Logistics: Big Data Benefits and Challenges

Logistics Big Data Benefits

Logistics / Distribution managers saw high value in all six areas that we asked them about. They perceived the highest logistics Big Data Benefits in monitoring product shipments (which is increasingly important in a world of terrorism, increasing theft, and increasingly demanding customers who want products to be available at the stores they frequent).

Also highly rated were finding places where inventory is disappearing and identifying spikes in costs.

Deere & Co., the $34 billion global manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, is experimenting with SAP technology that will help it assess its vast inventory of parts and other components in real time. That no doubt will help Deere send parts more quickly to places around the world where they are needed.¹

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 Exhibit IV-16: Areas of Greatest Benefits for Logistics / Distribution
Q18-f: Degree Of Potential Benefits Big Data Could Generate – Mean Summary Logistics/Distribution

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Logistics Big Data Challenges

Unlike their colleagues outside the logistics function, logistics managers are quite concerned about the theft of data. In fact, they’re most worried about keeping it secure from internal parties. Second on their list of top challenges is figuring how to use the data to make decisions.

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Exhibit IV-17: Greatest Big Data Challenges for Logistics/Distribution
Q-23: Greatest Challenges to GettingValue from Big Data: Mean Summary – Logistics/Distribution

1. Wall Street Journal article, ‘Deere’s Technology Use Solves ‘Insolvable’ Problems’, by Michael Hickins, Jan. 10, 2013. http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2013/01/10/deeres-technology-use-solvesinsolvable-
   problems/ [↩]