Exploring Brevity in Data Analysis Can Yield Positive Results

Ask Yourself, Is This Data Helping or Hurting the Business?

One might not think it is possible, but it is true: too much of a good thing can be a bad thing - especially regarding supply chain analytics. In this age of Big Data and the drive to acquire as much info as feasible, a pertinent query must be posed: Is this abundance of data aiding or damaging the business?

The development of big data analytics in the last several years has been greatly facilitated by the access of huge amounts of information on hand-held devices, such as smartphones and tablets. In-memory databases have been an influential factor in this growth, but the cost of these databases is often prohibitive for businesses who are unable or unwilling to purchase them for expansion. As a result, many companies make errors when collecting large datasets for reports.

What is the value of a data point and the business decisions that you can make from it? You need to ensure that you are looking at the right data that will lead you to the correct conclusions efficiently. A common issue is that companies do not know what data to collect, so they grab everything and try to make heads or tails of it later. Data without purpose is not useful; if you cannot make a decision from it, then it's merely a symbol on a screen. Are you certain that the supply chain data you're gathering and looking at is the appropriate data to make decisions from? You might not be - it could be like chasing a white rabbit.

The IT team will become increasingly agitated with the need to continually extract data. Carrying out numerous extraction procedures to acquire a great deal of data will have an adverse effect on the overall system speed. To illustrate, if you are retrieving information for 365 days daily and adding it to a different table for assessment, that could accumulate to millions of records being transferred each day. Is it actually essential to have all that data? Most likely not.

At What Point Does Data Begin Contributing?

Data and its analysis are integral to making sound decisions. So, how do we select the most important key performance indicators (KPIs)? It is essential to have a strategy for identifying the KPIs that should be prioritized in our day-to-day tasks.

Having the right KPIs makes the difference between having actionable information or meaningless noise. By constantly monitoring KPIs, users will be better trained and connected to the data, both understanding what the data is saying and why. Without the proper approach, we are again left with data that is not helpful. With KPIs integrated into the workflow, we can monitor changes and trends with less data and make informed decisions quickly.

It is clear that the use of technology has had a significant impact on the way we communicate. From emails and text messages to social media and video chats, technology has revolutionized the way we communicate with one another. With the introduction of new digital platforms, individuals now have the opportunity to interact with people from all around the world without even leaving the comfort of their own homes. Consequently, the boundaries between nations and cultures have been greatly reduced.