Comprehensive Analysis of Data Management and Analytics in Woolworths

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Woolworths' data management and analytics strategies. It begins with an overview of the company, its selection rationale, and business operations. The report then delves into the data management technologies employed, including big data analytics, data mining, and AI-powered solutions like automated storage and robotic pickers, highlighting their impact on decision-making and customer service. The report also details the data sources used, such as the company's website, annual reports, and academic journals. Furthermore, it analyzes the challenges faced before and after implementing these technologies, emphasizing the benefits of predictive analytics and CRM strategies. The report concludes with findings and recommendations for continued improvement, underscoring the importance of data management for meeting customer demands and maintaining a competitive edge in the market.

MIS609 Data Management and Analytics
Executive Summary
The following report is based on one of the topmost grocery store and shopping complex of
Australia that is Woolworths. The report provides the in-depth analysation of the data
management technologies in relation to the company. The complete report is divided into five
different sections and evidence of every section is provided along. Initially in the report the
information regarding the company is provided and Woolworths is selected because it has
made use of big data technology so that they can meet the demands of the customers and
provide the standardised products as per need of the customers. In section two it has been
explained that what data management technologies are being selected by the company and
how they are helpful. The big data analytics help to make decisions regarding the customer
needs on the basis of predictive analysis. This is also helpful in availability of resources in
time. the data mining is being used by the company for marketing processes. The AI powered
robots are used for making the things available to customers without any hassle.
In the third section the sources used to analyse the information that is presented in section
two are listed. The information regarding the official website, annual reports, blogs and
journals is provided. Then in the following section the problems that were faced by the
company because it has not adopted the data management technology are discussed. In
addition to this the problem faced after implementation of technology are also discussed. It is
highly recommended for Woolworth that they must make use of technology so that can meet
needs of customers effectively.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................. 1
Section 1: Introduction.............................................................................................................3
Overview of organisation..................................................................................................... 3
Reason for the selection of company....................................................................................3
Business of the chosen organization.....................................................................................3
Section 2: Introduction to the concept of Data Analysis...........................................................3
Concepts used by Woolworths to solve business problems..................................................3
Big data analytics in Woolworth.......................................................................................3
Data mining in Woolworth................................................................................................4
Data for AI........................................................................................................................ 5
Section 3: Data Source............................................................................................................. 5
Section 4: Analysis...................................................................................................................5
Section 5: Conclusion, findings, and recommendations...........................................................6
References................................................................................................................................ 8
Appendix................................................................................................................................ 10
Net Income 2018................................................................................................................ 10
Net Income 2017................................................................................................................ 10
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Section 1: Introduction
Overview of organisation
The report below has taken the company that is a popular Australian chain of supermarkets
namely Woolworth. The company has covered 80% of Australian market. At present the
market value of company is 38.96 AUD −0.19 (0.49%). Woolworth is founded was founded
on 22 September 1924 by five Australian entrepreneurs. The main headquarters of the
company are in Bella Vista, New South Wales, Australia. In the previous year the total
revenue of the company has been noted down as $1,752 million profit in FY 2019. It is
considered as one of the biggest wholesale retailer chain in the world ("Woolworths
Supermarket - Buy Groceries Online", 2020). The main target of the provided case study is to
recognize how Woolworth company make use of data management and analytical concepts
for enhancing effective organizational decisions.
Reason for the selection of company
The Woolworth is chosen for the report as it makes use of different technologies which
are helpful in improvising processing and services of the company. The company uses the
latest technologies related to the big data, cluster computing, data mining, business
intelligence, data warehousing, and AI technologies so that they can improvise their units
effectively (Arli et al., 2013). Additionally, the company make use of IT/IS so that needs
of the customers can be completed in time. The main competitors are Carrefour, Tesco,
LIDL, Walmart and Coles Group as these companies are providing the best technological
features and efficient business services. The information regarding this company help to
analyze how the latest technology can be used so that all issues related to business can be
resolved.
Business of the chosen organization
Woolworth is a supermarket and grocery store under which the number of goods and services
are provided to the customers at affordable price. The customers are providing with good
experience as latest technology is being used in the company. With the implementation of
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Big Data in the company the company can predict the needs of customers and they
successfully fulfil their needs. The main target of company is to focus on the business needs
as use of technology has increased maximum profits and revenue. The main aim of the
company is to provide goods and services to the customers in such manner that all are
completely satisfied (Dos Santos et al., 2013). The fulfillment of demands of the customers
and maintaining quality is one of the main targets of Woolworths.
