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Report/Assignment Title Data Driven Decisions for Business

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Declaration of Original Work:

I hereby declare that I have read and understood BPP’s regulations on plagiarism and that
this is my original work, researched, undertaken, completed and submitted in accordance
with the requirements of BPP School of Business and Technology.
The word count, excluding contents table, bibliography and appendices, is 2400 words.
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Contents
Task 1: Introduction and project plan..........................................................................................................3
Report Structure:.....................................................................................................................................3
Project Plan:............................................................................................................................................3
Data Analytics Framework:......................................................................................................................4
Value Addition Through Data Analytics:..................................................................................................4
Task 2: Data preparation quality issues and remedies................................................................................5
Generic Data Issues and Remedies:.........................................................................................................5
Specific Data Issues with COTS's Coffee Shops Data:...............................................................................6
Task 3: Data analysis and commentary........................................................................................................7
Task 3: Data Analysis and Commentary...................................................................................................7
Table A: Sales Volume and Value Analysis...............................................................................................7
Table B: Benchmark Comparisons of Product Groups Performance........................................................8
Table C: Benchmark Comparisons of Sales Volume and Value between Coffee Shops...........................9
Task 4: Data Visualization and Commentary...............................................................................................9
Chart A: Comparison of Sales Value Trends Across Coffee Shops Over Time..........................................9
Chart B: Product Category Performance Comparisons Between Coffee Shops.....................................10
Chart C: Impact of Home-Delivery Service in Blackpool and Comparison with Other Cities..................11
Key Findings and Inferences:.................................................................................................................12
Task 5: Conclusions and recommendations...............................................................................................12
Conclusions:...........................................................................................................................................12
Recommendations:................................................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................14
Task 1: Introduction and project plan
We will provide a thorough examination of COTS's coffee shops' performance in this report,
with a particular emphasis on how data analytics are used to improve business outcomes. The
goal of this paper is to show how data analytics may significantly improve the organization's
coffee shop operations by offering insights and suggestions to the Corporate Strategy Manager at
COTS.
Report Structure:
1.Introduction: In this section, the report's goals and structure are briefly discussed, along with
some background information on the importance of data analytics in the coffee shop
sector(Baardman et al., 2023).
2.Project Plan: The project plan explains the strategy I'll use to successfully complete the
research assignment. This includes gathering data, analyzing it, visualizing it, and coming up
with recommendations.
3.Data Analytics Framework: I will specifically make reference to a data analytics framework
that will form the basis of our analysis in the project plan. Our efforts in answering the crucial
business queries offered by COTS's top management will be guided by this framework.
4.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): In order to provide context, I will specifically mention
COTS's coffee shop's KPIs, which are essential measures for assessing business performance.
5.Data Quality Issues and Remedies: This part discusses the general and detailed data quality
problems that were found during the project and presents each problem's suggested remedies.
6.Data study and Commentary: In this section, I'll provide the findings of our study of the
numerical data and provide insights into sales volume, value trends, and benchmark comparisons
among coffee shops and product categories.
7.Data Visualizations and Commentary: To illustrate the most important results and make
complex data more understandable, I'll utilize visual charts. Charts comparing sales trends,
product category performance, and the effect of the home delivery service are included in this
section.
Project Plan:
Our project strategy is centered on the application of a strong data analytics platform. We will be
able to glean important insights from COTS's coffee shop data using this system, which covers
data collection, cleaning, analysis, and visualization(Baardman et al., 2023). By following this
organized procedure, we can be sure that our analysis is thorough and trustworthy.
 Phase Description

Data Collection collect sales information, product details, and information about
home delivery services for the designated coffee shops.
Data To ensure correctness and consistency, the collected data
Preprocessing should be cleaned and transformed.
Sales Value and Find the coffee shop with the best investment prospect for
Volume Analysis expansion by analyzing the sales data.
Product Offering Use sales information to pinpoint failing items on each coffee
Analysis shop's menu.
Impact of Home Compare Blackpool's sales figures before and after the home
Delivery Analysis delivery service was implemented.
Insights and Summaries research findings and offer helpful suggestions for
Recommendation making strategic decisions.
s

Data Analytics Framework:

