Data visualization can be used to compare inventory management. Inventory turnover shows the number of times during the period a firm sells the entire dollar amount of its inventory. It is advantageous to “turn over” inventory more quickly to reduce the risk of obsolescence and spoilage. As such, companies often have a goal of increasing inventory turnover. Inventory turnover data for Costco, Walmart, Target, and Amazon are presented here for 2006 through 2019.

Instructions
Use Excel or the visualization software of your, or your instructor’s, choice to perform the following:
a. Create a scatter plot with lines and markers for the data. Include a descriptive chart title, axis labels, properly formatted axes, and a legend.
b. What trends can you identify in the inventory turnover of the four companies during the period?

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Costco Walmart Target COST WMT TGT 11.56 7.84 6.57 11.57 8.08 6.46 12.60 8.81 6.83 11.53 9.30 6.35 12.06 8.64 6.13 11.71 8.23 6.10 12.24 8.04 6.46 11.65 7.98 6.04 8.09 6.19 8.12 6.07 8.39 5.91 8.53 5.95 8.70 5.61 8.88 6.10 11.64 11.35 11.47 11.38 11.16 11.66 Amazon AMZN 9.41 9.57 10.65 8.74 8.30 7.47 7.62 7.31 7.56 7.00 7.70 6.98 8.10 8.08