Dive Brief:

• The growth of data, generated to help run a business, is growing so rapidly that it is actually overwhelming the businesses that it was aiming to help. This data growth is also impacting members of the supply chain, according to Supply Chain Management Review, referencing a recent study by the consultancy Ernst & Young. 
• The report describes digital business models that are becoming more complex, using the term 'ecosystems of data', to describe the enormity of the available information. It was noted in the study that those who can properly manage the data will have a competitive advantage.
• The volume of information being provided to supply chain managers is considered important, even critical, but it needs to be properly parsed and analyzed. Too much data, or improperly analyzed data, may actually obscure important issues. 

Dive Insight:

As we approach this fall's Major League Baseball World Series, the discussion around data analytics in the sport is an interesting one. Some teams use the Money Ball approach to the game, depending on data analytics to acquire players, assemble line-ups, deploy pitchers, and shift defensive players in the field in an effort to leverage historical individual player performance metrics. Other teams reject this analytical approach and rely on the traditional 'gut feel and hunches' that has powered baseball for over a century. Others, typically the most successful teams, use a blend.

The same scenario can be proposed to supply chain managers who face two main issues when it comes to data analytics. First, which data are important to supply chain operations and how and when should that information be utilized? Second, is data supplanting more traditional methods of logistics management including inter-personal relationships and real time communication?  Are some hiding behind the data?

Ideally, there needs to be a balance between computers and humans. That balance may shift from time to time but many more experienced supply chain managers would advocate that data is a tool, albeit an important one, that fits well within the supply manager's toolbox. But it is not the only tool.