Section 2: Introduction to the concept of Data Analysis
Concepts used by Woolworths to solve business problems
Woolworths uses different technologies related to data management with the help of which
effective decisions are made and customers are given the main focus. Even if in the previous
year the revenue has declined due to adoption of different technologies and concepts related
to data management the company has maintained its topmost position in the market. The uses
automation, robotic pickers and vertical shelves are helpful in sorting and moving the
products from the automated storage to the online orders so that different orders can be
handled online (Methner et al., 2014). Thus, the data of customers and company has become
one of the most important assets of the company. The big data management and analytics has
been used by the company for maintaining the position in the market. The technology used in
the company are described below:
Big data analytics in Woolworth
The use of big data has helped the companies to grow incredibly as they can easily predict the
needs of the customers and make them available in relative time. If compare the revenue that
is generated by the company in 2019 is $1,752 million. In 2018 the revenue was $ 5,694
million whereas in 2017 the revenue was $1.53 billion. Thus, it can be analysed that every
year the business is growing at rapid pace. The company make use of different intelligence
platform that help the company to make better decisions. the different services related to
analytical technologies are provided and used by the company so that they can retain the
customers (Riahi & Riahi, 2018). The company provide users the facility to make use of
online services and doorstep delivery is being provided. It has been examined that the
company make use of different Business Intelligence tools such as Excel, cloud services so
that they can calculate the needs of the customers and help to evaluate the main goals of the
company. likewise, many other shopping complexes and groceries stores the Woolworth is
also facing problems related to the rapid change in the demands of the customers. It is
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important that company must understand the needs of customers and provide relevant
products. With the use of Big data analytics, the strategies related to business such as
understanding the needs of customers, available data is being used, and predictions are made
so that proper products and services are provided to the customers. This also led to
introduction of CRM strategy under which a better relationship with customers is made. As
per the study conducted by Jiang et al., (2017), many big companies’ large data sets and
business strategies need to be implemented so that larger data is maintained properly and
handle different data. For making effective decisions it is important that relative data sets
must be handled properly so that demands of the customers can be handled properly.
Woolworths after making use of big data analytics have given tough competition to the
companies as it fulfils all the demands of the customers in such manner that they are
completely satisfies. The main strategies which are being used by the company are
descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics. When making use of
different analytical techniques the predictive and descriptive are being used together for
achieving proper results (Elgendy & Elragal, 2014). With the predictive analytics the
company first evaluate the past data of the customers and based in them the demands of
customers are predicted and then relative products are provided. This can be considered as
one of the best advantages of Big data analytics that is implemented by Woolworth. Due to
this also the company tends to achieve competitive advantages in the market. The Woolworth
has reliable customer data and they have tendency to retain their customers.
Data mining in Woolworth
The different AI technologies are being used by Woolworth under which the data mining is
also a technology which is being used for meeting the demands of customers. The data
mining technology is used for marketing purposes in Woolworth. Since they have stores all
over the country, they are also providing the different online services for which the data
mining is being used. Under the supply chain process which is a broader concept of data
mining the optimal network is designed (M & C. Reddy, 2011). Also, the data mining
concept become an effective manner under which the company is successful in maintaining
the customer loyalty. Under every business unit the concept of data mining and strategies are
built which can lead to increase in sales and a decrease in costs. Different anomalies, patterns,
correlations are found with data sets so that customer relationship are enhanced and risks are
reduced.
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Data for AI
It has been stated earlier that company makes use of big data analytics for decision making
process. Along with this the company has adopted the AI powered technology to meet the
needs of the customers (Davenport, 2018). The online system is reliable and secure which
states that all the data is secure and no very big cases of breaching have been noted so far. In
addition to this to enhance the services a 2400sqm space of company uses automated storage
units in which the robots are augmented to bring grocery items for customers rather than
making them walk in aisles. This has increased the overall speed and efficiency of the
company. Also, the customers got attracted towards the automating features of the company.
Section 3: Data Source
To complete the assessment a lot of information has been collected in relation to the data
management concepts that are being used by Woolworths company. For providing the
justification of the evidence various sources are being used. The documents which contain
information are accessed from online resources. The information regarding the company has
been collected from its official website https://atwork.woolworths.com.au. The Google
scholars are searched for getting information regarding the competitors of the company. Also,
annual reports of the company are explored for collecting information regarding revenue for
year 2017,2018 and 2019. The website used is
https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/195582_annual-report-2019.pdf. In
addition to this, different academic journals are used for accessing the information regarding
technologies. The different journals like https://www.researchgate.net/,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5754475,
https://scholar.google.com/ and many others are explored. The other sources of information
are blogs and online websites that states about the different data management concepts and
technologies used in Woolworth. From all the sources it can be analysed that for making
effective decisions it is important that data of the company must be explored properly.
Section 4: Analysis
From all the data collected following analysis have been recognised:
A. When initially the company has not adopted the big data analytics it failed to meet the
demands of the customers. The company was not able to predict the future demands
of the customers. Also, it has been recorded that revenue of company was not vey
high before adopting the big data analytics (Sivarajah et al., 2017). The customers
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were not retained by the company as even in the online services they failed to focus
on demands of the customers and keeping relevant stock.
