Maria João Luz
Business Analyst & Process Automation Specialist
Ten years in, and I still find it rewarding when operational complexity turns into clarity — when a messy dataset becomes a dashboard that helps people decide faster. I like being across different parts of a business, understanding how things connect and spotting what's quietly slowing teams down. Once I know where the time is really being lost, I build what fixes it: a Power BI report, an automated workflow, or a full-stack app built with AI. The goal is always the same — give people back their time. And I'm just as happy talking numbers with finance as I am discussing data with IT.
Business analysis
Process automation
BI dashboards
Stock management
Business ↔ IT bridge & UAT
Cross-functional analysis
AI-powered tools
10+
Years in operations & analytics
5+
Functional areas covered
B2B+B2C
Market scope
Operational credibility
I've processed invoices, placed supplier orders, controlled stock and calculated team commissions — I've even helped with picking in the warehouse. I like understanding how everything works, so I can bring real value to the business — whether that's improving a process or building an automation.
Data into decisions
I take raw ERP data and turn it into something a team can actually use — sometimes that's a clean Excel sheet, sometimes a full dashboard. Either way, the point is the same: help people cut through the numbers and make faster, more strategic decisions.
AI-powered automation
I build solutions that remove repetitive work at the source — AI-powered apps, self-running Google Sheets tools, and workflow automations. Mostly self-taught, I use AI as a hands-on partner to design and build these tools, and I'm always learning and exploring what's possible with platforms like n8n.
Experience
Product Controller
Working across two business areas: Rovo (product development) and Assembly (merchandising)
- Mapped recurring administrative processes end-to-end — such as supplier orders — then automated them with Python, Streamlit and AI (Claude), eliminating manual data entry and cutting execution time by an estimated 40%+.
- Built a fully automated stock-needs dashboard in Google Sheets for the merchandising area: a single trigger generates purchasing needs from historical data and current stock levels, replacing a manual daily/weekly process.
- Designed a pricing template with built-in manager approval flows, turning an email-based sign-off into a structured, auditable workflow.
- Bridged product, finance and IT — improving internal processes and gathering requirements for new developments.
- Built dashboards and analytical models to support data-driven product decisions — including price-history tracking and business analysis by KPI (such as margins, revenue, sales and purchasing).
Pythonn8nStreamlitClaude AILooker StudioGoogle SheetsPHC
Product Manager & Business Analyst
↑ Internal transition
- Managed Swarovski store stock (PT & ES) end-to-end: sell-through analysis, supplier orders, invoice validation and inventory monitoring — reducing stockouts and overstock.
- Built demand forecast models from historical sales and seasonality data to drive purchasing decisions.
- Provided operational support to retail stores — helping with questions on ICG and Google Sheets, as well as inventory and purchasing — acting as the link between store teams and central operations.
- Acted as the bridge between business and IT — gathering development needs and translating them into requirements for the IT team.
- Improved Power BI dashboards used by the business, surfacing sales and inventory KPIs and variances for faster, more effective decisions.
- Built a sales commission calculation model for the retail stores' sales teams.
- Controlled the P&L close and analysed variances.
Power BIICGExcelGoogle Sheets
Purchasing Manager & Business Analyst
- Managed the full purchasing cycle — supplier coordination, order placement and stock monitoring.
- Calculated sales and product-management commissions, and created operational KPI reporting for management.
- Supported the Dynamics 365 ERP rollout — testing and validating new developments — and the connected Power BI with business intelligence.
Dynamics 365Power BIExcel
Business Controller
Also Portugal acquired JP Sá Couto, SA's IT distribution business
↑ Post-acquisition integration
- Provided operational support and supported the post-acquisition integration in the Navision ERP.
- Controlled and managed vendor claims — tracking agreed targets and recovering the amounts due to the company.
- Calculated commissions for the business unit's teams.
- Delivered cross-functional BI reporting and KPI analysis for management.
Power BIExcelNavision ERP
Business Analyst
- Controlled and managed vendor claims, and calculated and controlled team commissions.
- Acted as the bridge between business and IT for business intelligence and Navision developments — running tests before production and making sure the data used by teams was reliable.
- Owned the company's Strategic Plan control.
- Built business plans together with the product management leadership.
- Delivered monthly presentations to leadership on KPIs and variances, supporting strategic decisions across each business area.
- Developed BI reports and KPI frameworks for senior management, and managed the business intelligence.
- Analysed P&L variances to support financial control and decision-making.
- Supported logistics cost control and supplier invoice validation.
Power BIExcelNavision ERP
Director Assistant
- Supported the implementation of business intelligence within the company, focusing on data validation.
- Built Excel dashboards to support the sales, product management and logistics teams.
- Delivered monthly presentations to leadership on KPIs and variances, supporting strategic decisions across each business area.
ExcelBINavision ERP
Tools & Technologies
Analytics & BI
Power BILooker StudioExcelGoogle SheetsPower Query
Automation & Dev
Pythonn8nSQLStreamlitLovableNotion
AI & LLMs
ClaudeGemini
ERP & Systems
Dynamics 365PHCICG
Languages
Portuguese — NativeEnglish — B2Spanish — B1
Education & Training
Degree
BSc in Management
Católica Porto
2010 – 2014
Training
SQL Programming Language
Cinel
Oct – Nov 2024
Training
Data Science & Business Analytics
EDIT
Jan – Jun 2024
Training
Power BI Level 2
Portal Gestão
Nov 2023
Projects
Order Management App
A full-stack order management app for a home bakery. Features client orders with automated subtotal calculations, a daily/weekly/monthly agenda view, a monthly sales summary, and real-time data sync across devices.
Automated stock-needs dashboard
A self-running Google Sheets tool that turns a manual weekly stock analysis into a one-click operation — it reads historical data and current levels and instantly returns purchasing needs. Built to give the operations team back hours every week.
Pricing template with approval flows
A pricing tool in Google Sheets with built-in automatic manager validation — replacing scattered email approvals with a structured, auditable workflow that keeps pricing decisions consistent and traceable.
Internal process automation app
An AI-powered internal application that replaces recurring manual administrative tasks. Built with Python, n8n and Claude, deployed as a Streamlit interface used directly by the operations team.