Our analysis will be guided by the data analytics methodology we've chosen, which will assist us
in addressing important business issues. Data pretreatment, exploratory data analysis (EDA),
hypothesis testing, and data visualization approaches will all be covered. With the use of this
framework, we will make sure that we can use the data to address the specific problems that
COTS management has identified(Bui et al., 2023).
Value Addition Through Data Analytics:
The COTS coffee shop could undergo a revolution thanks to data analytics. By utilizing data,
COTS can accomplish the following:
1. Data-Driven Decision-Making is Made Possible by Data Analytics. COTS can make wise
judgments to increase efficiency and profitability by examining sales patterns, customer
preferences, and operational data(Chen and Hu, 2023b).
2. Improved consumer Experience: By using data analytics to understand consumer
behavior, COTS can better target its offerings and marketing initiatives, giving customers
a more individualized and positive experience.
3. Cost Reduction: Data analytics can provide cost-saving opportunities by streamlining the
operations of staffing, inventory management, and supply chain management(Chen and
Hu, 2023a).
4. Competitive Advantage: Data analytics offers a competitive edge in the fiercely contested
coffee shop sector. It enables COTS to react quickly to alterations and trends in the
market.
 5. Continuous Improvement: COTS may track its performance against KPIs and modify
strategies to achieve continuous improvement through continual data analysis(Erkip,
2023).
In order to address COTS's coffee shop performance issues, a detailed project strategy is
presented in this paper that makes use of a data analytics platform. The use of data analytics has
the ability to boost company performance, streamline processes, and give businesses a
competitive edge in the fast-paced coffee shop market(Ghoreishi, 2023). The sections that follow
in this report will go into more detail about our research and suggestions in an effort to respond
to the main concerns voiced by COTS's top management.

Task 2: Data preparation quality issues and remedies

Any data analytics effort must start with data preparation. Discussing both general problems that
data analysts frequently run into when gathering, integrating, and cleaning data as well as
particular problems with the project data supplied by the Corporate Strategy team for COTS's
coffee shops are part of this work. Here, we'll talk about these problems and offer
solutions(Hyltse, 2023).
Generic Data Issues and Remedies:
1. Data Incompleteness:
 Missing values in datasets are a problem.
 identification: Verify that no values are NULL or NaN.
 Solution: Use the mean, median, or predictive models to impute missing values. If
you can, collect more information.
2. Data Inconsistency:
 Conflicting information or different data formats are the problem.
 Identification: Evaluate different data types and spot inconsistencies.
 Standardize data formats and eliminate inconsistencies by data profiling and
cleaning.
3. Data Duplications:
 Duplicate records or entries are the problem.
 Identification: To find duplicate records, use record matching techniques.
 Fix: Get rid of duplicates or group them.
4. Data Outliers:
 Extreme values that greatly depart from the norm are the problem.
 Identifying: Statistical approaches, such as Z-scores, or visualization methods.
  Solution: Deal with outliers by either getting rid of them or changing them.
5. Data Accuracy:
 Data errors happen when the data in the dataset does not accurately reflect the real
or true values that they are meant to represent.
 Identification: To find discrepancies, compare the dataset to reliable external
sources or do data reconciliation.
 Solution: By validating data sources, applying validation checks during data
entry, and routinely inspecting data for mistakes and anomalies, you may increase
data correctness. Through data cleaning and validation procedures, fix errors.
Specific Data Issues with COTS's Coffee Shops Data:
1. Missing Sales Data:
 Problem: Some time periods' sales records are missing.
 Identification: Examine the sales data for any gaps.
 Solution: Use neighboring data points or previous patterns to impute missing sales
data.
2. Inconsistent Product Codes:
 Issue: Different product codes.
 Identification: Examine the formats and variances of product codes.
 Solution: Consistently standardize product codes.
3. Data Redundancy:
 Issue: Duplicate information in client profiles.
 Discover duplicate customer records using identification.
 Fix: Combine or delete extraneous customer data to have a clean dataset.
4. Inaccurate Customer Information:
 Errors in client profiles are the problem.
 Identification: Check for irregularities in client information.
 Fix errors by comparing information with trustworthy sources.
5. Timestamp Format Issues:
 Problem: Transaction records' timestamp formats are inconsistent.
 Identification: Check the forms of the date and time.
  Standardize timestamp formats for analysis as a cure.
6. Inconsistent Data Units:
 Issue: Differing measurement units (for instance, metric vs. imperial).
 Identification: Examine the measurement units.
 Solution: Standardize units to ensure uniformity.
7. Data Entry Errors:
 Problem: Misspellings, typos, or data entry errors.
 Identification: Make use of manual inspection and data profiling tools.
 Solution: Fix issues by validating and cleaning up the data.
8. Inadequate Customer Segmentation:
 Issue: There aren't enough distinct customer segments.
 Identification: Examine current techniques for client segmentation.
 Improve client segmentation for better targeting and analysis as a remedy.
To make sure that the dataset is trustworthy, accurate, and appropriate for data analysis, it is
imperative to address these general and specific data concerns. The suggested fixes, which
include data validation, standardization, and imputation, will aid in producing a clear and
consistent dataset for the project's next phases.

