2008 International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering
Study and Realization of Supermarket BI System Based
on Data Warehouse and Web Technique
XUE Hong, LIU Zai-wen, MENG Hai-yang
College of Information Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University,
Beijing 100048, China
Email: hongxue6@yahoo.com.cn
Abstract
Business intelligence system with B/S framework
was developed by sales data from supermarket. Data
guiding into and guiding out service tool of Microsoft
SQL Server 2005 was selected as ETL tool. By
extraction, transition, rinse and loading, mass data for
analysis and decision-making were separated from
affair database, and data warehouse aiming at sales
theme of supermarket was established based on
exploitation system of Microsoft Analysis Services. On-
line analytical processing system was designed by
adopting web technique, through which knowledge of
decision-making was exhibited on web interfaces. With
the employment of data mining arithmetic of clustering
analysis, clients were classified and diverse manners of
sales promotion were adopted respectively via
assessing customers’ purchasing behaviors and
customs of consumption. The business intelligence
system furthest utilized data from affair databases,
transforming them into information and further into
knowledge. This system provides effective support for
managers’ decision-making in the realm of
supermarket sale.
1. Introduction
The application level of information management in
China corporations is not high at present. Data usually
are not transformed into information, and decision-
making management system isn’t adopted, so the using
efficiency of history data is low in most corporations.
The supermarket business intelligence system based on
the data warehouse and Web technique was studied by
business intelligence, data warehouse, OLAP, data
mining, artificial intelligence and Web key technique
﹡ This paper was supported by the Education Committee
Foundation of Beijing (200775) and (KM200610011006).
978-0-7695-3336-0/08 $25.00 © 2008 IEEE
DOI 10.1109/CSSE.2008.877
Authorized licensed use limited to: GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY. Downloaded on February 27, 2009 at 09:29 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
in the paper. It provides effective support for
managers’ decision-making in the realm of
supermarket sale.
2. Design of data warehouse
Because data warehouse is the base of whole
supermarket business intelligence system, its structure
design plays an important part in system implementing.
Data guiding into and guiding out service tool of
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 was selected as ETL tool.
By extraction, transition, rinse and loading, mass data
for analysis and decision-making were separated from
affair database, and data warehouse aiming at sales
theme of supermarket was established based on
exploitation system of Microsoft Analysis Services.
2.1. Design of system star model
Star model was adopted in the system for reducing
scanning time in fact tables and improving capability
of inquiring, which is showed in Figure 1. The sale fact
table was center, and all dimension tables were linked
to the fact table by main key. The layers of dimensions
were divided according to system requirements. [1]
2.2. Design of fact table, dimension tables and
metadata models
The fact table is situated in center of
multidimensional data model and is biggest table in
supermarket data warehouse. It records plentiful
particular information of basic operation, which
includes the main keys and measurement values of
correlative dimension tables. The structure of sale fact
table is showed in table 1. Customer, sales promotion
activity, product, time and store dimension tables were
established by function design in the system.
482
 *TimeId *CustomerId establish multidimensional data volume of data
TimeId warehouse and connect data source.
· Year · Country
ProductId
·· Quarter ·· State
CustomerId
··· Month
StoreId
··· City Table 2. Metadata table of sale theme
···· CustomerName
PromotionId
Sales Name Sales
*ProductdId *StoreId
Costs Merchandise sale data of
· Family · Country
Profits Description every POS machine
·· Department ·· State
Units
··· Category ··· City recording
···· Subcategoty ···· StoreName Analyzing sale status and
····· BrandName Purpose sales promotion instance of
······ ProductName *PromotionId
supermarket
· PromotionName
Linkman Sale manager of every store
Time, product, client, store
Dimension
Figure 1. Structure of system star model and sales promotion
Fact Sale fact table
Table 1. Structure of sale fact table Measurement Sale cost, Sale, Sale profit,
values Sale amount
Word sect Data types Explanation
name In the system, MOLAP data storage type was chosen
TimeId Int(4) Time code and aggregations were established in Set Aggregation
ProductId Int(4) Product code Options faceplate. To intercalate appropriate
CustomerId Int(4) Customer code aggregation options ， memory space and
StoreId Int(4) Store code performances were weighed. The data can be observed
PromotionId Int(4) Sales promotion from arbitrary angle by “browsing data” menu option
activity code of system, which is showed in figure 2.
Sales Money(8) Sale
Costs Money(8) Sale cost
Profits Money(8) Sale profit
Units float(8) Sale amount

