How can you use OLAP to optimize supply chain operations?

1 What is OLAP?

OLAP is a technique that allows users to analyze multidimensional data from different perspectives and levels of detail. OLAP uses a data structure called a cube, which consists of dimensions and measures. Dimensions are the categories or attributes that define the data, such as product, location, time, or customer. Measures are the numerical values that represent the data, such as sales, revenue, or inventory. Users can perform OLAP queries on the cube to slice, dice, drill down, roll up, or pivot the data and obtain various summaries, aggregations, or comparisons.

2 How can OLAP help optimize supply chain operations?

OLAP can provide supply chain managers with the ability to answer various business questions and optimize their operations. For instance, it can help analyze demand and supply patterns across different products, regions, seasons, or channels, as well as identify the best- or worst-performing products, suppliers, customers, or locations. OLAP can also compare the actual performance with the planned or budgeted performance and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics of the supply chain. By doing so, it allows managers to evaluate the effectiveness, accuracy, or variance of the supply chain strategy and track the progress, trends, or anomalies of the supply chain.

3 What are some OLAP query languages and techniques?

There are various OLAP query languages and techniques that can be used for data analysis on a cube. SQL, which is a standard language for querying relational databases, can be adapted to query an OLAP cube. It can perform basic operations such as selection, projection, join, or aggregation on the cube data, as well as more complex operations. MDX is a language specifically designed for querying OLAP cubes and can manipulate the dimensions and measures of the cube using operators, functions, or expressions. Additionally, DAX is a language for querying and creating calculated columns and measures in tabular models. It can execute arithmetic, logical, text, date, or time operations on the cube data.

4 What are some OLAP tools and platforms?

There are a number of OLAP tools and platforms that can assist users in creating, querying, and visualizing OLAP cubes. Microsoft Excel is a popular spreadsheet application that can connect to OLAP cubes and display the data in pivot tables or charts. It also supports MDX or DAX for custom calculations or filters. Microsoft Power BI is another widely used business intelligence platform that can create and analyze OLAP cubes using tabular models, as well as use DAX to create measures or columns and various visualization options for dashboards or reports. Tableau is a data visualization platform that can connect to OLAP cubes and display the data in interactive charts or graphs. It also has MDX for calculated fields or filters and various analytical features for exploring the data in depth.

5 How can you learn more about OLAP?

If you want to learn more about OLAP and how to use it to optimize your supply chain operations, you can start by reading some online tutorials, blogs, or books that explain the concepts, languages, and techniques of OLAP. You can also practice your OLAP skills by using some of the tools or platforms mentioned above and applying them to some real-world or simulated data sets. You can also join some online communities, forums, or courses that offer guidance, feedback, or support for OLAP learners and practitioners.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?