With WhereScape 3D
WhereScape 3D enabled the team to scope, audit and prototype the architecture before build, ensuring business requirements were met early.
Automated Build and Deployment
Approved designs were physicalised in WhereScape RED, generating thousands of lines of optimized SQL code automatically.
Two-Phase Modernisation
A temporary warehouse was first bolted onto the legacy system to accelerate acquisition reporting, followed by a longer-term replacement of the legacy warehouse.
“It was WhereScape 3D, the modeling tool, that I was amazed with… It was amazing to me how it could do all of that with nothing more than a GUI and with no hand coding.”
– Marc Porlier, BI Manager, US Lumber
Results
🚀 Faster Acquisition Integration
- Data assimilation time reduced from three months to 45 days.
- New businesses reported on before full system integration.
- Acquisitions completed faster and more smoothly.
🚀 Improved Developer Productivity
- Automation replaced manual SSIS and stored procedure development.
- Bugs identified and resolved faster using visual lineage.
- Developers spend less time debugging and more time delivering value.
🚀 Agile, Business-Aligned Delivery
- Data team collaborates more closely with stakeholders.
- Requirements refined iteratively rather than locked upfront.
- Greater flexibility to rebuild and adapt quickly.
“The chief advantage with automation is having more time to collaborate with the business on requirements, and we’ve developed a methodology that is more Agile.”
– David Livingston, Director, US Lumber
Designed for Continuous Growth
WhereScape enables US Lumber to integrate newly acquired companies quickly: often before systems are fully harmonised, ensuring reporting continuity during periods of change.
Automation That Scales With Complexity
Data Vault architectures grow complex quickly. WhereScape abstracts that complexity, allowing a small team to deliver enterprise-scale solutions.
Faster Debugging and Transparency
Visual lineage and drill-down capabilities make troubleshooting faster and more intuitive compared to traditional SSIS workflows.
A Sustainable Data Foundation
With the legacy warehouse nearing retirement, US Lumber’s new automated platform is built to support years of future expansion.
“We’ve been using WhereScape for three years now and we’re really sold on the product… The out-of-the-box templates have saved weeks and months of work.”
– David Livingston, Director, US Lumber
