techwatch
Getting insight from “big data”
EVERY TIME A SENSOR IS PINGED OR A BAR CODE
scanned, bits of data are recorded, and that information keeps
piling up in computer systems. That’s why “big data” analysis has
become a hot topic of late in the world of information technology. “Big data” analysis offers the promise of gleaning insights
from the millions of bits of information stored in dozens of computers and on the Internet. For logistics managers, the analysis
could ultimately lead to improvements in their operations.
Advances in computer hardware and software have made it
possible to sift through piles of data, both structured (informa-
tion residing in conventional databases) and unstructured (data
lying in information repositories such as e-mail accounts or
social media networks). “Think of pulling
information from texts like e-mails or com-
ments left on a warehouse management sys-
tem,” says Aditya Naila of DreamOrbit, one of
the vendors developing software for this pur-
pose. “Because this is unstructured data, tra-
ditional tools couldn’t make much of them.”
Although traditional data analysis couldn’t
do the job, new tools from a number of soft-
ware vendors can. Well-known software
developers such as IBM and SAP are actively
working on applications in this area, as are
newcomers like DreamOrbit, Opera
Solutions, and PatternBuilders.
For logistics managers, there are a number
of operational areas where “big data” analysis
could yield valuable insights—insights that lead to improvements. Take radio-frequency identification (RFID) data, for
example. Gartner analyst John Hagerty notes that an analysis of
RFID data could give managers a better understanding of a
product’s location at any point in time, leading to changes in
supply chain execution to facilitate more efficient delivery.
Another area of logistics where the impact of “big data” analy-
sis could be felt is “cold chain” movements, or temperature-con-
trolled shipments. Companies are starting to place sensors on
pallets, and that’s allowing for tracking analysis. “Sensors built in
a pallet can call home via cellular GPS (global positioning sys-
tems) and tell a manufacturer or logistics company exactly
where it is sitting, anywhere on the planet, and what condition
it’s in,” says consultant Marilyn Craig, who is managing director
of the firm Insight Voices. “A ‘big data’ analy-
sis of that data would allow logistics man-
agers to examine that pile of information to
make changes ensuring that shipments do
not vary from their desired state”—in other
words, that they don’t become too hot or too
cold, or encounter too much vibration in
transit.
