Free cheddar is better: Making business decisions with public data at Grande Cheese

#TC18

Dr. Rob Rowbotham, PhD

Senior Manager of Dairy Economics and Innovation

Grande Cheese Company

Why are we here today?

Journey to public data #MadisonTUG

Agenda

Introductions:

Grande Cheese Company

Dr. Rob

Making Business Decisions with Public Datasets

Examinations of Biases

Pulling it together in Tableau

7

Grande Cheese Company▪ Founded in 1941

▪ Privately held

▪ Based in Wisconsin

▪ Approximately 1,000 Associates

MILK MARKETING

– World-class milk supply from dedicated family farms

– Early adopters of technology to manage dairy businesses

– Focus on cow comfort and quality milk production

PREMIUM ITALIAN CHEESES

▪ Nation-wide distribution

▪ Sell only to foodservice distributors, no retail initiative

▪ End-users are Independent Pizzerias & Italian Restaurants

▪ All cheeses are labeled as Grande, never Private Label

▪ 100% all natural; never any added fillers, dry milk powders, colorings, starches, gums, chemicals or mold inhibitors

▪ World leader in cheese quality

Solves application challenges for prepared food manufacturers

▪ Lowers cost of dairy ingredients

▪ Improves texture and creaminess

▪ Reduces fat

▪ Increases protein

▪ Adds authentic yogurt flavor

▪ Replaces eggs

VALUE-ADDED WHEY PROTEIN

InformationData Knowledge Wisdom

Doctor Rob’s Journey at Grande

Making Business Decisions with Public Datasets

TableauSources Bias Access

• Where?• Government

• NGO

• Industry

• Commercial

• Why?• Sources

• Types

• Concerns

• How?• Ease

• Flexibility

• Governance

• Longevity

• When?• Right now!

Sources Bias Access

Public Datasets

Take Home

How can I use public data to:

• Meet my organization’s objectives?

• Exceed expectations?

The enemy of Great is ______.

DemoSources Bias Access

Types of Source

• Original Source• Publisher/owner of the data

• Report• News media, analyst, etc.

• Compiled• Service scraping/compiling multiple data sources

• Public or Private ?

• Level of service ?

• Integrity – Stability – Longevity ?

Federal Government

Organizations / Companies

Bias

Know your Source

• Federal Governments• Are the US and China equally

trustable?• Data collection methods

• Censoring

• George Orwell: 1984

• Collection & Reporting Methodology

• Changes over time

• Private Organizations• Mission• Agenda

• Peer reviewed research• Quality

Examination of Biases

Types of Bias• Selection

• Exclusion

• Information

• Surveillance

• Recall

Focused on visualization creators• Confirmation “The best books…”

• Observer

• Gambler’s Fallacy

• Post-event Rationalization

• Neglecting Probability

• Bandwagon Effect

• Negativity

Sampling Bias

Sampling Bias

Sampling Bias

Information Bias

Is the data we are sourcing accurate and precise?

Surveillance Bias

The more you look, the better your get at finding

Recall Bias

We tend to remember exceptions

Bias Creating Visualizations

Confirmation Bias

More likely to confirm what one believes

Observer (experimenter, researcher) Bias

Tendency to see what we expect to see

All “free” data comes at a cost

• Data requires preparation and care• 3rd party sources require more scrutiny

• Formatting may be an issue• Joins, Blends, etc.

• Always attribute sources

• Skepticism• Why available?

• Peer reviewed?

• Audited?

• Biases?

• Good methodology (biases)?

Types of Access

Copy & Paste or Key Data

Download Dataset

Link or API

Custom

Fu

nc

tio

na

lity

Easy Im

ple

me

nta

tion

Today’s Example - top of the pyramid

Custom Database Access - UDMDirect

Source → UDMDirect → Grande

• UDMDirect sources data from original sources only• Some easy, some difficult

• Timely for market sensitive data (seconds)

• Record level source tractability

• Small number of APIs for large number of data sources• All APIs are functionally the same

• Daily

• Weekly

• Special (Chicago Mercantile Exchange)

• Soft deletes and time stamps• Revision History

• Monthly

• Annual

Unified Dimensional Model = UDM = Understanding Dairy Markets

UDM

Data SourcesClient Tools

Data Mart

UDM Data Structure (time series) → Tableau

Value

Report

Category

Publisher

Source

Area

Series

Unit

Measure • Context• Explanation• Usage

CME Spot Market Overview

Replace legacy report with Tableau Visualization

Quick overview BAN

Details presented (tables)

Line chart adds meaning

UDM + Tableau = Simple

US Milk Production and Cow numbers

Maps and Charts

Dairy Economists publish regularly

Power & Value come from

• User control

• User Interaction

• Tableau functionality

…and one visualization to rule them all

The power of Tableau with well organized public data

World Milk ProductionUDM + Tableau makesVisualization Easy

Filter for production data

Table Calculation for YOY

Calculated Value (use) to hide incomplete data series

World Milk Production

UDM [Units] column + Tableau makes Visualization Easy

[D per M] is Days per month

Convert different reporting units around the world to our corporate standard (pounds)

Same simplicity

Marks card “loaded” for tool tips

50+ Charts

1 Viz!

Key: Quick Filter - Name!

Replace 5 legacy reports

Bonus: Interactive

Process: Straightforward

Pills: 12 = clean & easy

Take home: Grow your business

• Public data has value and can impact your business

• Use original source if possible

• Be aware of long-term costs and values

• Be aware of biases

• Take action next Monday• Seek out and use public data for your business

• Connect with your local Tableau User Group (TUG)

• Email and collaborate

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Thank you!

#TC18 #MadisonTUG

Dr. Rob Rowbotham

Senior Manager of Dairy Economics and Innovation

Grande Cheese Company

Rob.Rowbotham@Grande.com