Impact of Data Analysis and Visualization at Akij Resources

How data analysis and visualization boosts business performance- a study on

AKIJ Cement co. Ltd.

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. Rezwanul Alam Md. Fahimuzzaman Khan

1920021
Letter of Submission:
August 3, 2022
Dr. Rezwanul Alam
Associate Professor of MIS at the School of Business
Independent University, Bangladesh
Subject: Submission of internship report on “Impact of Data Analysis and Visualization at Akij
Resources”.

Sir,
With due respect, this is to inform you that I have successfully completed my internship report
titled “Impact of Data Visualization and Analysis at Akij Resources”. I chose Data Visualization
and Analysis as a scope of my internship report and would like to thank you for helping me in
this report from helping me choosing the scope of the report throughout the term. I have joined
“Akij Resources” as an Intern which is one of the many concerns of the great local company
Akij. Fortunately, I was selected for the Management Information Systems(MIS) which is also
the subject I am majoring in. First few days of my internship period was allotted to training only
and I got training in operating ERP, Query and Power BI. At Akij, data visualization is done in
Power BI from the data that are being retrieved from their database.
The report contains brief information about data visualization and analysis in daily business
operations followed by how Akij is impacted by Data Visualization and Analysis.
I have tried to abide by the rules and instructions that are being provided to us and I hope this
report will meet the standard of your judgment.

Sincerely
Md. Fahimuzzaman Khan
ID: 1920021
Major: Management Information System
School of Business
Independent University, Bangladesh

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Acknowledgement

Transition from student life to a professional might be challenging for many. Fortunately for me
it was a pleasant journey and I take this moment to express my gratitude towards my supervisor
and co-workers. My supervisor Mr. Debashish Debnath- Assistant Manager, Business Analysis
guided me from the very beginning and enabled me to identify my strong and weak points.
Moreover, I was assigned with the right person by my supervisor based on the task. I was
initially assigned to Mr.Ibrahim Khalil- Executive who showed me the intricate details of
practical data query and I am extremely grateful to him for having the patience and giving efforts
to teach a newbie like me. Later I was assigned to Md Bakhtiar Chowdhury- Executive who
trained me in operating Power BI from the very basics and because of him I got the opportunity
to work with actual business data. Furthermore, while working with him I realized the
importance of Data Visualization and how it impacts the organization. Other than my two senior
officers there are many co-workers within the department who guided me and actively
participated in all my queries. And it is because of my whole team this internship experience
truly turned into a real accomplishment for me. I will be forever to them for giving me the
opportunity to learn because it is very crucial for one’s future career.

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Table of Contents
Table of figures: ........................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Executive Summary: ................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Internship outcome ................................................................................................................................... 10
3.1 Analysis of industry/markets: ........................................................................................................ 10
3.2 Peer group/Main competitor .......................................................................................................... 13
3.3 Identify a specific issue/problem/opportunity and analyze the issue based on relevant........... 13
techniques with the support of suitable theory .................................................................................. 13
3.4 Recommendation based on the outcome of the analysis .............................................................. 15
4.1 Conclusion and implications: ............................................................................................................. 15

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Executive Summary:

This report is about my internship experience at Akij Resources, one of the leading
conglomerates of the country. I have been tasked in the MIS department matching my major.
Management Information System(MIS) is a broad subject and offers a wide range of career
choices. I aim to work in the field of Data Science and as a part of that goal I chose Akij
Resources as it was offering the position that I desired. I was initially trained by executives on
tasks such as Data Query, ERP and Data Visualization. After my training period I was given the
opportunity to work with actual business data. This opportunity enabled me to have hands-on
experience in a real life business environment. This gives an introduction on the organization
that I have been working in and the topics relevant with Data Visualization and Data Analysis.
The platform that is being used by my organization is Power Bi for Data Visualization and
Analysis. This report also provides information in how Data driven decisions are more precise
and visualizations work as visual aid for employees at Akij Resources along with my
recommendations.

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Introduction:

Company Profile: Akij Cement Company was established back in 2002.

Vision: “Be the benchmark of customer’s choice”
Mission: “Ensure best quality products & services through continuous improvement that benefits
society and environment”
Core Values
A. Ownership
B. Customer Centric
C. Service Orientation
D. Positivity
E. Teamwork

Core Competency
A. Process Orientation
B. Quality Focused
C. Compliance
D. Cost Efficiency
E. Innovation

Corporate Division/department etc.

