Big Data – An Elephant in the Room?

Throwing around the term “Big Data” is akin to announcing to a board room that “the numbers” look good, or that you’re moving something to “the cloud” this year. Yes, these terms conjure excitement and emotion, tangible visions of business intelligence and human advancement.

That’s all Big Data is though – a vision; a conceptual framework that packs a lot of punch but ultimately gets muddled with all the other buzz words ingrained in our twenty-first century brains.

At its core, Big Data is data. And data is data.

Once we peel back the layers of jargon and rigmarole, it’s clear that access to this information is leveling the playing field. The spoils of Big Data are not just the right of a hegemonic few as the term seems to imply.

Through the lens of the Supply Chain industry, we see that the growth in analytical prowess over the last few years has been truly remarkable – not just for the major players out there, but for organizations of many different shapes and sizes.

It is indeed a pay-to-play game, but for those who have made it this far, it is now a matter of creativity, acute insight, and unwavering scrappiness that will determine which organizations catalyze a shift in the direction of logistical intelligence.

Advanced predictive forecasting, inventory optimization, freight consolidation metrics and the many other analytics driving this industry forward can be head-spinning. But don’t let the Big Bad Data scare you. We are at a point in time where IT systems and infrastructure have matured enough that it no longer takes a rocket scientist to extract information and leverage it into meaningful and actionable results. Rather, intuitive tools and databases enable talent from an array of skill-sets and backgrounds to become doctors of data without years of training for an M.D.

As Douglas Merrill, ex-CIO at Google said, “With too little data, you won’t be able to make any conclusions that you trust. With loads of data you will find relationships that aren’t real… Big data isn’t about bits, it’s about talent”

To concentrate the lens a little further, third-party logistics organizations have much to benefit from attracting this new wave of talent through their doors – it’s no secret that it takes more than just a monotone analyst to forward a spreadsheet to their clients.

Instead, user-friendly tools and systems have allowed organizations to bridge the gap between customer service and sophisticated data-analytics. The product - New and innovative groups such as Client Development teams that continue marching towards differentiation in an otherwise cluttered field.

In the Supply World, Client Development Management is an example of the multi-faceted role that can be embraced because of the fluid integration between analytics and customer-facing interaction. Smart, talented and unique managers are deployed to act as trusted advisors to their clients; equipped with the analytical tools to truly set their organizations apart from the rest. CaseStack’s Client Development Managers are part of a growing team that is located in California, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas - responsible for the strategic direction of customers, both large and small. This team provides valuable operations insight and expertise for clients relying on outsourced logistics intelligence - once again an indication of a leveled playing field for all businesses alike.

Let’s refer to Big Data for what it really is – an adjective; a descriptor for the exponential capacity organizations now have for information. A function of this capacity, however, is the access that it enables for groups of many different forms, not just a small minority of super-humans as we’ve been led to believe.

Sure, IT systems will always require high levels of sophistication and expertise. But that’s the root of our misinterpretation altogether; Big Data is a product of complicated and advanced IT systems, not the actual entity itself.

Big Data is data. And data is data.

What are your thoughts? How has your organization found ways to harness the power of Big Data? How has access to new analytics transformed your supply chain?

Dan is the President and CEO of CaseStack, a Board Member of The Center for Retailing Excellence, and the author of Collaborate: The Art of We.

Written in collaboration with Mel Fish, Client Development Manager

Photo: TTRA Canada