The Boston Alteryx Group convened on June 25th at Urban Park in Cambridge to hear from speakers Jose Arevalo (Data Prep U) and Will Cogswell (Staples). Jose took the audience through a Masterclass of PDF extraction while Will took us through how to nail your next Market Comparison report. Below is a recap of both presentations with the recording attached. Please note that due to confidentiality Will's presentation was not fully recorded but we capture his wrap-up and common pain-points/questions.
Jose Arevalo - Data Prep U
Mastering PDF Data Extraction in Alteryx
Jose Ivalo, an analytics consultant with 10 years of experience, presented on automating workflows using PDF tools in Alteryx. He focused on three main tools: image input, image template, and image to text. These tools allow users to load images (including PDFs), configure data extraction, and extract text from the images. Jose emphasized that working with PDFs can be challenging and requires a more artistic approach, similar to fuzzy matching or regular expressions. He discussed practical applications across various industries, including finance, healthcare, retail, and logistics. Jose then demonstrated two live examples: extracting data from invoices and from a 10-K report. He explained the process of loading and viewing images in Alteryx, noting that PDFs are treated as images in this context. Jose also addressed challenges such as dealing with scanned PDFs and varying invoice layouts from multiple vendors, suggesting techniques like overlapping annotations and creating templates for each vendor to streamline the process.
Here are some additional links :
https://www.dataprepu.com/overview
https://www.bigmarker.com/dataprepu/Data-Prep-U-How-To-Precision-Data-Parsing-via-Alteryx-Regular-Ex...
Note that the webinar concluded but you can use the link to access the recording
Will Cogswell - Staples
Market Comparison Report
The presentation focused on a key initiative within Staples' Revenue Management organization, specifically targeting the Sales Support team's processes. This team regularly handles requests from Sales Representatives seeking detailed financial analyses for customers, including quarterly performance, contract specifics, product substitution opportunities, and market comparisons. Recognizing that these reports, while customer-specific, often follow similar creation processes, Staples has identified an opportunity for improvement. As part of their 2024 goals, the company aims to automate the report generation process. This automation initiative is designed to streamline operations, reducing the time analysts spend on repetitive tasks. The ultimate objective is to allow analysts more time to deeply understand the reports and provide valuable insights, enhancing the overall quality and impact of their work.
Roadmap Q3 & Q4
August 20th - Industrious (Boston Copley)
October 15th - Boston University Center of Computing & Data Sciences (Commonwealth Avenue)
