Assume that Orion Star Sports & Outdoors Co. has engaged you as a consultant to advise them on business strategies to increase sales. Study the data tables from this perspective. The most important tables in this data set are:
+ orders + product_line
+ products + profit
1. Answer the following questions in general:
a) What are the key business questions that can be asked and answered using this data?
b) How does each table relate to answering those questions?
c) How do I have to link the tables in order to be able to answer those questions?
2. For each field in the four tables, answer the following specific questions:
a) Is this a question field, an answer field, or a link field? In other words, is this a key dimension along which I wish to analyze the data (question field), a data item that I want to “slice and dice” along selected dimensions (answer field), or a field that simply helps me link from one table to another?
b) What data type is represented by this field (e.g. integer, text, symbols, currency, etc.)?
c) Are there missing or null values in the data for this field?
d) For range fields (e.g. dates and numbers), what is the range of values in the data? What are the maximum and minimum values?
e) What do you think is the purpose of this field?
f) What questions would you ask the company about this field?
3. Prepare spreadsheets that answer the following questions:
a) What are the top 10 products for orders (by dollar volume)?
b) What are the top 10 countries for orders (by dollar volume)?
c) What are the top 10 selling products by units? By dollar volume?
d) For top two US states and top two countries (excluding the US) in questions 1 and 2, what are the 5 top selling products by units? By dollar volume?
e) Provide the customer ID’s, order dates, and order amounts for all customers who have ordered more than once.
