THE PREDICTIVE ENTERPRISE: WHERE DATA SCIENCE MEETS SUPPLY CHAIN

Harnessing the true power of data-driven insight is the holy grail of future business. A wealth of this data comes from the supply chain. But, while the information is there, companies are not yet capitalizing on its real value as a source of insight capable of shaping the future of the enterprise.

Most companies are, in fact, awash with a potential gold mine of untapped supply chain information. And while this body of data certainly runs the day-to-day flow of goods around the world, it remains largely underutilized for enterprise-level business insight and transformation.

But not for long.

Companies are no longer restricted to running their business by ‘looking in the rearview mirror’ – i.e. managing based on information that is weeks or months old. Thanks to new technologies – combined with new management science – organizations are starting to anticipate and even predict the future, to get ahead of their business and direct their global operations accordingly.

Data mining, pattern recognition, business analytics, business intelligence – along with other tools – are coalescing into an emerging field of supply chain data science that has the potential to drive this evolution. These new intelligent analytic capabilities are changing supply chains – from reactive operations, to proactive and ultimately predictive operating models. The implications extend far beyond just reinventing the supply chain. They will help map the blueprint for the next-generation global company – the insight-driven enterprise.