Development of a Real-Time Data Analytics and Reporting Platform for E-Commerce Business

eCommerce

Identifying the Challenges in Data Visibility and Operational Efficiency for E-Commerce

The client faces difficulties in consolidating sales, inventory, and customer data from multiple platforms, leading to delayed insights and suboptimal decision-making. Limited real-time data access hampers responsiveness to market changes and inventory management issues.

About the Client

A mid-sized online retail company aiming to improve data visibility and operational efficiency through a centralized analytics solution.

Key Goals for Improving Data Analytics and Business Insights

Implement a centralized internal analytics dashboard to consolidate data from multiple sources.
Enable real-time reporting and dynamic data visualization to support faster decision-making.
Improve operational efficiency by reducing data processing time by 50%.
Increase accessibility of key business metrics across teams to facilitate data-driven strategies.

Core Functional Features of the Analytics Platform

Data aggregation from multiple sales, inventory, and customer management systems
Real-time data processing and analytics capabilities
Customizable dashboard with drag-and-drop widgets for various KPIs
Automated report generation and scheduled distribution
Role-based user access controls
Interactive data visualizations including charts, graphs, and maps
Alerting system for predefined threshold breaches (e.g., stock shortages, sales decline)

Technology Stack and Architectural Preferences

Cloud-based data processing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP)

Modern data visualization frameworks (e.g., D3.js, Tableau, Power BI)

Microservices architecture for modularity and scalability

Secure RESTful APIs for data integration

Necessary External System Integrations

E-commerce platform APIs for sales and product data
Inventory management system connections
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
Payment gateway data feeds

Critical Non-Functional System Attributes

System scalability to support data growth of 300% over 2 years
Data processing latency under 2 seconds for real-time analytics
High security standards complying with industry best practices
Availability of 99.9% uptime for critical dashboards
Responsive design for dashboard accessibility across devices

Projected Business Benefits of the Analytics Platform

The implementation is expected to reduce data processing and reporting time by 50%, improve operational decision-making speed, and enhance data-driven strategies across departments. This will support faster responses to market trends and inventory fluctuations, ultimately driving revenue growth and customer satisfaction.