Key Concepts for Data Warehousing:
● Dimensional Modeling: This is a data modeling technique specifically designed for data warehouses. It focuses on organizing data around business processes and key business dimensions.
● Measures: These are the quantitative values that being analyze (ResellerSales). They are stored in the fact table.
● Dimensions: These provide the context for the measures (e.g.,Date, Product,Reseller, Geography). They are stored in the dimension tables.
● Granularity: This refers to the level of detail stored in the fact table. For example, sales data can be stored at the daily, weekly, or monthly level.
For this project focusing on reseller measures, the star schema is likely the most appropriate choice
due to its simplicity and efficiency for OLAP queries. It will have a central FactResellerSales table
containing sales metrics, and dimension tables like DimReseller, DimProduct, DimTime, DimGeography, and DimPromotion providing the context for those metrics.
Measures are quantitative data stored in the cube, representing the information to be analyzed. In
the reseller context, typical measures include:
Reseller Sales Amount: Total sales revenue from resellers.
Order Quantity: Total number of products sold.
Product Cost: Total cost associated with products.
Profit: The difference between revenue and cost.
These measures are aggregated across dimensions such as time, geography, and product categories.
The dimensions used in the cube are:
Dim Date: Contains date-related attributes such as year, month, and day.
Dim Sales Territory: Represents geographical sales areas, including country, region, and state.
Dim Reseller: Stores reseller-specific information, including name, type, and location.
Dim Product: Contains details about products, such as name, category, and subcategory.
Dim Promotion: Includes promotional campaign details like promotion name, type, and start/end
dates.
Dim Geography: Defines geographic locations with attributes like city, state, and country.
Hierarchies are logical structures within dimensions that allow data to be organized at different levels of granularity. Examples include: Time Hierarchy: Calendar Year > Calendar Semester > Calendar Quarter > Calendar Month > Calendar Date.
Reseller Hierarchy: Reseller Name > Geography Key > Business Type.
Promotion Hierarchy: English Promotion Type > English Promotion Name.
Product Hierarchies: All Products: Product Category Key > English Product Name. Product Line: Product Line > Model Name > Product Name.
Geography Hierarchy: Country-Region > State Province > City.
Hierarchies enable efficient roll-up and drill-down operations, providing insights at various levels of detail, which is crucial for decision-making processes.
Insights and Findings
Average Tax: $6.44 million. This figure seems inaccurate as average tax is usually represented as a percentage or a much smaller value compared to total sales. This may refer to the total tax collected, rather than average tax.
Sales by Date and Product Category & Reseller Sales Amount by Date and Product Category over time. Sales increased from around $0 million in 2010 to $18 million in 2011, $28 million in 2012, and $34 million in 2013. The steady growth in sales indicates positive business performance.
The distributor sales analysis reveals strong overall performance with significant growth over time. Key findings include: Strong Sales Growth: Total sales reached $80.45 million, with substantial year-over-year increases from 2010 to 2013.
Dominant Product Category: Bikes are the top-selling product category, generating $66.30 million in sales, significantly outpacing Components, Clothing, and Accessories.
Key Geographic Markets: The United States is the largest market, contributing $53.6 million in sales, followed by Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. These five countries account for the vast majority of total sales.
- Implement a Key Account Management Program for Top Resellers.
- Conduct a Regional Market Analysis for the Eastern Region.
- Re-evaluate the 'Summer Sale' Promotion Strategy.
- Develop a targeted training program for new resellers