Supply chain leaders need to pay more attention to big data and predictive analytics.
IndustryARC, an industry market research and analysis company, explored this topic in particular detail in the global "Big Data Market in Supply Chain Management" report.
According to research conducted by IndustryARC, the global big-data market was around $6.93 billion in 2012 and around $12.21 billion in 2013. It is expected to reach $40.4 billion by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 27% from 2013 to 2018.
Starting Small with Big Data
It's likely that your organization already has a substantial amount of data that has accumulated over the past several years / decades. Unfortunately, daily demands, limited resources, and Legacy ERP systems usually make it difficult to easily view, manage, report, and analyze this wealth of information.
Also, check out this recent post by HBR - To Succeed with Big Data, Start Small.
Big data and Predictive Analytics in Supply Chain Management
All data that, if used well, can provide the SCM with great answers and valuable help in doing faster and better business in today's data driven world.
This is precisely where predictive analytics comes into play helping your business recognize and mitigate issues quickly, saving both time and money.
As supply chains get more and more complex they need to adopt better tools to maximize their data in a fast and efficient way. Rahul Mistry, senior consultant ICT of IndustryARC and author of the report "Big Data Market in Supply Chain Management" shared this (from Susan Fourtane's post Supply Chain Management Leading in Revenue Through 2018)
The manufacturing segment collects massive amounts of data from its supply chain channels and also from the instrumentation or sensor networks on the production floor. Tighter integration and analysis of these databases using big data can be helpful to improve efficiencies of inventory management, sales and distribution process and continuous monitoring of devices. For the manufacturing segment to grow, companies need to realize the cost benefits accrued due to usage of big data. Predictive maintenance of equipment is an immediate segment in this sector ripe for growth.
Big Data tools implementation in the supply chain
With so many vendors out there sometimes it's difficult to choose the one that suits best the interest of a particular supply chain. Cloud Technologies are making a big impact in this space with new Cloud ERP Vendors like Rootstock and also with automated shipping platforms like Zenkraft. With new systems, access and exposure to data is more intuitive and customer focused with the power of API's and integration to modern big data applications and analytics packages.
The manufacturing sector will lead in revenues for big data
The promising $40.4 billion in revenue for the supply chain market between 2013 and 2018 is certainly a big motivator.
Source: http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1364&doc_id=271986&itc=ebnonline_gnews