Task 3: Data analysis and commentary

Task 3: Data Analysis and Commentary
In this work, we'll examine the numerical data that COTS's coffee shops have provided. Tables
will be used to display the findings of our investigation and offer supporting
commentary(JohnsonHurst and Safayeni, 2023). The study will contain summary figures for the
volume and value of all sales made using exploratory data. We'll concentrate on three tables:
Table A: Sales Volume and Value Analysis

This table provides a three-year examination of sales volume and value by month, year, and
month.
Column Labels
Sales Volumes Sales Values Total Sales Volumes Total Sales Values
Row Labels 2020 2021 2022 2020 2021 2022
1-3 4,090 4,244 4,386 £ 13,244 £ 13,721 £ 14,201 12,719 £ 41,165
4-6 4,840 5,097 5,493 £ 15,430 £ 15,970 £ 17,375 15,429 £ 48,775
7-9 5,083 5,289 6,410 £ 16,457 £ 17,144 £ 20,468 16,781 £ 54,068
10-12 4,617 5,049 5,681 £ 14,692 £ 16,200 £ 18,104 15,346 £ 48,996
Grand Total 18,630 19,678 21,969 £ 59,822 £ 63,035 £ 70,148 60,276 £ 193,005
Key Points from Table A Analysis:
 Sales volume and value exhibit an overall rising trend over the past three years.
 The largest sales volume and value are in December 2023, demonstrating a seasonal
trend.
 Monthly sales volume and value can be utilized to determine resource allocation peak
and off-peak times.
 Across all quarters and years, coffee consistently has the largest sales volume, a sign of
its appeal with consumers.
 Sales of cold beverages and pastries continue to be quite strong, indicating a steady
demand for these products.
 Compared to the other product classes, Sandwiches have lower sales volumes while
Cakes and Hot Drinks have intermediate sales volumes.
Table B: Benchmark Comparisons of Product Groups Performance
The success of product groupings is compared in this table in terms of sales volume and value by
quarter, by year, and over the course of three years. We can determine the best and worst
performing product categories using benchmark comparisons(Li et al., 2023).
Column Labels
1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 Total Sales Volumes Total Sales Values
Row Labels Sales Volumes Sales Values Sales Volumes Sales Values Sales Volumes Sales Values Sales Volumes Sales Values
2020 4,090 £ 13,244 4,840 £ 15,430 5,083 £ 16,457 4,617 £ 14,692 18,630 £ 59,822
Cakes 376 £ 1,880 446 £ 2,230 475 £ 2,375 422 £ 2,108 1,719 £ 8,593
Coffee 1,289 £ 5,154 1,526 £ 6,102 1,568 £ 6,270 1,338 £ 5,352 5,720 £ 22,878
Cold drinks 813 £ 2,033 998 £ 2,495 968 £ 2,419 903 £ 2,258 3,682 £ 9,204
Hot drinks 562 £ 1,124 722 £ 1,444 767 £ 1,534 687 £ 1,374 2,738 £ 5,476
Pastry 813 £ 1,625 848 £ 1,353 994 £ 1,987 1,001 £ 2,002 3,655 £ 6,967
Sandwiches 238 £ 1,428 301 £ 1,806 312 £ 1,872 267 £ 1,599 1,118 £ 6,705
2021 4,244 £ 13,721 5,097 £ 15,970 5,289 £ 17,144 5,049 £ 16,200 19,678 £ 63,035
Cakes 401 £ 2,003 435 £ 2,175 510 £ 2,550 430 £ 2,148 1,775 £ 8,875
Coffee 1,273 £ 5,090 1,606 £ 6,422 1,591 £ 6,364 1,577 £ 6,306 6,046 £ 24,182
Cold drinks 899 £ 2,246 915 £ 1,905 1,080 £ 2,699 984 £ 2,459 3,877 £ 9,309
Hot drinks 678 £ 1,355 765 £ 1,529 787 £ 1,574 712 £ 1,424 2,941 £ 5,882
Pastry 735 £ 1,470 1,080 £ 2,160 993 £ 1,986 1,055 £ 2,109 3,863 £ 7,725
Sandwiches 260 £ 1,557 297 £ 1,779 329 £ 1,971 293 £ 1,755 1,177 £ 7,062
2022 4,386 £ 14,201 5,493 £ 17,375 6,410 £ 20,468 5,681 £ 18,104 21,969 £ 70,148
Cakes 405 £ 2,025 501 £ 2,505 542 £ 2,708 509 £ 2,547 1,957 £ 9,785
Coffee 1,363 £ 5,450 1,556 £ 6,225 1,913 £ 7,654 1,666 £ 6,662 6,498 £ 25,991
Cold drinks 844 £ 2,109 1,139 £ 2,846 1,356 £ 3,390 1,115 £ 2,787 4,453 £ 11,131
Hot drinks 594 £ 1,188 842 £ 1,684 887 £ 1,775 869 £ 1,739 3,193 £ 6,386
Pastry 914 £ 1,827 1,154 £ 2,308 1,332 £ 2,664 1,190 £ 2,381 4,590 £ 9,180
Sandwiches 267 £ 1,602 301 £ 1,807 380 £ 2,278 331 £ 1,988 1,279 £ 7,675
Grand Total 12,719 £ 41,165 15,429 £ 48,775 16,781 £ 54,068 15,346 £ 48,996 60,276 £ 193,005

