Table of Content

Contents
Part 1: Business Data Analysis.......................................................................................................2
1. Executive Summary:........................................................................................................2
2. Company Information:.....................................................................................................2
3. Problem Identification:....................................................................................................3
4. Data Collection:..............................................................................................................3
5. Analysis and Discussion:.................................................................................................3
i. Revenue Over Time......................................................................................................4
ii. Category wise Profit Analysis........................................................................................4
iii. Effect of Discount on earning Sales..............................................................................5
iv. Customer Actions and Repeat Sales.............................................................................5
v. Rate of Returns by Product...........................................................................................6
vi. Shipping and Customer Service Analysis......................................................................6
6. Recommendation:...........................................................................................................6
8. References.....................................................................................................................7
Part 2: Network Data Analysis.......................................................................................................7
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................7
2. Analysis Steps.................................................................................................................8
v. Activity Jobs Menu.....................................................................................................10
vi. History of the search and Filters.................................................................................11
vii. Fields in Splunk.........................................................................................................11
viii. Adding time range to search...................................................................................12
3. Conclusion...................................................................................................................12

Business Data Analysis Report for Global Superstore (2014-2018)

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Part 1: Business Data Analysis
1. Executive Summary:
The research is aimed at understanding the experience of the organization identified as Global
Superstore, using the analysis of its performance in terms of revenue, gross, discounts,
customers’ preferences during the five years in 165 countries. The main goal is to define profit
patterns and determine whether discount actions are effective in maintaining clients’ loyalty.
Specifically, by analyzing specific quantitative data on the sales revenue and profit levels, the
goal of this report is to understand how efficient the utilization of the discount offerings has
been in retaining customers and contributing to the growth of the sales.

Further, there is a more detailed examination of emerging product segments as a way of

assessing their performance and competitive positioning in the market. This involves evaluation
of how various categories affect customers and the strategies for retaining them. The
conclusions made in this work are expected to contribute to the formulation of strategic
decisions and improvement of Global Superstore’s model to achieve the highest level of profit
and sustain competitive advantage in a global environment.

During the analysis of the trends present in the sales data, the impact of the discounts, and the
results of the separate product categories, the report contains the suggested strategies for
enhancing the business organization performance and the interaction with the buyers.

2. Company Information:
This report provided a strategic marketing evaluation of Global Superstore, the world’s leading
retailer specializing in computer equipment, office products, furniture and much more. Spread
across 165 countries, the company has sustained its operations between sales and customers.
This research consists of an evaluation of Global Superstore’s financial performance in the
calendar years of 2014 through to 2018, to reflect on its revenues, gross and net profit, and
consumption pattern of the population. In general, the report seeks to identify profit patterns,
understand the impact of discounts on customer loyalty and measure organizational efficiency.
Analyzing the data available in the report about detailed sales and customers’ behavior, one
can evaluate the effectiveness of the different types of discounts for the growth of sales and
the level of customers loyalty. Besides, it evaluates the sales performance of various product
groups for the purpose of suggesting strategies for product positioning and improvement. All
these insights are aimed at facilitating strategic management in relation to the optimization of
Global Superstore’s functioning and an enhancement of its competitiveness in the market.

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 3. Problem Identification:
Global Superstore faces several challenges:

i. Sustainability of Profit Growth: While there has been an improvement in revenue over
the long run, there has been a fluctuation of both the profitability by the category of
products.
ii. Impact of Discounts: While it is well understood that sales are being driven through
discounts, what is not well understood is that the profit in constitution on the customer
base and the customer profitability may decrease drastically.
iii. Product Optimization: Deciding what sub-segments of product categories should be
focused or complemented according to performance.
iv. Customer Retention: Finding out the size of the entities of returning customers and
scrutinizing the extent of service.
v. Return Rates: certain countries have high product return rates must be assessed in
order to minimize loss and enhance customer satisfaction.

4. Data Collection:
In the present work, the study uses the Global Superstore data that ranges from 2014 to 2018.
Key data points include:

i. Sales data of the product under different categories and sub-categories and in
different geographical areas.
ii. Margins of profit, its product-line profitability.
iii. Discount and promotional data with emphasis on the connection with customer
buying behavior
iv. Customers’ dissatisfaction and complaints about service and delayed shipping.

5. Analysis and Discussion:

Revenue Analysis in the Years (2014 to 2018)

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 i. Revenue Over Time

The graph below illustrates sums up the sales during the last five years and indicates that the
organization has been experiencing steady sales growth. From the chart below, it can be seen
that sales increased from slightly above $200, 000 in 2014 and was above $450, 000 in 2018.
This points towards the proper market penetration and customer acquisition business
approach.

ii. Category wise Profit Analysis

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This bar chart shows distribution of profit as per the categories, namely Furniture, Office
Supplies and Technology. Technology became the most lucrative segment with revenues of
more than $ 450K followed by Electronics, Home & Apparel as well as Toys & Baby while
Furniture had the lowest profit margins. This points towards the need for a review of the
market position of products in these categories to maximize profits.

iii. Effect of Discount on earning Sales

Refer to an idea which is that while using discounts as promotions can work, they also have
their downside. They are useful in the short run, but they decrease the profit margins and
create a perception in the customer’s mind that a certain product price is supposed to drop
periodically. As a result of studying the discounting factor over a period of time we can
conclude if the use of such discounts creates brand loyalty or adversely affect the profit line.

