Marketplace - Shipping Costs & Activity Dashboard

The Shipping Costs & Activity dashboard is a combination of widgets: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), focused metric tables, graphic displays of your data, a data table that can be quickly exported to a spreadsheet for further analysis. The data displayed on the dashboard is intended to give you actionable insights into your shipping costs and methods, and also the levels of customer orders by mail class.

Note that this dashboard reflects your metrics for orders that have been assigned shipping information.

You will see a link to this document in the heading of the dashboard, click on Dashboard Help to access the document.

KPIs

At the top of the dashboard, a selection of KPIs appear in two rows.  The top row represents the current Month to Date metrics, and the bottom row represents the metrics for the time period selected in the date filter to the right.  A useful application of this section is to compare the KPIs for two time periods to gauge performance, as well as measurement for initiatives you may be testing.  You can watch the top row of metrics to be sure your expected performance is on track for the month, and make adjustments as needed.  As you initiate operational changes and set goals to measure success, you can use this section of the dashboard to know how the results compare with your goals and with previous results.

Focused Metric Tables

There is a mini data table on the dashboard. The focus area displays data for shipping costs as a percentage of sales, by state; it also includes the number of orders for each state. This table supports the map to the left with a geographic view of your shipping costs.  If you hover to the right of the field names, you will see an arrow that allows an ascending/descending sort.  You'll also notice that the cost percentages are color-coded, to alert you to the bands where your shipping costs are inside or outside your operational boundaries. When you focus on states where your shipping expenses are high, you can look at the relevant detail in the data table at the bottom of the dashboard and inform your structure of shipping options. You can export the data in the tables, to work with it outside of the dashboard.  Do this by clicking on the 3 dots at the top right corner of the widget, choose Download and export an image or file.  The recommended file type for a spreadsheet is CSV.

Graphic Displays

There are sections of graphic displays on the dashboard.  The graphics display trends for key metrics on shipping costs and cost as a % to sales, as well as mail class distributions of these metrics. You might find that certain delivery options are not widely used, or used in concentrated areas; this information can help you determine the options to offer. You can monitor shipping costs against delivery options, and determine the cost effectiveness of the options you offer. You might find that offering incentives for certain delivery options can increase order amounts - these graphics can help you monitor changes to your offerings. There is a map reflecting where your orders are shipped nation wide. You can right-click and left-click on data points in the graphics to narrow the selection or to filter the entire dashboard. Graphics will often tell a story about your business or operations that is not obvious when looking only at metrics. Look for trends in the data, where the different metrics intersect, and which metrics seem to impact the others. You can make more informed decisions about your business when you combine what your data is telling you with the knowledge you have about influencing factors such as your shipping incentives and delivery carriers.

Exporting the Data Table

The data table at the bottom of the dashboard is a granular listing of what is represented in the dashboard.  This table will react to filters set as you are viewing the dashboard and individual widgets, so you are able to see more details about what is impacting the results.  There may be times when you want to look at this data, filtered or not, in a spreadsheet or image.  By left-clicking on the 3 dots at the top right corner of the table widget, choose Download and export an image or file.  The recommended file type for a spreadsheet is CSV.  This functionality allows you to shape and model your data for reporting, and importantly to inform your business decisions.