Business Intelligence SCM: New Applications of Business Intelligence for Your Supply Chain

“Athletes only began to improve their performance when their races were timed and measured.” This reality, when applied to the business world, translates into numerous business initiatives and partnerships aimed at offering key metrics, analytical capabilities, and predictions for the logistics sector.

Business Intelligence for Your Supply Chain

An example. TECSYS is a leading provider of supply chain management software. Its clients include over 600 mid-sized and Fortune 1000 corporations in the healthcare, heavy equipment, third-party logistics, and high-volume distribution industries. Last July, it announced its collaboration with WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) to leverage high-performance metrics from the WERC industry study and incorporate them into TECSYS’s business intelligence tool analyses.

Michael Mikitka, CEO of WERC, explained: “The primary goal of this study is to provide a benchmark of key industry measures, business types, and how they may change over time. The result is a significant set of intelligence for organizations in the manufacturing, distribution, and retail industries.” TECSYS emphasized that to achieve and maintain an advantage, comparative information on how peers are performing is required to identify opportunities for improvement and areas of competitive advantage: “Logistics managers face tactical decisions, such as ensuring a large order is shipped on time. Or resolving warehouse inefficiencies that affect order cycle times.”

A second example. IDC Manufacturing is one of the leading market intelligence consulting firms. It has over 1,000 analysts in 110 countries. In its predictions for manufacturing and the supply chain in 2013, it highlighted: “The era of Big Data must be considered and managed by the logistics sector as soon as possible. Stop viewing it as a problem and turn it into the main tool for operational excellence.”

And a third example. The partnership between Dematic and Vocollect, announced by Robert Nilsson, Vice President of Dematic: “There is a clear industry need for supply chain intelligence, for data and technologies to be leveraged, both inside and outside warehousing and distribution centers. This leads to smarter logistics decisions and optimization across the entire supply chain network. Dematic focuses on providing solutions that meet this need while enhancing the customer experience through voice, mobile interfaces, and ease of use that work seamlessly with integrated partner solutions like Vocollect.”

Data Analysis for Your Supply Chain

In short, Business Intelligence/Analytics is about strategy, business, decisions, understanding the past, measuring the present, and anticipating to improve the future. Applied to the logistics sector, this translates into:

Descriptive Analytics: Recording why performance did not advance in some areas, according to forecasts. And conversely, why it achieved a level of excellence in other areas.

Predictive Analytics: Anticipates the future and its projection on company results.

Prescriptive Analytics: Establishes planning to optimize processes.

Business Intelligence, integrated into the business model of any logistics company, offers:

• Supply Chain Visibility. Traceability, tracking, and event management to help make the right decisions.
• Forecasting. Optimizing the logistics network with demand and delivery prediction models.
• Dashboards. Their purpose is to efficiently manage the movement of goods and the information generated.