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Details of the product lines or services:
There are TWO SKUs of cement under Akij Cement Company Limited. These are:
• Portland Composite Cement (PCC)
• Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

Operation details:
Philanthropic activities/CSR:
Ad-din

Job Responsibilities
As an MIS Intern there is a range of relevant tasks that need to be done. While working my tasks
and duties usually ranged from the following:
• Data Query
• Data Visualization
• Tasks in ERP
• Data Analysis

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Data Query: Initial data is being gathered, prepared and designed in Excel. Then the data gets
uploaded in Database.
SQL is used to retrieve, manipulate, store and manage data from the database.
JOIN: Data can be analyzed in SQL as well and it can also be prepared aligning with the
requirements. In many cases different columns in a table need to be joined.
Arithmetic operators and Mathematical functions:
There are arithmetic operators ranging from ‘+’ to ‘/’.
SUM(), AVG() and Count() are one of the widely used functions in SQL. These are used to
manipulate data within the database by using SQL.
Data Visualization: For Data Visualization, Akij Resources use Microsoft Power BI one of the
popular Data Visualization tools.
Making dashboards from ground up requires both time and effort. That is why most of the time
the theme is being downloaded from third parties. This saves time as this same theme is used in
multiple dashboards.

Figure:01: Total profit.

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Figure: 02: Detailed report, page 1

Figure: 03: Detailed report. Page 2

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Figure: 04: Tooltip

Microsoft Power BI provides a wide range of charts to choose from but because of this wide
range of options data analysts have to understand and identify which chart aligns with a certain
kind of data. Because a lot matters in visualizations, same data can be visualized through
multiple charts but not all of them are efficient.
DAX functions: DAX functions are one of the latest updates in Power BI and this enables
analysts to have more control over the dashboard. Because, by using DAX one can manipulate
their data according to their own requirements. Sometimes, the design that is being made in a
database using SQL needs to be updated or changed, these last moment changes can easily be
done in the Power BI. This not only saves time but also makes this application more efficient.
Figure 3 shows detailed report on cost per cookies along with revenue, sold units. These complex
calculations are being done by using DAX.

Functions of the MIS department:

I am assigned in the Management Information System(MIS) department as an Intern. There are
primarily two basic functions in this department; Business Analysis and ERP.
Business Analysis: From data warehousing to making dashboards everything relevant with data
is being done here. One of the primary purposes of making dashboards is to support other
departments within the organization with their technology needs. Therefore, even though MIS is

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a separate department, employees of the department need to have some sort of knowledge over
other departments and also requires communication with other departments.
The functions of a department which in our case is MIS varies from company to company. The
functions of the MIS department at Akij are discussed below:
Data Capturing: Initial digital data capturing is done by the Operations department which mostly
gets done in Excel. The whole process of capturing is done via consultation with the Executive
Officer in the MIS department.
Data processing: Data itself is of no use until it is not turned into meaningful information.
Sorting, classifying, comparing, summarizing all are included in the data processing and can be
done in multiple platforms or applications. Data process is done based on the information
requirements from the manager.
Storage of Information: Not all data is required or immediately required. That is why storage of
data and information is essential for later use. Usually these are stored as records, fields,
databases.
Retrieval of data: Retrieval of data is done based on the needs and the requirements. The
retrieval process is an essential part in saving time. At Akij data is retrieved from the databases,
then it gets processed for turning it into a dashboard or any other visualization.
Dissemination of Management Information: Management Information or MI is the finished
product of MIS. As each department is different to one another, the requirements are also
different. Most reports are generated on a periodic basis, mostly weekly.