Metadata describes object attributes and all

information relating to the object. The metadata of
object was saved in repository when the object was
established by Analysis Services exploitation system.
The supermarket data warehouse included mostly
theme metadata model, fact metadata model,
dimension metadata model and data member metadata
model. The theme metadata model is showed in table
2.

3. Design of on-line analytical processing Figure 2. Browse of system multidimensional data

system
3.2. On-line analytical processing
3.1. Establishment of multidimensional data
The OLAP operation of the multidimensional data
volume
volume was realized by using Cube Browser control
part in Visual Basic. Level of a dimension is spread or
Design work of on-line analytical processing system
contracted by double-clicking on the sign (+) in the
is mostly to establish multidimensional data volume
table. It may increase a dimensionality or replace a
[2]. The data were pretreated by transition and rinse.
displaying dimensionality that a dimensionality or a
Then they were loaded into SQL database. The system
measurement above window is dragged into grid below
used the guide provided by Analysis Manager to
it. Different combination forms of dimensionality and

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 measurement are defined as slice of the
multidimensional data volume. The data of the
multidimensional data volume can be observed from
different angles when position of any dimension is
changed, which realizes circumrotating. Drilling is a
process in which analysis server returns some data
which has combined with structure of the
multidimensional data volume. When we click right
any cell and then choose drilling, the system will return
the data producing the polymerizations by a form of
the simple recording volume, which is showed in
figure 3.
Figure 3. Drilling operation of system
multidimensional data
3.3. Design of front exhibiting system based on
B/S pattern
In OLAP front exhibiting system based on B/S
pattern, user send out request on Web browser, which
is linked to Web server by HTTP. Web server send out
request to application server that is linked to the data
warehouse by request. The data warehouse returns the
data for request to application server. Results needed
are got by analyzing program in application server.
Finally, the data are sent to Web browser by Web
server. The data warehouse based on Web technique
may stride department, area, company and may be
demanded by exterior and interior users using Intranet
technique. Users have different jurisdiction.
VB.Net was adopted as developing tool in the
system. Linking port between Web and data warehouse
and front exhibiting system based on B/S pattern were
established by ASP technique, ADO MD technique
and MDX. It was realized that data warehouse was
demanded by Web browser. The codes of linking port
are as follows:
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‘Linking OLAP server’
set mycst = server. createobject (“adomd.
cellset”)
mycst.ActiveConnection=“data source =
olapservername ； provider = msolap ； initial catalog
=databasename”
4. Clustering analysis of merchandise sales
promotion
The supermarket governors are concerned with
obtaining furthest profits to view from the angle of
market sale, which is realized by enhancing manage to
all kinds of merchandise and attracting most clients in
price war of stinging competition. In the management
works, it is emphases of analyzing in supermarket sale
scheme that the proper strategy of sales promotion is
applied to appropriate clients in order to increasing sale
profits of supermarket. With the employment of data
mining arithmetic of clustering analysis, clients were
classified and diverse manners of sales promotion were
adopted respectively via assessing customers’
purchasing behaviors and customs of consumption in
the paper.
4.1. Confirming the classing data
It is first step of establishing clustering model that
the classing data are confirmed. Choosing basic
variables is very important in order to classing better.
The classing data of fourteen kinds were chosen in the
system, which includes CustomerID, Total_sales,
Total_revenues, Total_items, Rs_Advertisement,
Rs_MemberCard, Rs_Discount, Rs_Profits,
Marital_status, Yearly_income, Gender, Education,
Age, Own_child.
