Dive Brief:
- A recent Gartner study found advanced data analytics allows companies to interpret vast amounts of information for deeper insights, predicting future demand and creating better business plans, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly reported last week.
- Smaller companies can manage with the basic analytics tools already embedded in their current supply chain technology and enterprise software, but the larger they become, the less support such programs will offer.
- Yet to properly utilize and benefit from newer platforms, companies considering adding Big Data access will need to reach a medium to high level of growth, and require trained data scientists, top-notch data, plus dedicated resources.
Dive Insight:
It's easy to get caught up in the idea that every business can benefit from Big Data, but the reality is that some companies simply aren't ready to make the leap to working with new platforms, undertaking the employee skill enhancement needed to interpret the data, or would even know what what to do with the data itself once it is available.
Small or medium-sized businesses should ascertain whether they are truly prepared to implement analytics solutions before making any investment. Is every supply chain process running as well as possible? Is the proper data being compiled? More importantly, is it accurate? If the need and scale exist, managers would then benefit from narrowing down the use case to ensure the solution will effectively address the use case.
The bigger and busier the company, the more vital this becomes. Rushing ahead to have the latest technology before either truly needing it or even knowing what to do with it is a waste of time and resources, which many small or medium businesses can ill afford. It's the work done in advance that will truly determine whether a business can truly benefit from Big Data.
