Unit 5_MT438_Discussion response

13501Respond or elaborate on the response below:

Alignment of data in a spreadsheet plays a pivotal role ensuring that additional functions within Excel can be used. For example, a simple SUM function typically is looking through a column to provide the total as most entries into a sheet are viewed as transactions being the rows. Each row represents a single transaction but can have multiple data points such as date, time, quantity, weight, etc. Using this same example of transactions per row, this allows for additional information to be added easier vs adding a different column which can break certain formulas used in a sheet.

My experience with Microsoft Excel started in 2005, maybe even earlier, when I first began college then. Since, my depth and knowledge has continued to grow knowing that I still have more I’d like to learn. While the last eight years have been primarily used GoogleSheets, they both share similar functions and uses. Arguments could be made about which one is more useful over the other but they serve the same purpose, interpretation. A real-world example where I used GoogleSheets was to build a tool, which I named the Zone Impact Tool. The tool would allow me to import raw information for inbound loads on a daily basis and then match each order’s attributes to a set of standard perimeters. This would allow me to make decisions on where to send delivery trucks for next day deliveries to maximize capacity on resources which drove a $200,000 savings in transportation costs the first year.

A more advanced function within Microsoft Excel that I would be interested in learning more about is Power Query. According to Microsoft (n.d.), Power Query gives the ability to connect data from internal and external resources that can be outside of Excel sheets. This gives users the ability to “run queries” against third party data points that are being used in an organization. Learning this function would continue to expand my scope and depth in problem solving or highlighting opportunities within the organization.