CNFANS: How to Visualize Spending and Freight Data in the CNFANS Spreadsheet
As an e-commerce seller using CNFANS, you likely deal with numerous transactions and shipping data daily. Understanding where your money goes and which couriers perform best is crucial for optimizing profits and customer satisfaction. This guide will walk you through generating insightful graphs from your CNFANS spreadsheet to identify top spending categories and fastest delivery carriers.
Prerequisites
- CNFANS spreadsheet with complete spending and freight data
- Basic knowledge of spreadsheet software (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.)
- Updated CNFANS data export
Step-by-Step Guide to Data Visualization
Step 1: Organize Your Data
Ensure your CNFANS spreadsheet has clear columns for:
- Spending categories (Marketing, Inventory, Shipping, etc.)
- Amount spent per category
- Courier companies used (DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.)
- Delivery dates and times
- Shipping costs
Step 2: Create Spending Category Visualization
To see which categories cost the most:
- Select your spending categories and corresponding amounts
- Insert a Pie ChartBar Graph
- Label each segment clearly with category names and percentages
- Use contrasting colors for better visual distinction
Pro Tip: A pie chart works best for showing proportional spending, while a bar graph better displays exact amount differences.
Step 3: Analyze Courier Performance
To determine which couriers deliver fastest:
- Calculate delivery time for each shipment (delivery date - shipping date)
- Group data by courier company
- Calculate average delivery time for each courier
- Create a Column Chart
- Add data labels showing exact average days
Step 4: Combine Cost vs. Speed Analysis
For comprehensive insights, create a scatter plot comparing:
- X-axis: Average delivery time
- Y-axis: Shipping cost
- Different colors for different couriers
This reveals the best value couriers - those offering optimal balance between speed and cost.
Recommended Chart Types
| Analysis Goal | Best Chart Type | Key Insight Provided |
|---|---|---|
| Spending by Category | Pie Chart / Donut Chart | Visual proportion of total spending |
| Category Cost Comparison | Bar Chart / Column Chart | Exact amount differences between categories |
| Courier Speed Comparison | Column Chart with Data Labels | Clear ranking of delivery speed |
| Cost vs. Speed Trade-off | Scatter Plot / Bubble Chart | Value analysis of different couriers |
Advanced Visualization Tips
Dynamic Filtering
Add date range filters to analyze spending and delivery patterns across different time periods (monthly, quarterly, seasonally).
Trend Analysis
Create line graphs to track how spending categories and delivery times change over time, helping you identify seasonal patterns.
Interactive Dashboards
Combine multiple charts into a single dashboard where clicking on one chart filters the others, creating an interactive analysis experience.
Conclusion
Visualizing your CNFANS spreadsheet data transforms raw numbers into actionable business intelligence. By regularly generating and reviewing these graphs, you can quickly identify cost-saving opportunities, optimize your shipping strategy, and ultimately increase your e-commerce profitability. Start with basic pie and bar charts, then gradually incorporate more sophisticated visualizations as you become comfortable with the data.