The onus for progress of a business in contemporary scenario, as we all know, is lying on the information adoption. Huge statistics exist in every sector while its analytics is frequenting the fascination and need of the world. Big data has been the key word for performance improvement and decision maker as defined in many Industries. Prevailing since a decade now, Big Data has ushered the world with its pervasiveness proving itself as a speedy and cost effective entity. Controlling the three V’s – Volume, Velocity and Variety, it has given impetus to the improvement of the Industry. There are enormous approaches where data has been adopted by its stakeholders but one domain that has boomed to infinitude with its application is the realm of Logistics.
Big Data Lake is a modern-day voluminous collection of facts that is floating across all the sectors. Big Data got its initial implementation in the carrier companies where this integrated data was efficiently tapped by extracting, transforming and loading information about the clients. In fact, the term has been promulgated by the e-commerce giants and forwarders like Amazon, which dwells on customer statistics. Every click of a customer online produces a data that is stored in these giant Lakes. The matter is then integrated to produce the desired result. It has not only expedited the process but has also assured customers with reliability on their consigners.
Advantages
As per the report by NASSCOM and Blueocean, India is reigning big data analytics with a value of $1.2 billion placing it among the top 10 big data analytics markets in the world. They have also anticipated the growth becoming eight-fold by 2025, soaring to $16 billion. With this vision in mind, every sector is now looking forward to Data analytics for its evolution.
Logistics being complex and dynamic natured Industry is outshining its competence with the adoption of Big Data. The technique with its advanced version is facilitating Logistics to improve its inefficiencies. Big data has helped to improve
Automate warehouses
Warehouses have now become mechanised with the use of robotic systems. The ease of finding a consignment in a warehouse has multiplied with the use of tracking sensors. Inventories have also been managed intelligently by taking advantage of RF tags, computer chips and other smart instruments.
Better route management
Optimisation of Logistics has been attained competently with better services from GPS data, weather data, and road maintenance data. It has assured less wastage of money by avoiding over usage of resources. Big data analytics also justifies the optimum use of vehicles and manpower on the same route by prior notification. It has thereby reduced late shipments by managing the route flow.
Better manpower deployment
Logistics, which requires more human resource functions better with the use of big data. The availability of adequate workforce at the foreseen time of haste has been helpful in handling odd situations especially with the client.
Last-mile deliveries
Big Data has revolutionized the Logistics by amplifying the last leg of the distribution network. As the consumer demands are raising so is the efficiency of this Industry. In order to provide with smooth facilitation of the end length of the consignment, Logistics are relying heavily on Big Data. With the help of smart phones, GPS, and IoT, many consignors are able to track the supply chain from start to finish enabling speedy more penetrable deliveries. They have reached out to more remote areas now.
Bringing more transparency to various supply chains.
Qualifying transport vehicles with modern GPS aided smartphones that reflect delivery network is so beneficial not only to the supplier but also to the customers who can trace the supply promptly with a click sitting at their homes.
Challenges
With Big Data, the trial comes with administering the mammoth data. The bigger the data, the more complicated it is to manage. It becomes difficult to ensure end to end functionality of this facility owing to unavailability of educated operators of the latest technology.
Secondly, presence of various stakeholders in the supply chain sometimes results in a gap. Logistics, at many times work with unstructured or semi structured data which brings a break in full extraction of the benefit of Big Data. Talking about the data itself, at times this data is unreliable and inaccurate.
So, multiple hands in one big supply chain are surely an uphill task to maintain. But there is always a scope of improving with a challenge.
Big Data undoubtedly will re-define the world of Logistics. It will not be wrong to say that in this very competitive world, the big difference in the achievers and the others will be the power to manage, analyse and apply big data. Cost-optimisation and customer experience both will depend on the smart application of big data by Logistics companies.