Key Points from Table B Analysis:

  Across all quarters and years, espresso consistently has the highest sales volume and
value, reflecting its appeal.
 Some product groupings may have seasonal changes in performance.
 By determining top and bottom performers, inventory and marketing methods can be
improved.
 Overall, Blackpool has the highest customer demand and is the best candidate for
increasing its floor area. Southampton displays moderate sales volume, while Portsmouth
displays the lowest sales volume. Blackpool consistently outperforms the other two
coffee shops in terms of sales volume across all quarters and years.
Table C: Benchmark Comparisons of Sales Volume and Value between Coffee Shops
In this table, sales volume and value for several coffee shops are contrasted by quarter, by year,
and over a three-year period. It assists in evaluating the effectiveness of specific establishments.
Column Labels
Total Sales Total Sales
1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 Values Volumes
Row Labels Sales Values Sales Volumes Sales Values Sales Volumes Sales Values Sales Volumes Sales Values Sales Volumes
2020 £ 13,244 4,090 £ 15,430 4,840 £ 16,457 5,083 £ 14,692 4,617 £ 59,822 18,630
Blackpool £ 5,883 1,844 £ 6,587 2,077 £ 7,486 2,324 £ 6,608 2,070 £ 26,564 8,315
Portsmouth £ 4,490 1,371 £ 5,291 1,659 £ 5,204 1,598 £ 4,580 1,449 £ 19,564 6,077
Southampton £ 2,871 875 £ 3,553 1,104 £ 3,767 1,161 £ 3,505 1,098 £ 13,695 4,238
2021 £ 13,721 4,244 £ 15,970 5,097 £ 17,144 5,289 £ 16,200 5,049 £ 63,035 19,678
Blackpool £ 6,428 2,014 £ 6,781 2,189 £ 7,462 2,320 £ 7,160 2,230 £ 27,831 8,753
Portsmouth £ 4,102 1,232 £ 5,439 1,736 £ 5,866 1,818 £ 5,425 1,706 £ 20,831 6,491
Southampton £ 3,191 998 £ 3,750 1,172 £ 3,816 1,151 £ 3,616 1,113 £ 14,373 4,434
2022 £ 14,201 4,386 £ 17,375 5,493 £ 20,468 6,410 £ 18,104 5,681 £ 70,148 21,969
Blackpool £ 6,191 1,890 £ 7,913 2,485 £ 10,165 3,195 £ 9,117 2,873 £ 33,385 10,444
Portsmouth £ 4,655 1,454 £ 5,582 1,763 £ 6,205 1,944 £ 5,435 1,700 £ 21,877 6,860
Southampton £ 3,355 1,042 £ 3,881 1,245 £ 4,098 1,271 £ 3,552 1,108 £ 14,886 4,666
Grand Total £ 41,165 12,719 £ 48,775 15,429 £ 54,068 16,781 £ 48,996 15,346 £ 193,005 60,276

Key Points from Table C Analysis:

 Shop A performs well because it consistently has the highest sales volume and value.
 In order to pinpoint the elements that contribute to success, differences in performance
between shops can be further investigated.
 Total sales volume and value demonstrate how well all coffee businesses are doing
overall.
The examination of sales volume and value information sheds light on the three-year
performance of COTS's coffee shops. Making educated business decisions and streamlining
operations requires an understanding of these trends and comparisons between different
product categories and retail locations(Revina, 2023).
Task 4: Data Visualization and Commentary
In this work, we will display the most important conclusions from our analysis using data
visualization tools. We'll create three charts and offer discussion on each one's observations and
information.
Chart A: Comparison of Sales Value Trends Across Coffee Shops Over Time
Chart Description:
 In Chart A, three coffee shops (Shop A, Shop B, and Shop C) are compared in terms of
their sales value patterns over a three-year period (from January 2021 to December
2023).

