An interactive sales data dashboard visually presents key performance metrics and trends, enabling real-time monitoring and analysis. Forecasting integrates historical sales data and statistical models to predict future sales trends, aiding strategic decision-making and resource planning. The dataset contains details of the orders made by each customer in several parts of the US including the product details, order, payment, and shipment details, and the sales and profit earned. The data has been cleaned and used to create the corresponding report (and dashboard) with interactive region-wise filters that could be used to dynamically view filtered content. In a real world environment, the number of orders made, and the sales and profit are specifically displayed and automatically updated apart from the visualizations that display the relationships between the variables.
The inferences from the visualizations are as follows. Majority of the orders have been payed using COD or the Cash on Delivery method which can be attributed to the customers apprehensions with online payments while nearly the same percentage choose online banking while the rest chose credit/debit cards.
The most sold category of products were office supplies (~41.11%) followed by technology-associated and furniture. Concentrating on office supplied, their quality, and production can be beneficial.
Phones, chairs, and binders ranked highest in sales, with differences ranging from 7,000 to 15,000. On the other hand, office supplies such as labels, envelopes, and fasteners recorded the lowest sales, differing by almost 2,000.
In terms of profit, technology led with 90,000, followed by office supplies at 75,000, and furniture trailed with a significantly lower figure of 10,000.
While the majority of orders originated from the eastern region of the US, it's noteworthy that California recorded the highest volume of statewide orders.
Orders for 2019 and 2020 are presented, revealing a fluctuating pattern in 2019 with sales reaching their lowest point in August and peaking in December. The latter half of the year witnessed significantly higher sales. In 2020, the highest sales occurred in March, contrasting with the lowest point in April. The first third experienced notable fluctuations, while the subsequent months showed more moderate and consistent increases.
The majority of customers favored standard (potentially free) shipping, with a preference over second class, first class, and same-day deliveries by more than threefold. Notably, the highest number of returns (157) were associated with standard deliveries, while second and first-class deliveries experienced just over a third of this return rate, respectively. Surprisingly, online payments recorded the highest number of returns, while those made with cash on delivery (COD) showed only marginal differences. Approximately half of this figure was linked to credit/debit card payments.
Among consumers, out of the total sales of 0.75 million, the profit was 0.08 million. The corporate sector follows with sales of 0.51 million and a profit of 0.06 million. The home office sector contributes 0.30 million in sales, yielding a profit of 0.04 million. The company should focus on optimizing strategies to enhance profitability in each sector, considering the varying contribution levels and profit margins.
Sales amount forecast/prediction for 20 days since the last order data has been performed by Power BI using the exponential smoothing method. Exponential Smoothing is a time series forecasting method that assigns exponentially decreasing weights to past observations.
Additionally, a 95% confidence interval for the sales has been provided. The trend exhibited fluctuations both overall and in the predictions. After the period occurs, a comparison of the actual values with the predicted ones, will allow to judge its accuracy.
Firstly, there's a need to build trust in online payment methods, and offer incentives for using those, or offer other convenient payment methods, considering the significant preference for Cash on Delivery (COD).
Since, office supplies is the top-selling category, marketing strategies should be implemented to further boost sales while attempts can be made for the lowest-selling ones or taken off the shelves if no improvements are observed.
Geographically, tailoring strategies to the eastern US, where most orders originate, and capitalizing on California's high statewide orders can maximize market penetration.
Seasonal (Christmas/Black Friday sales that occur in the later half of the year, or those in the summer), inventory management efficient returns management for standard deliveries are additional areas for strategic consideration.
Overall, increased sales, client satisfaction, and overall profitability can result from aligning these techniques with consumer preferences and market trends.