Internship outcome
3.1 Analysis of industry/markets: Analysis within the industry itself is very essential for a
company to thrive. There are multiple methods of industry analysis, for this report Porter's Five
Forces has been selected for a number of reasons. This is a model that helps in identifying not
only the strengths and weaknesses of the industry through analyzing the key five forces that
shape the industry. Akij Resources has nine companies under its umbrella and operates in
different industries. As I am working in the unit of Akij Cement Company Limited the industry
analysis of is given below:
Cement Industry: Akij group has two companies that operate in the cement industry and one of
them is “Akij Cement” which was established back in 2002. This company is also considered as

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the pioneer of modern technologies in Bangladesh in manufacturing cement. (Bangladesh
Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA), 2020)

Intensity of Rivalry in the Industry: There are multiple players in the cement industry
consisting of Bashundhara Cement, Shah Cement, King Brand to name some few. There can be
multiple factors that might affect the intensity of the rivalry.
Concentration of rivals:
Shah Cement holds the largest market share in the industry with 12.96%. Rest of the shares are
followed by:
• King Brand Cement: 12.13%
• Fresh Cement: 8.72%
• Crown Cement: 7.27%
• Seven Rings Cement: 7.21%
• Akij Cement: 4.10%
Ref: (OVERVIEW OF CEMENT INDUSTRY, 2020)
There are ten companies that take 72% off the whole market share. The remaining 28% market
share consists of other companies. Therefore, these are the top ten companies in this industry.
Shah Industry being the industry leader was established back in 2002 but managed to be in the
top despite being established at the same year as Akij Cement. Theoretically Shah Cement is not
the biggest rival of Akij Cement but instead can be considered as a competitor as the gap of
market share is huge. The market share also reveals that there are subgroups having rivalries.
ScanRuby and Lafarge both are in the 5% mark, whereas Crown Cement and 7- Circle are in the
7% mark. Moreover, Premier Cement alone holds the 6% mark. Therefore, even though both
Shah Cement and Bashundhara Kings are out of reach for Akij Cement, intense rivalry exists
between the sub groups; Lafarge, ScanRuby, Holcim and Premier.
Consumer switching costs:
Current market prices suggest that Akij Cements cost more than that of their rivals. This might
be due to the differences in quality but this work as a barrier for consumers to switch from a low
price to a higher price, thus increasing the switching costs of consumers.
Threat of Potential Entrants:

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There are a handful of companies that are currently operating in the industry and it also has
intense rivalry. Recent data suggests that the rate of launching a new cement company is very
low. This also means that the rivalry that we are seeing now are the companies that were created
many years ago. Ex: Both Shah Cement and Akij Cement were established in 2002.
There are multiple factors that can affect the entry of new companies.
Brand loyalty: Just like most industries, in the cement industry as well there seem to have brand
loyalty among consumers. But this brand loyalty may have come from “first mover” advantages.
As a result consumers who are used to using a certain brand for a long time are less likely to
switch to a newer brand.
Investment in specialist equipment: Manufacturing cements require heavy machinery.
Therefore, it makes it harder for new companies to enter the industry.
Barriers to exit: Not only expensive heavy machinery are required along with that huge amount
of land and capital. Therefore, exiting the industry will be tough.
Power of suppliers: Just like any other industry, suppliers have some influence over the cement
industry. The switching cost of local or domestic suppliers is low but some raw materials need to
be imported through naval routes. International suppliers have some influence over the industry
as these raw materials are not in abundance in the country. Moreover, there are factors as well
such as political crisis, economic crisis.
Power of customers: Unlike the local suppliers, customers do have enough power in the market.
Shah Cement being the industry leader was founded in 2002 same as Akij Cement. One might
assume having first mover advantages but that is not true as the market share between Shah and
Akij is huge as Akij Cement barely sits in the TOP 10 cement companies in Bangladesh.

Threat of substitutes: Complete substitute of cement is yet to be launched in the market.

Products that are available in the market can not be used fully as a substitute for cement. Some of
the popular substitute products are:
• Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA)
• Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS)
Ref: https://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/concrete-cement-substitutes/

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Rather what happens is such products are used in certain ratios with actual cement or raw
materials of it. Therefore, there may be no fully substitute products but it does reduce the amount
of actual cement used. Moreover, most of these substitute products are by products from similar
or different industries. Thus reduces the environmental impacts and also contributes toward a
sustainable manufacturing system. But such substitutes are not available or widely used in the
local market. Therefore, the threat of substitute products is not that much to worry about.

