Big Data and Analytics: The New Underpinning for Supply Chain Success? - 17 FEB 2015

Executive Overview
Today data is everywhere: but, nowhere. The world’s per capita capacity to store information has doubled every 40 months since the 1980s; and as of 2012, every day globally, 2.5 exabytes of data are created . As a result, social and customer data piles on the doorstep of the corporation, and operational data sits in the creases and cracks between functions. While many companies invested in data warehouse technologies and advanced applications for optimization, a common complaint in qualitative interviews with business leaders is “I cannot get to my data.” One business leader likened it to a Hotel California where, “The data checks into the system, but does not check out.” In most companies with heterogeneous information technology landscapes, simple reporting is still a major problem.
In the face of growing data, companies struggle with the basics. The question is, “Why pursue a big data and analytics strategy if the company cannot do basis reporting?” No doubt about it, the current state of analytics is a barrier to building supply chain excellence. It is hard to have a data-driven discussion if you can’t get access to data.