First introduced to the manufacturing and supply chain landscape in the early 1990’s as a method of grouping, sorting, and analyzing large and complex data sets into executable actions, Big Data gives manufacturing companies the capability to apply predictive analytics and other forward-looking logistic strategies to increase the efficacy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of planning and production programs.
Big Data has since found a home working in tandem with other supply and manufacturing movements such as Industry 4.0, Advanced Analytics, and The Internet of Things (IoT). Alongside these technological developments and platforms, Big Data has helped companies gain increased insight and visibility into a number of critical planning and production functions such as forecasting, modeling, data analysis, and the implementation of integrated sales and manufacturing principles for a more streamlined production cycle.
Yet, even so, some questions still remain as to the longevity of Big Data particularly in variant-rich industries where change and evolution happens in the blink of an eye. In order to address these concerns or the reasons why companies still question the value proposition of Big Data, we’ll examine why manufacturers should put Big Data to work and what competitive advantages companies can derive from incorporating Big Data into their supply chain logistics.
Before we discuss why manufacturing companies should realize the value of Big Data, let’s first understand the arguments against the staying power of Big Data in today’s global manufacturing landscape. For those who cast Big Data aside as a non-essential element in today’s supply and manufacturing industries, their argument stems in large part from the viewpoint that Big Data complicates rather than simplifies, creates additional layers of undue complexity instead of creating increased levels of visibility and transparency. The basis for this outlook is comprised of several key points including:
While these points do have some validity, the counterpoints for why manufacturing companies should integrate Big Data into their planning and production platforms not only alleviate the challenges or pain points these concerns bring to light, the value proposition of Big Data makes it imperative for companies in order to remain lean, agile, and competitive in an increasingly complex marketplace.
Now that we understand some of the points against Big Data, let’s examine why companies should put Big Data to work and the benefits manufacturing companies can leverage from doing so. As we’ve discussed in recent blog entries, Big Data is a truly disruptive and lasting force within the manufacturing and supply industry, and its functionality and capacity to help companies increase the efficiency of planning and production and streamline back-office or operational processes should not be undervalued. Planners and managers who push for the implementation of Big Data can expect to experience a number of critical value propositions such as:
As you can see from our comparing and contrasting, one side of the argument clearly has more weight than the other, and more distinct points of fact to support it. While some within the manufacturing industry may still discount Big Data as a needlessly complex tool without any real value, companies who embrace Big Data have the evidence on their side that Big Data is a key value proposition in refining a company’s value chain, promoting organizational-wide growth, and giving companies a competitive advantage in an increasingly global market.