Dr. Samir A. El-Gammal, CIO – Minister’s Advisor

Ministry of Trade & Industry, Egypt

Cairo, March 21st , 2014

National Data Warehouse For

Egyptian Foreign Trade; a Success Story

Cell: +20(12) 313-8507selgammal@mti.gov.eg, selgammal@gmail.com

Page # (2)Government Efficiency Machine; Value of Data

Page # (3)

Numbers; The Most Definitive Aspect of Lives

• They Form:– Date of our birth,

Location of our home, IQ that describes our intelligence.

– Numbers form the Zeros and Ones that now rule every aspect of our modern life.

• Powerful & can be dangerous:– If Taken alone, can't be

trusted; as they can easily be made to lie.

– Leads to conclusions that shouldn't be made.

• If you want the truth from numbers, you have to bring them out in the light. – Unite with other numbers.

To see the big picture.• After all it is

“Understanding” not just Numbers …

• Business Issues & Objectives– Need to Know all the attributes of both

Exports & Imports with their Relevant Drivers

– Explore opportunities and potential markets.

– 1st timers; markets and Traders, – Ad-hoc Vs. Trends. – How much International Fairs / Rep

Offices / Commercial Attaches are being utilized?

– When a Commodity is exported, what others usually goes with it ….

– Need to better know our markets, stakeholders and parties

– How much SME is participating in the National Exports?

– Are we ready for a seasonality, national occasions, in terms of Strategic Reserve of Commodities.

– Specific Patterns in exports through a port, exporter, commodity, …

– Export Promotions for specific Commodities, Markets, …If You Cannot Measure it …

You Cannot Manage itIf You Cannot Measure it …

You Cannot Manage it

The Value of a Decision

The Value of a Decision

Fact; Data is a “PRODUCT”

Fact; Data is a “PRODUCT”

Change is the Only Constant

Context

Egyptian Foreign Trade Data;

Page # (5)Egyptian Ministry of Trade &

Industry

• Ministry of Trade & Industry:– Promote and Enhance Exports by Establishing

strong links between Production and Exportation– Development & Upgrading The Egyptian Industry

• GOEIC Mission: – Protect Citizen & Retains an elegant Image of

Egypt’s Exports through Proper Inspection of imported & exported goods using state-of-the-art testing labs and technologies.

– Avail Exports and Imports statistics.

Exports’ PromotionTrade Facilitation

Consumer Protection

Exports’ PromotionTrade Facilitation

Consumer Protection

http://www.mti.gov.eg/english/index.htmhttp://www.goeic.gov.eg/

Page # (6)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2012CBE 3,104 2,702 2,742 3,323CAPMAS 404 346 387 527US ITC 617 879 942 1,144 1,672MTI DWH 1,472

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Mill

ion

US$

Example; Comparing Egyptian Exports to USA

Why does a Government need Accurate Data?

12 %12 %

Vast Differenc

es Between

Data Sources

Vast Differenc

es Between

Data Sources

Page # (7)Objectives ….

• Avail Foreign Trade Data to Enable government / business to take decisions on accurate information

• Should be accredited, un-disputed and officially endorsed

• Transparent Process, reflecting what’s happening on the ground

• Record it as a Raw Data for further analytics • Flexible / scalable system to respond to

business requirements• Narrowing the gap between local & int’l

sources • Complement data sources used by CAPMAS;

State official statistical reporting agency.

Page # (8)Challenges; Data & Numbers Issues• Data Islands; (no data or too much,

Value?!)• Data Sources (Governance Rules ???!!!

Any ???!!!)• Data Quality• 2nd Hand Data• Aggregated / Detailed (Macro & Micro

…)• Pre-set / Tailored• Trust / Mistrust• Continuity • Openness & Sharing

Page # (9)Challenges; Government & Business Culture • Legislations; Rules and Regulations

• Government bureaucracy• Operational Systems• Inadequate results compared with

other countries• Business Community Views and; • National Data Sources and Availability

… a business-driven approach

Foreign Trade Data Warehouse

Page # (11)Plan …Parallel Tracks• System Building:

– Identifying & Qualifying Data Sources– Building Operational Systems & DWH– Generating Simple Reports and

continuously enhancing– Moving to BI and Data Mining– Generating Custom-tailored Reports and