B. To eliminate all such problems in efficient manner, the company has introduced
various data management technologies so that different business processes can be
related. The company had introduced the big data analytics to find solutions for such
issues which are linked with business activities. Thus, it can be considered as an
important decision which is related to customer’s demands as they need to be
completed in time effectively. The current technological structure of the company is
completely based on the data management technologies such as data mining,
automation and big data analytics. The demands of customers can be predicted and
company can prepare its stock and resources on the basis of results of data (P. &
Ahmed, 2016). Thus, the company has also improvised its decision-making process in
effective manner.
C. the problems that were faced by the organisation in implementing the new change are
listed below:
 Adoption of the new technology by old employees
 No proper knowledge of technology used for data management technologies
 Less time for employees to obtaining training regarding the new technologies
(Alsghaier, 2017).
 All the internal and external environment of the company is changed and high
resistance is faced.
D. Due to the following reasons the change proposed is considered to be helpful for the
company:
 Needs of customers are met in efficient manner.
 Standardised online shopping experience is provided to the customers.
 The customers are retained and new customers are attracted.
 Competitive advantages (Alsghaier, 2017).
 Increase in revenue and obtaining topmost position in the market.
 Making effective decisions and strategies for enhancement of services
provided to customers.
Section 5: Conclusion, findings, and recommendations
It is clear from the above report that technology plays an important role in meeting the needs
of the customers and obtaining competitive advantages for the company in international
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market. The data management technologies help to generate the business strategies so that
sustainability can be maintained. The above report is related to Woolworths, which has used
the technology for the growth in revenue and profit of the company. It is also analysed from
above report that data management technology helps the company to make effective
decisions. The company is making use of AI-powered technology so that they can improvise
speed and efficiency of the company. With this the confidence of customers is also enhances.
The adoption of Big data analytics help to predict the demands of the customers and make the
products available.
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References
Alsghaier, H. (2017). The Importance of Big Data Analytics in Business: A Case
Study. American Journal Of Software Engineering And Applications, 6(4), 111.
https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajsea.20170604.12
Arli, V., Dylke, S., Burgess, R., Campus, R., & Soldo, E. (2013). WOOLWORTHS
AUSTRALIA AND WALMART US: BEST PRACTICES IN SUPPLY CHAIN
COLLABORATION. Journal Of Economics, Business, And Accountancy |
Ventura, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.14414/jebav.v16i1.123
Davenport, T. (2018). From analytics to artificial intelligence. Journal Of Business
Analytics, 1(2), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/2573234x.2018.1543535
Dos Santos, M., Svensson, G., & Padin, C. (2013). Indicators of sustainable business
practices: Woolworths in South Africa. Supply Chain Management: An International
Journal, 18(1), 104-108. https://doi.org/10.1108/13598541311293212
Elgendy, N., & Elragal, A. (2014). Big Data Analytics: A Literature Review Paper. Advances
In Data Mining. Applications And Theoretical Aspects, 214-227.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08976-8_16
Jiang, F., Jiang, Y., Zhi, H., Dong, Y., Li, H., & Ma, S. et al. (2017). Artificial intelligence in
healthcare: past, present and future. Stroke And Vascular Neurology, 2(4), 230-243.
https://doi.org/10.1136/svn-2017-000101
M, V., & C. Reddy, L. (2011). A Review on Data mining from Past to the
Future. International Journal Of Computer Applications, 15(7), 19-22.
https://doi.org/10.5120/1961-2623
Methner, N., Hamann, R., & Nilsson, W. (2014). The Evolution of a Sustainability Leader:
The Development of Strategic and Boundary Spanning Organizational Innovation
Capabilities in Woolworths. The Business Of Social And Environmental Innovation,
87-104. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04051-6_5
P., D., & Ahmed, K. (2016). A Survey on Big Data Analytics: Challenges, Open Research
Issues and Tools. International Journal Of Advanced Computer Science And
Applications, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.14569/ijacsa.2016.070267
Riahi, Y., & Riahi, S. (2018). Big Data and Big Data Analytics: concepts, types and
technologies. International Journal Of Research And Engineering, 5(9), 524-528.
https://doi.org/10.21276/ijre.2018.5.9.5
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Sivarajah, U., Kamal, M., Irani, Z., & Weerakkody, V. (2017). Critical analysis of Big Data
challenges and analytical methods. Journal Of Business Research, 70, 263-286.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.001
Woolworths Supermarket - Buy Groceries Online. Atwork.woolworths.com.au. (2020).
Retrieved 7 November 2020, from https://atwork.woolworths.com.au/?
_ga=2.93036953.542327965.1604751468-653211497.1604751467.
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Appendix
Net Income 2018
Net Income 2017
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