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 iv. Customer Actions and Repeat Sales

It is also important for us to know the aspects of customer loyalty that we can use to calculate
the percentage of recurrent customers in various regions. An initial assessment of the results
reveals that there are areas that register higher repeat purchase rates, which suggests that the
customers’ satisfaction and their loyalty to the brand is high.

v. Rate of Returns by Product

The returns in some countries and in some types of products are rather high. A close
examination of the returns data is possible to point out that the quality of products in the
market is not good or there is dissatisfaction among consumers. Higher return percentages
were noted in what can he classified under Furniture while fewer returns were recorded under
Technology.

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 vi. Shipping and Customer Service Analysis

Other disadvantages of outsourcing include shipping expenses and more importantly, shipping
time. Therefore, understanding the shipping cost, approach, and delay will help in detecting
how Global Superstore can serve its consumers more effectively to increase customers’ loyalty.

6. Recommendation:
i. Optimize Product Portfolio: Based on the analysis which shows that Technology
products generate more profits, the Global Superstore Company should deem it
fit to stop stocking on low-margin products such as Furniture.
ii. Improve Discount Strategy: Promotion tools should be more selective and
should reveal strategies based not on one-time sales but on customer loyalty.
The other way of improving repeat buying could also be achieved through the
introduction of a loyalty reward program.
iii. Enhance Customer Service: Supply chain decisions such as acquiring better
shipping options, minimizing time lags, or being more efficient in dealing with
returns are likely to increase customer satisfaction level and, hence, lead to
higher retention rates.
iv. Return Rate Reduction: Countries with higher rates of returns should be
provided product quality enhancements and better customer service solutions to
discourage returns.

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 7. Conclusion
This report gives strategic information about all the business aspect on the financial
issues of Global Superstore. By looking at the revenue, profits, the customers and
returns it gives the right measures that the company needs to undertake to increase
profits, expand offerings, and better customer service.

8. References
i. Global Superstore Data (2014-2018)

ii. Tableau Analysis

Part 2: Network Data Analysis

1. Introduction
The following report sums up Splunk analysis of the log data of an Australian based Global
Superstore. The purpose of this paper is to review the conceptual foundations and practical
applied measurement of a range of issues, errors and changes that may emerge in the context
of the network system. The idea here is to use Splunk to search for possible issues that may
hinder the performance and security of the network in order to detect them and try and fix
them before they become problematic.

Every activity in this assessment is focused on carrying out explicit searches in the log data to
identify the anomalies and the failures. Others are refining the sources to get the events and
trends of interest, optimizing the search queries to improve data quality, and leveraging on
Splunk’s higher order functions for extended analysis. The results of these searches are
subsequently summarized and presented by means of elaborate screen shots and visuals, which
give the network status briefly.

It does not only give revelation to some concerns but also gives theories on how improvement
could be made, or how preventive means could be imposed in the future. All in all, this analysis
is relevant to ensure that the Global Superstore’s network remains accurate and efficient in
Australia.

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 2. Analysis Steps
i. Looking for Errors

Mostly in order to determine general results and any type of failures, I carried out a basic
search across all data sources.

ii. Look for Password Failure on Port 22

Another search was conducted to find all passwords failures linked on port 22 provided from all
relevant sources of data.

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 iii. Trends Over Time

Then, I reviewed the outcome of the searches in an attempt to discover trends that may have
existed over time. In the observation time, there was a clear indication of password failure on
port 22 which may could indicate possible brute force attack. Errors that were associated with
system failures demonstrated fluctuations that suggested certain periods of the network
congestion or breakdown.

iv. Refining Search Results

To fine-tune my search, I chose a new field that would also accompany it and give more
information.

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 v. Activity Jobs Menu

To view the currently saved jobs and their expiration time I logged into the Activity Jobs Menu.

vi. History of the search and Filters

In the search history, I was able to monitor previous searches carried out on the site. It can also
be set to show the result based on a specified time and the type of error.

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 vii. Fields in Splunk

It is found within the “Selected Fields” which is situated on the left-hand corner of the search
results. Placed in the ‘Interesting Fields’ part of the website, as it gives information concerning
the important figures. I found them in the “All Fields” section. The term fields are used to
search fields that are used in selecting data that is significant in conducting the analysis. For
instance, using filters such as host or source type assist when it comes to identifying certain
problems.

viii. Adding time range to search

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Time ranges can be selected from the time picker utility or entered in the search query in terms
of time limits.

3. Conclusion
Thus, in the case of analyzing Global Superstore, I studied the logs of the given company in
detail to analyze various network issues and failures, as well as to develop various models and
patterns of emerging tendencies. Using Splunk, different problems in the network were easy to
detect such as errors and system failure. Interactive analysis of this process allowed using their
experiences to find out the patterns and the anomalies that should be studied further or
addressed as soon as possible.

The search features of Splunk enabled best identification of such significant clues from the log
data and the potential points of network effectiveness erosion or security threat. These
detailed analyses revealed further bearings that were not possible when conducting a broader
search and looking at larger units of analysis.

The findings of this study offer a basis of understanding the status of the network and identify
the potential avenues for enhancement. To correct these identified issues and further analyze
the trends mentioned, this will prove to be beneficial for the improvement of the network
Global Superstore requires for the right operation. These discoveries will therefore form the
foundation on which strategic actions targeted at improving the overall stability of the network
can be achieved.

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