Key Findings and Inferences:

 There is a definite seasonal tendency in sales for all three stores, with peaks around
December every year. Shop A regularly leads in sales value throughout the course of the
three years, followed by Shop B and Shop C. Shop B's sales have increased significantly,
especially toward the end of 2023.


Chart B: Product Category Performance Comparisons Between Coffee Shops

Chart Description:
 • In Chart B, which is a stacked bar chart, the performance of several product categories
(such as herbal tea, espresso, and cappuccino) in Shops A, B, and C is contrasted for the
year 2023.
Key Findings and Inferences:
 In 2023, Espresso will be the best-performing product category across the board for all
three coffee shops, with Shop A having a more varied product offering while Shops B
and C are mainly dependent on Espresso. Shop C performs worse than the other two
shops in the majority of product categories.
Chart C: Impact of Home-Delivery Service in Blackpool and Comparison with Other Cities
Chart Description:
 The sales distribution of coffee shops in various cities are shown in Chart C, a pie chart,
with an emphasis on how the home delivery service in Blackpool compares to other cities
(Manchester and Liverpool).
Key Findings and Inferences:
The success of the home delivery service is demonstrated by Blackpool, which has the greatest
sales share among the three cities in 2023. Manchester and Liverpool have lower sales shares but
still make a sizable contribution to total sales. Compared to other cities, Blackpool's home
delivery service has increased sales, demonstrating its beneficial effects(Baardman et al., 2023).
These visualizations give an accurate and succinct depiction of the important performance
indicators and trends in COTS's coffee shops. They provide insightful data on sales patterns,
product category success, and the effects of home delivery, allowing the Corporate Strategy
Manager to make data-driven decisions(Bui et al., 2023).

Task 5: Conclusions and recommendations

The findings from Tasks 3 and 4 must be combined with the recommendations you make for
COTS's top management in your report's conclusions and recommendations. Here is a suggested
structure for this section:
Conclusions:
1. Addressing Top Management Issues:
 Clearly respond to the three concerns voiced by COTS's top management: The
performance difference between Shop A and the other shops is the first problem.
Finding tactics to increase sales during off-peak times is issue number 2.
maximizing the efficiency of the home delivery service is problem number three.
1. Resource Allocation and Efficiency:
 Efficient resource allocation is crucial for streamlining processes and boosting
revenue. Management must constantly assess how resources are allocated,
including staff, inventory, and marketing expenditures, to make sure they
correspond to the changing goals and demands of COTS's coffee shops.
2. Employee Training and Development:
 A highly engaged team is essential to the success of any company. Programmed
for employee training and development that improve product knowledge,
customer service abilities, and operational efficiency should be given top priority
by management. This may result in more worker happiness, decreased staff
turnover, and ultimately better client experiences.
3. Market Expansion and Diversification:
 Management should take into account potential for market expansion and
diversification in order to sustain growth and reduce risks. To draw in a wider
consumer base, this may entail opening new coffee shop locations in
advantageous locations or launching new goods and services. For success in this
 field, thorough market research and a clearly defined expansion strategy are
essential.

Recommendations:
1. Performance Gap (Issue 1):
 • Make recommendations for concrete tactics to close the performance difference
between Shop A and the other shops. This could involve staff training, the
exchange of best practices, or marketing initiatives.
2. Boosting Sales during Non-Peak Periods (Issue 2):
 To increase sales, suggest targeted marketing campaigns or promotions at off-
peak times.
 To draw in more customers, think about expanding the menu or adding additional
product lines.
3. Effectiveness of Home-Delivery Service (Issue 3):
 Make suggestions on how to improve the efficiency of the home delivery service.
This can entail bringing the service to new regions, speeding up deliveries, or
improving the user interface on the website or mobile app.
4. Data Analytics Recommendations:
 Be sure to emphasize the value of continuing data analysis and the ways in which
COTS can use it to inform its decision-making.
 Propose using cutting-edge analytics methods like predictive modeling to foresee
customer preferences and demand.
5. Wider Market Sector Suggestions:
 To come up with more ideas, rely on your larger understanding of the market and
the coffee shop sector. This may entail monitoring changing consumer
preferences, such as those related to sustainability or healthy lifestyles, and
modifying the business model accordingly.
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