Design And Implementation Of RETAIL LINK Data Extraction And Processing Tool

Walmart is the largest chain retailer over the world, currently there are a lot of suppliers provide goods for Walmart. Suppliers desire to know the sales status of their goods for one day, one week, or few years in the Walmart. Walmart provides a system named Retail Link, suppliers can download all kinds of information (sales information, inventory information, order information, promotion information, etc.) about their goods in the Walmart through the Retail Link system. Retail Link system is a communication platform between Walmart and their suppliers; it provides mature and diverse analyze methods and tools for suppliers. Through Retail Link system, suppliers can work hand in glove with Walmart's stock department for managing sale forecast, repertory plan, manufacture, and product delivery. Nowadays, Retail Link system already has more than 100,000 registered users; over 40,000 companies are using it and over 350,000 data queries every week. In China, Walmart has more than 300 strategy cooperation suppliers who can enter Retail Link system to get the sale information of their goods in the Walmart.After the login of Retail Link system, users should follow below steps to get their information: firstly, they need to wait for the data file to be available; secondly, they need to download the data file manually, then they can validate and mask the data file; finally, they need to load the processed data file into data warehouse to get various function reports. However, so many manual operations make this process not only wasting time but also ineffective, users need a tool which can finish these operations automatically.The main work of this paper is to use the extraction data interface provided by the Walmart Retail Link System to design and implement a tool which can extract, validate, mask and upload the data file downloaded from the Walmart Retail Link System automatically and at a regular frequency, this tool should also provide summary information for the processing of the data file. The detail work of this paper is:1.Design and implement a data extraction service to download data file from Retail Link system;2.Use open source framework named Quartz to design and implement a scheduler service to do data extraction at a regular frequency; 3.Design and implement an execution service to do data file validation and masking;4.Use Java AWT, Java Swing to design and implement a user interface to flexible configures data information and timed information for users, as well as shows real time back-end progress information;5.Use Java RMI to communicate between front-end (Java Swing interface) and back-end (data extraction, validation and masking);6.Use third party tools (Log4j, JavaMail, etc.) to design and implement an information service for users to get real time data file processing information;The final artifact of this paper is an executable installation program file. This tool is already used by the P&G, Unileve, HP, Food Lion, Dean Food, etc., and the users are satisfied with it.