Dive Brief:
- Too much data, involving the deployment of analytics, is as likely to prove overwhelming as it does helpful, Supply Chain Brain reported Monday.
- Assessing the results and deciding what information is actually useful, and then determining appropriate focus and alerts will help in separating the numerical wheat from the chaff.
- The fact is that analytics only really provide insight when they point the way to resolving an issue along the supply chain. Assisting in determining the road to positive change and greater efficiency is their true power.
Dive Insight:
A variety of uses exist for big data within the supply chain beyond the obvious efficiency improvements. So many exist, in fact, highlighting each of them would require a book.
Yet one of the more helpful to highlight is supplier management. Big data allows users a window into business connections, such as which competitors are relying on the same supplier. It can also help assess the health of suppliers, alerting supply chain managers to potential financial or performance risks.
Another risk-related feature of big data involves traceability. Traceability and the recalls it sometimes requires are time vacuums, and also affect company reputation. Employing big data can enhance traceability, and can minimize the hours spent tracking the afflicted products as a result of negative traceability results gleaned by the application of big data.
