Sunoco, Inc. is a diversified petroleum company with divisions in refining, retail marketing,
chemicals, logistics, and coke. Their retail marketing business unit has more than 4,700 convenience
stores spread across 25 states in the midwestern and northeastern United States. Sunoco is a
Fortune 100 company with annual revenue in excess of $47 billion.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Sunoco's retail marketing business unit faced fraud losses in the tens of millions of dollars each year.
Much of this fraud was conducted through credit card usage including dishonest card members,
stolen credit cards, and counterfeit credit cards.
- Data was stored in flat files on a mainframe with difficult terminal access only
- With no business intelligence or data warehouse solution, primary data was unstructured,
difficult to manipulate and almost impossible to share
- Not only were Sunoco executives and management unable to see clear reports of fraud, but they
also could not audit credit card distributors' data
- Data and information scarcity made it difficult to pinpoint sources of fraud and prevented Sunoco
from framing an adequate response
ROLE OF US-ANALYTICS
Sunoco needed a business partner that could help restructure data and develop reporting to track the
specific indicators of fraud. US-Analytics' solution gave Sunoco the ability to produce ad-hoc reporting
to identify stores, departments, activities and trends with higher rates of fraud. With user-friendly
interfaces and dashboard reporting tools, the solution was both nimble and secure, making it easier
for Sunoco to analyze data. To address Sunoco's needs, US-Analytics:
- Established ETL protocols to maintain data integrity
- Processed data from a wide variety of sources
- Created multi-dimensional analyses of data
- Developed and deployed reports with simplified access for Sunoco management
- Mentored Sunoco personnel to ensure both understanding and an ability to generate reports
from additional sources as necessary
BENEFITS
- Improved data accessibility
- Detailed reporting that is easily navigated
- Increased understanding of additional metrics from credit card processors
- Improved efficiency with streamlined data management
- Secure detection system leading toward an attainable goal of 10 percent annual fraud reduction
- Ability to leverage incident-specific data against credit card processors or under-performing store
owners
US-Analytics' seasoned professional consultants resolved a wide range of strategic, tactical and
technology issues to deliver a value-added solution and give Sunoco a focused, competitive advantage.