4.2. Confirming the classing number
Basic variables of classing clients were product data
because clients were divided into groups by concern
degree to one kind of product or many kinds of
products. They were divided into five types in the
system.
4.3. Dynamic clustering analysis arithmetic of
merchandise sales promotion
Because the system related to more data quantity,
the paper adopted the data mining arithmetic of
dynamic clustering analysis. Its excellences are that
calculating workload is less, memory cells of computer
are taken less and method is simple.
Dynamic clustering analysis arithmetic is as follows:
 • Original data are treated by standard. Original
n × p matrix is translated into n × n matrix.
• Sample is originally classed by choosing
agglomerate points of destining number.
If the original classing number is k , xij expresses
number j index of number i sample standardized
such that
m
SUM (i ) = ∑ xij .
j =1
Let
MA = maxSUM (i ) ,
MI = minSUM (i ) .
All samples are classed into K types. Each sample
xi is calculated by
( K − 1)( SUM (i ) − MI )
+1.
( MA − MI )
Supposing the integer adjoining this number is k ,
sample xi is come under number k type, for
1≤ k ≤ K .
• The centre of gravity in every type is calculated,
which is regarded as a new agglomerate point.
The distance between every sample and the new
agglomerate point is calculated, and then this
sample is come under the types that closest
agglomerate point belongs to. If the calculated
centre of gravity is fully same with old
agglomerate point, calculating course converges
and classing function goes fixed value. Here,
classing is accomplished. Otherwise calculating
course of step three is repeated.
4.4. Analyzing the data results classed by
clustering analysis arithmetic
The clients of first type account for very big
proportion. Their consumption centralizes mostly on
grocery and family things. They are named for the
masses types. The sales promotion manner is mostly ad
manner.
The clients of second type have very outstanding
interest at purchasing grocery, babyhood things and
family things, in which the female clients of having
children account for more proportion. They are named
for the family types. The sales promotion manner is
mostly discount manner.
The clients of third type are more ladies and like
strolling around the street. They are named for the
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multiplicity types. The sales promotion manners are
the manners of ad and member card merchandise.
The clients of fourth type interest in grocery. They
are mostly young students and bachelordom. Their
earnings are not high. Total merchandise amount of the
clients buying is middling, but obtaining profit is lower
than middling level. The sales promotion manner is
mostly discount manner.
The clients of fifth type seem to be very larruping.
The types of purchasing merchandise centralize mostly
on high consumption levels—mobile telephone, slap-
up cosmetic and CD, for example. Their earnings are
high. Although total merchandise amount of client
buying is small, the obtaining profit is more. The sales
promotion manner is mostly manner of member card
merchandise.
5. Conclusion
The business intelligence system based on data
warehouse and web technique was developed by sales
data from supermarket. The advanced technique of
business intelligence was applied to business manage,
which has management idea of intelligence and
optimizing function. Via mining fully existing data
resource, supermarket corporation user can capture
information, analyze information, communicate
information and discover many data relations
unrecognized to help supermarket corporation
governors to make out better business decision-
making.
6. References
[1]Cunningham C, Song IY, and Chen PP, Data warehouse
design to support customer relationship management
analyses[J], Journal of Database Management, 2006, 17(2),
pp.62-84.
[2]Alfredo Cuzzocrea, Domenico Sacca, and Paolo Serafino,
Semantics-Aware advanced OLAP visualization of
multidimensional data cubes[J], International Journal of
Data Warehousing and Mining, 2007, 3(4), pp.1-30.
[3] Horng-Jinh Chang, Lun-Ping Hung, and Chia-Ling Ho,
An anticipation model of potential customers' purchasing
behavior based on clustering analysis and association rules
analysis[J], Expert Systems with Application, 2007, 32(3),
pp.753-764.