Hearing a lot about Big Data these days? Us too. Just how big is Big Data? According to Reuters, the Big Data market was “estimated to grow by 45% annually to reach $25 billion by 2015.” That was four years ago! Let’s break down what Big Data is and what benefits it brings to businesses in 2019 and beyond. We’ll also make the connection on how it can make a big difference for logistics companies when it comes to supply chain management.
What is Big Data?
According to the SAS Institute, “Big Data is a term that describes the large volume of data–both structured and unstructured–that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis.” Organizations then take this information and analyze it in several ways. Companies can then make decisions and adjust strategies as a result of the analytics.
Benefit #1: The Ability to Analyze Large Amounts of Data
Why would a business want to analyze large amounts of data? Is it all even useful? Separately, some information doesn’t seem particularly important; however, when it’s combined with other data, it opens up a whole world of possibility when advanced analytics are used. Not only does Big Data analyze client activity, but it also connects that information with the internal supply chain activities through fulfillment, shipping, and even returns. It gives businesses a clearer picture of how all elements of the process interact with each other, potentially in some ways that went unnoticed previously. It’s one of the best ways to make supply chain management more efficient!
Benefit #2: The Ability to Make Important Decisions Quickly Based on Hard Data
Big Data analytics offers a smorgasbord of business benefits when it comes to data-driven decision-making. Big Data can uncover things like new revenue opportunities, how to improve marketing, improvements in customer service, enhanced operational efficiency, supply chain management, and competitive advantages over other businesses. For instance, it can tell a business the best time to reach its core demographic and what types of marketing convert clicks to purchases. It can also monitor trends to help companies prepare for busy seasons and track which products sell best in particular regions.
Benefit #3: It’s Fast, High-Powered and in the Cloud
The term “Big Data” implies a weighty, potentially unmanageable chunk of data, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. With more cloud-based software solutions popping up every day, accessing and storing data only gets faster and easier. Since companies aren’t storing data on in-house servers bound by restrictions, access to data is secured by state-of-the-art encryption and is as fast as your Wi-Fi connection. It’s also mobile, so no matter where you are: in the warehouse, at your desk, or working remotely, you have access. In essence, it works where you work so managing supply chain decisions never have to wait for data to load.
Is your business ready to harness the power of Big Data? With advanced analytics and business-changing benefits, Big Data is the next wave of logistics you need to be riding. Looking for a partner to work with you that employs Big Data strategies? Look no further than Midwest-based JIT Services. We are ready to make our expertise work for you. Contact us today!