Analytics, BI, Dashboard • Government Officials & Business

Community:– Marketing data freely and give feedback

(meetings, seminars, …)– Signing MOU with CAPMAS as being the

official Source– SLA with more than 100 beneficiaries for

standard sets of reports– Adding a Price-tag for reports (ad-hoc and

subscription)

Page # (12)A High-level Architecture

Page # (13)IT; the Business Enabler• Avail realistic data to serve mainstream line of business• Direct access to data @ proper time in the form & language

business understands• Identify & Avail Proper KPI’s

• Avail realistic data to serve mainstream line of business• Direct access to data @ proper time in the form & language

business understands• Identify & Avail Proper KPI’s

Central Repository(Data Warehouse)

Central Repository(Data Warehouse)

Data Sources: •

Automated Inspection System

•Exports Data

•Imports Data

•Lab Results

•Technical Specs

•Traceability System

Trade Services Channels:• Contact Center 19591• Web Services www.goeic.gov.eg• Business Services

RAW Data

BI / DSS:

•Analysis

•KPI

•Forecasting

•Reportin

g

•….

e-DataIntelligently

Modeled, Cleansed &

Consolidated

• Single view of FT Context across the Ministry– All data under one roof (Single Version of

the Truth)– Perform statistical analysis from single

point to all FT elements– Improve turnaround time for reports– Predict Commodities behaviors and add-

values• Output:

– Above 100 multi-dimensional stat reports’ sets to different business users; Ministry, IMC, ECS, EFC, Exporting Councils, Chambers, …and ad-hoc reports

– Special Business Portfolios– Custom driven data mining

• Business Patterns:– Value-add between imports & exports &

comparing them to – Fraud detection– Anti-dumping cases against quotas. – Shipping routes patterns– Private Business Facilities opportunities to

enhance exporting – Analysis of Land Allocations based on

Cultivated Crops – Relation between Industry & Foreign /

Domestic Trade

Page # (14)Output• Custom-tailored Simple Reports, • Custom-tailored reports and BI for

detailed analytics• OLAP, Data Mining• Portal & Dashboards • KPI System• New Skill set (DWH, OLAP, Data

Mining, BI, …); Higher Value

Page # (15)Outcomes … • Improve turnaround time for reports

(from days … to minutes)• Predict Commodities behaviors and

add-values• Perform statistical analysis from single

point to all FT elements• An endless number of multi-

dimensional reports to different business users; Ministry, Exporting Councils, Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Exports Development Bank and other Commercial Banks, Egyptian Industrial Federation, Industrial Modernization Center, and so many others …

• Development of Special Trade Business Portfolios

Page # (16)Outcomes …• The ability to provide accurate

information when needed, including a real-time view of the corporate performance and its parts

• Aligned with the Government / Business strategy demands.

• 10-years of historic data. Changed the way data is used, and hence conducts business based on facts rather than speculations

• Supported the National Data Dissemination Cycle

• An acceptable marginal difference of 05-15% is observed with International Sources.;

• National / International Recognition of the Quality of Data (EU,WB,…)

Page # (17)Examples• Daily Monitor during “2011 - Jan 25th

Revolution“ time …• Monitor specific bilateral agreements

and proposing others.• Geographic Distribution of Egyptian

Exports (Arab Countries, EU, Specific Markets) by port, market, traders and others).

• Discovering Business Patterns, which were not seen before with many insights: Such as potential Fraudulent, discovering anti-dumping incidents and others.

• New / potential export markets were easily identified (China, Russia, Kazakhstan…)

• DWH helped promoting specific shipping routes based on the tonnage values and seasonality analysis.

Page # (18)Examples …• A businessman wanted to build a

Hydration facility for specific commodities, closer to a port where exports to EU are the highest. DWH helped him to decide the location and capacity of the facility.

• “World Bank”, “IFC”, “European Bank for Reconstruction and Development” and others use data for development programs in Egypt

• DWH started a process in 2008 to avail standard KPIs for World Bank “Doing Business Report”.

Page # (19)Critical Success Factors (CSF)

• Senior Management Commitment• Business-driven Project (not technology) • Follow the Data; Avoid Mislead by Operational Systems –

DWH can always help • Fetching Raw Data from the Main Source without any

changes• Using the Right Technology• Phased Approach; Think Big & Start Small …• Continually getting the Feedback from the end-User in a

complete Lifecycle• Change is the Only Constant; Always Keep a room for

improvement for both Systems and Business Processes • Success is measured by its widespread usage for better

decision making.• Supports all levels of the management hierarchy.

for your time

Thank you