Benefits of Big Data in Supply Chain
One of the areas which
can be highly benefitted from the use of big data is supply chain
management. As companies tend to place more focus on improving their
customers’ overall experience rather than just focusing
on the bottom line, big data can provide big insights. A recent article
on supplychainbrain.com suggests that manufacturing now includes a
service aspect, called “servitization.” This new portal of industry
focus is requiring more information for operations
departments, as it is causing an increase in the complexities of
planning. This data must be available to key stakeholders in real time.
A significant aspect of
this real time data is the use of shared data. As companies are
expanding their ventures into big data territory, they are, with
increasing frequency, sharing data across their corporation
rather than just keeping it within one department. Cloud computing is
allowing this trend to improve business decisions across multiple groups
in the business. This allows for better end-to-end process
collaboration.
A requirement for
maximizing utility out of big data is having a flexible supply chain. If
there is no flexibility in the current process, then what value can big
data add to a company’s supply chain? The flexibility
allows for quick changes which would affect their forecasts. By adding
big data as a decision criterion for forecasting, companies are able to
more accurately predict their demand based off of customer as well as
company behavior.
In lieu of recent
tragic global events such as weather phenomenon or violence, companies
could use their big data to predict changes in the supply chain. By
scanning through social media, weather, news, or other
real time data outlets, they might be able to be proactive about
changing suppliers, rerouting shipments, or changing production
quantities. The future of flexible supply chain management could hinge
on the successful application and integration of big data.
Sources:
1. http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/technology-solutions/sales-operations-planning/single-article-page/article/the-big-data-imperative-in-forecasting-demand-planning/
2. http://www.scemagazine.com/big-data-driving-changes-in-supply-chain-management/
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