3.2 Peer group/Main competitor

Based on the market share in the cement industry it is found that Akij Cement barely included
itself in the spot. Therefore, not every company is their competitor. There are few competitors
that need to be in check though.
Akij Cement has a market share of 4.10% despite being established a long time ago, but Shah
Cement did manage to be industry topper with a market share of 12.96% despite being
established in 2002. Therefore, Shah Cement is not their rival.
Companies like Lafarge, ScanRuby and Premier are right above the market share of Akij Cement
having 5.16%, 5.36% and 6.19% respectively.
Delivery techniques:
Ready mix cement are finished products which saves client’s valuable time and labor hours. But
this comes with a downside as ready mix cements get set after a few hours. Therefore, within
that time frame the products need to be delivered. As a result, if the factories are at distant
places, it requires many delivery hours. Akij Cement’s factory is at Narayanganj and it takes
many hours just to deliver the product in the most profitable location which is Dhaka. Unlike
Akij Cement, Bashudhara has a separate factory for ready mix at South Keraniganj. This enabled
them in delivering products quickly and has eliminated the risk of cement setting.
3.3 Identify a specific issue/problem/opportunity and analyze the issue based on relevant
techniques with the support of suitable theory

Akij Resources started data warehousing from January of 2022. One might assume why the
company started working with data so late but the reality is most of the products of Akij are sold
through B2B. Therefore, there is not any large amount of user data.

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Data process time: The data retrieval and process time in Power BI is very low, therefore, time
related constraints are not available here. This not only saves valuable company time but also
memory.
Interactive and Rich Personalized Visualization: Dashboards are the crowning feature of
Power BI. It really is one of the reasons behind switching to Power BI. Dashboards can be made
in other Microsoft applications such as Excel but one can easily differentiate the features and the
ease in operating if they try out Power BI. Here, dashboards have tons of features from including
tooltips to making rich informative charts.
User friendly UI: The UI of Power BI is not only user friendly to management but also the
executives who operate in it. With little knowledge one can start learning this application and the
way the dashboards are made, management can interact with the dashboard by their own as it is
super friendly. Moreover, these interactions provide more detailed information regarding the
subject.

DAX functions: Those who are new at Power BI can easily get a hang on the concept after a few
tries. The formulas are similar to Excel and offer functionality. Calculations made by DAX
significantly impacts the whole process as it not only saves time but provides more features and
functionality. CALCULATE, Measures and Calculated columns are one of the most important
functions in DAX. Moreover, Power BI offers time intelligence functions which enables users to
create meaningful comparisons.
Voice and Text command: Like many other platformsPower BI can be operated by both Voice
and Text commands and does the purpose of convenience.
Data Modeling: Inside Power BI data model can be done. Data Modeling is one of the initial
processes in Power BI. But the most important advantage is this modeling can be done anytime
during the whole process. Therefore, if a certain data model or design does not go with the
requirements it can be changed any time.
Forecasting: Traditional marketing approaches are getting replaced by data driven marketing
approaches. Forecast/Prediction can be done in Power BI along with analyzing. This prediction
is not random, these kinds of reports are generated by data processes. Therefore, this particular
function enables management to make appropriate steps beforehand.

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3.4 Recommendation based on the outcome of the analysis

4.1 Conclusion and implications:

Power BI offers a set of services and features that bridges the gap between spreadsheets and
databases. Moreover, it also equips users with statistical tools. Furthermore, the interface of the
application is user friendly which makes it easier for beginners to operate. Data driven decisions
are more precise than generic approaches. With a wide range of tools, users can analyze,
visualize data according to their requirements. Additionally, forecasting can be done which
enables executives to anticipate and take necessary actions based on that. By using advanced
tools such as DAX functions, users can analyze data on an advanced level and can identify a
pattern to offer personalized marketing solutions. Higher management looks for a summary of
performance and large amounts of raw data or data in general is tough to grasp. Visualization of
data offers graspable information to visual learners. Therefore, this tool saves a lot of time in
decision making and on top of that the information that is processed is data driven.

References
1. Akij Cement Company Ltd | Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA).
(n.d.). Bcma.Com.Bd. http://www.bcma.com.bd/members/akij-cement-company-ltd

2. Cement Industry | Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA). (n.d.).

Bcma.Com.Bd. http://www.bcma.com.bd/cement-industry

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List of Figures:

Figure:01: Total profit.

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Figure: 02: Detailed report, page 1

Figure: 03: Detailed report. Page 2

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Figure: 04: Tooltip

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