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Retail Analytics Optimizing Performance & Growth in the Global Superstore Dataset

Global Superstore aims to enhance its performance and growth by analyzing historical sales data to identify key performance indicators and optimize operations across various regions. The dataset includes detailed transaction records, regional manager information, and return data, enabling comprehensive exploratory and advanced analytics. The insights gained will support informed decision-making to improve profitability, reduce inefficiencies, and foster sustainable growth.

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Varsha Amol Gathe
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3 views

Retail Analytics Optimizing Performance & Growth in the Global Superstore Dataset

Global Superstore aims to enhance its performance and growth by analyzing historical sales data to identify key performance indicators and optimize operations across various regions. The dataset includes detailed transaction records, regional manager information, and return data, enabling comprehensive exploratory and advanced analytics. The insights gained will support informed decision-making to improve profitability, reduce inefficiencies, and foster sustainable growth.

Uploaded by

Varsha Amol Gathe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Retail Analytics:

Optimizing Performance
& Growth in the Global
Superstore Dataset.‌
Problem Statement
Global Superstore, a multinational retail corporation, is facing
increasing competition and fluctuating market conditions
across its diverse geographical operations. The management
team needs to identify key performance indicators, optimize
regional operations, understand product performance trends,
and implement data-driven strategies to improve overall
business efficiency. The company aims to analyze historical
sales data to identify underperforming areas, recognize
successful business patterns, and develop targeted
interventions to enhance profitability while reducing returns
and operational delays. This analysis will help the organization
make informed decisions regarding inventory management,
resource allocation, staff performance evaluation, and future
expansion strategies. The primary goal is to increase revenue,
reduce operational inefficiencies, and create sustainable
growth across all regions and product categories.
Dataset Details

The Global Superstore dataset contains comprehensive sales and operational information
spanning multiple years (2013-2017) across various geographical regions. The dataset includes
9,994 transaction records with 21 detailed attributes organized in three main sheets:

1. Orders: Contains transaction-level data including Order ID, Order Date, Ship Date, Ship
Mode, Customer ID, Customer Name, Segment, Country, City, State, Postal Code, Region,
Product ID, Category, Sub-Category, Product Name, Sales, Quantity, Discount, Profit, and
Shipping Cost.

2. People: Contains information about 8 regional managers assigned to different geographical


territories, including their names, performance metrics, and assigned regions.

3. Returns: Provides details on returned orders, including Return ID, Order ID, and Return
Reason, allowing for correlation between sales performance and customer satisfaction issues.

The data represents a global retail operation spanning 147 countries, with a particular focus on
the United States market, which is divided into 4 regions (East, West, Central, and South).
Products are organized into 3 main categories (Furniture, Office Supplies, and Technology) and
further broken down into 17 sub-categories.
Exploratory Data Analysis
1. Which area manager has the best performance in terms of total sales? (Use People and Orders sheets to join data by Region)

2. Which product category (Furniture, Office Supplies, or Technology) generated the highest total profit across all regions? (Calculate sum
of profit by category)

3. What is the average discount percentage applied to products in each region? (Group data by region and calculate mean of discount field)

4. Which shipping mode is most frequently used for customer orders? (Count orders by Ship Mode field)

5. What is the average time taken (in days) between order date and ship date? (Calculate difference between Order Date and Ship Date)

6. Which state has the highest total sales in the dataset? (Group by State and sum Sales value)

7. What is the total quantity of products sold in each product category? (Sum Quantity field grouped by Category)

8. Which customer segment (Consumer, Corporate, or Home Office) contributes the most to total sales? (Group by Segment and sum
Sales)

9. Which month of the year shows the highest sales volume? (Extract month from Order Date and analyze sales distribution)

10. What percentage of total orders resulted in returns? (Compare count of unique Order IDs in Returns sheet vs. Orders sheet)
Advanced Analytics
11. Which area manager has the highest order fulfillment delay (average days between Order Date and Ship Date)?
Provide sub-category wise average delays as well. (Join Orders data with People sheet, then calculate average delays by
manager and sub-category)

12. What are the top 5 sub-categories in terms of sales value and what percentage of total sales volume do they
represent? (Calculate sales by sub-category, then determine percentage of total)

13. Which area manager shows the best performance improvement in terms of year-over-year sales growth from 2016
to 2017? (Calculate percentage change in sales by manager between years)

14. What is the correlation between discount offered and profit margin across different product categories? (Calculate
correlation coefficient between Discount and Profit/Sales ratio)

15. Which customer segment has the highest return rate, and what are the most common reasons for returns? (Join
Orders and Returns data, group by Segment)

16. How does seasonality affect sales performance across different regions? Create a visualization showing quarterly
sales trends by region. (Aggregate sales by quarter and region)
Reporting and Analytics
17. What is the price elasticity of demand for the top 3 sub-categories? (Analyze how sales quantity changes with
price/discount variations)

18. How many total CISCO products are sold in the year 2016 and 2017?

19. What is the average sales of CISCO products, region wise?

20. Top 3 states of CISCO product sales.

21. How many total transactions happened in WEST Region.

22. What are the total sales of ARIZONA state.

23. How many total transactions happened in WEST Region in consumer segment.

24. What is the total sales for ARIZONA state only for Consumer segment.
Conclusion

The Global Superstore dataset offers rich analytical opportunities


to extract actionable insights about sales performance, regional
variations, product profitability, and customer behavior. Through
systematic analysis of this data, the management can identify
key performance indicators, optimize inventory management,
improve operational efficiency, and develop targeted marketing
strategies. The questions provided range from basic performance
metrics to complex predictive modeling and customer
segmentation, offering a comprehensive framework for data-
driven decision-making. By addressing these analytical
questions, Global Superstore can enhance its competitive
position, reduce operational inefficiencies, and drive sustainable
growth across all regions and product categories.

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