Abstract

Profitability analysis is a critical dimension of retail procurement operations, where organizations must continuously evaluate costs, revenues, and supplier performance to maintain competitiveness and long-term sustainability. The complexity of modern retail supply chains, characterized by large transaction volumes, diverse product assortments, and intricate vendor relationships, necessitates advanced analytical tools to extract actionable insights from vast datasets. Among the most widely adopted tools for such purposes are Tableau, a powerful data visualization and business intelligence platform, and Microsoft Excel, a versatile and accessible spreadsheet application. Although both tools differ in sophistication, scope, and intended functionality, they complement one another in enabling comprehensive profitability analysis. Tableau provides advanced visualization, dashboarding, and integration capabilities, allowing managers to explore multidimensional data interactively, while Excel offers detailed modeling, flexible computation, and scenario analysis functionalities that support granular decision-making. This paper presents a structured literature-based review of the application of Tableau and Excel for profitability analysis in retail procurement operations, with a focus on developments up to 2020. It examines their roles in cost analysis, supplier performance assessment, inventory optimization, and strategic procurement decisions. The discussion highlights the strengths and limitations of each tool, the synergies from their combined use, and the implications for retail procurement management in an increasingly data-driven environment. By consolidating insights from prior research, this study provides an integrative perspective on how Tableau and Excel support profitability analysis, offering valuable guidance to both academics and practitioners seeking to enhance retail procurement effectiveness through business intelligence and analytics.