How Yusen Logistics is building a company-wide data academy with DataCamp

The challenge: building a shared foundation for data

Yusen Logistics manages complex global supply chains, coordinating everything from international freight and customs processing to warehousing and distribution.

Across this environment, data underpins daily operations. Teams rely on it to track shipments, manage processes, and support decision-making across the business.

For Ann Guest, Data Governance Manager at Yusen Logistics, that meant ensuring employees across the organization could confidently work with data.

“Everybody uses data, whether it's employee data or it's data about a shipment that we are shipping across the globe.”

Expanding data skills beyond technical teams

Rather than focusing training only on data specialists, Yusen Logistics set out to create a program that would support employees across functions—from finance and commercial teams to HR and operations. The goal was to build a shared level of data literacy across the organization.

The solution

Building a Data Academy around role-based learning

To support this vision, Yusen Logistics launched a company-wide Data Academy designed to help employees build data skills in ways that match their role and experience.

The Academy is organized around four learning personas:

• Data Explorer
• Data Pathfinder
• Data Trailblazer
• Data Pioneer

Before launching the program, Yusen Logistics conducted an assessment to understand the organization’s starting point. Employees were mapped to personas based on their existing data literacy and technical skills.

Using gamification to drive engagement

Employees earn badges as they progress through the different personas. Each milestone is recognized with a physical pin badge, giving employees something visible to celebrate as they advance. Leaderboards and a community chat group also play a role in keeping momentum high.

Connecting learning to analytics tool adoption

The Academy also supports the company’s broader analytics ecosystem. Employees use DataCamp to build skills in technologies such as Excel, Power BI, Alteryx, Python, SQL, and dbt.

In some cases, training is directly tied to access to those tools. Before receiving an Alteryx license, employees must complete the relevant training and earn the core certification.

The result

Building momentum toward a data-driven culture

Since launching the Data Academy in May, Yusen Logistics has seen strong engagement across its European workforce. Teams can follow recommended pathways but still explore topics that interest them as they progress.

So far, employees have already completed 1,745 courses and logged more than 4,121 hours of learning through the platform, earning over 5.5 million XP in the process.

Building data careers through learning

The program has already supported individual career development. 

“We had one colleague who didn't know very much about data, and came very much a non-data background. We provided her with access to DataCamp, with support from a mentor,” said Ann.

“She’s now moved from a non-data role into a data analyst role.  We’re very proud of that and the achievement for her, because she's really engaged with the program in DataCamp and her learning journey, and continues to develop her skills even more.”

Applying new analytics skills to operational work

Employees are also beginning to apply their new capabilities in day-to-day operations. In one case, a workflow that previously took about a week to complete was automated after employees developed new analytics skills.

Preparing teams for self-service analytics

As more employees progress through the academy, Yusen Logistics aims to enable teams across the business to work with data more independently.

"I’d like our employees to be able to self-serve, access the data they need, analyze it, and produce the reports they need," said Ann.

This shift would allow the central data team to focus more on advanced initiatives such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Looking ahead, the company is exploring opportunities to expand the academy beyond Europe and introduce additional learning pathways focused on AI.