DC Velocity - April 2015

t ec h n o lo g yr ev i ew

SU P P LY CHA IN I T 1 0 1

44 DC VELOCITY APRIL 2015 www.dcvelocity.com graphics) that would help you make better decisions.

In short, supply chain managers can benefit from knowing all three definitions of big data. It is important to understand that your colleagues in IT are finding ways to work with large and unstructured data sets; what was technically impossible several years ago may be possible now. It is also important to understand big data in terms of the “universe of data,” as you may be able to find causes of rare events that were impossible to determine before, or the data you have or give away may have economic value. Finally, now that you have this wealth of data—purchases from suppliers, shipments to customers, and the performance of your assets, to name just a few possibilities—you need to start thinking creatively about how to use it.

2There is more than one type of analytics. Sometimes, the term “analytics” is used interchange- ably with the term “big data.” But they actually are distinct concepts. At the highest level, analytics is “the ability to collect, analyze, and act on data.” 1 As we saw, big data says something interesting about the size of the data, the universe of data, or the creative use of data. Based on our high-level definition, it is clear that analytics can be used with old, ordinary, and small data sets as well as with new, creative, and big data sets.

Our high-level definition of analytics, however, does not give us enough details to see what is unique or new about the field of analytics. Haven’t managers always collected, analyzed, and acted on data? To add to the confusion, too often an organization or a vendor will use the term “ analytics” to refer to just one type of analysis—typically the use of a business intelligence or reporting system. Or, if you read about e-commerce companies, “analytics” will refer to tracking and analyzing user clicks on a website.

But the field of analytics is much bigger than just a reporting system or analyzing Web clicks. In fact, serious thinkers and the academic community have identified three different types of analytics.

First, there is descriptive analytics, which presents your data in a way that helps you make sense of what is happening in your supply chain. This is where a business intelligence system will sit. It gathers data from your entire supply chain and organization, and presents it to you as dashboards, scorecards, and ad hoc queries. Descriptive analytics also includes visualization of data and geographic mapping, which helps you tell a story with the data in a way you could not do with a tabular report.

The second type is predictive analytics, which are all the techniques that allow you to take the data you have available (internally and externally) and make better predic-

Introducing the SFK– Structural Foam Krypto-Lite® Pallet

Helping you achieve your goals to lose weight, get stronger, and save money

1.888.SSI.TOTE ssi-schaefer.us/packaging Schaefer Systems International

More than any other form of packaging, pallets are subjected to the most extreme handling conditions. That is why SSI Schaefer researched the most common failure modes for pallets and designed the SFK pallet. With superior impact resistance and minimized deck deflection, the lighter innovative design of the SFK pallet extends pallet life and significantly reduces pallet cost.