Report: "Big data" will have a big impact

Most supply chain executives have huge hopes for so-called "big data" analytics, according to Supply Chain Big Data Report 2013. The report outlines the results of a recent survey conducted by the U.K.-based research and event management firm eyefortransport. Of the 307 respondents, 80 percent said big data analytics would have a "reasonable" or "significant" impact on their companies' performance, and 4 percent said it would be "a total game changer." Big data analysis involves gathering and analyzing huge quantities of information from disparate sources to find patterns or connections.

The survey found that 27 percent of the respondents were already deploying big data analysis in their supply chain operations, and another 34 percent were considering its use. Three fourths of those respondents said they were using or were considering using big data analysis to increase supply chain visibility. Another 61 percent said they wanted to use big data analysis to reduce supply chain risk, while 58 percent sought to enhance demand-planning capabilities.

When asked about payback, two-thirds of respondents who have already implemented big data analysis said they anticipated seeing a return on their investment within 12 months. As for the biggest challenge for this type of project, 67 percent said it was "integrating big data solutions with existing information systems." The second biggest challenge, cited by 56 percent, was "understanding which data to collect and interpret."

Click here to download a copy of the report.