Big Data is a really a
hot topic today. Different people has different views on how to use the big
data. We are more interested in how supply chain management intersects with big
data [1]. For instance, Tesco is able to benefit from supply chain analytics to
save £100 million [2].
Tesco
needs to answer questions like how much inventory to maintain and storage space to allocate
for each product and when Tesco should order the inventories from manufactures
and how much.
Tesco
has developed an analytics model that uses weather patterns to decide what to
put on its stock store shelves. By studying its historical transaction data and
predicting future temperature trends, Tesco is able to accurately assess what
consumers want in a specific area and then prepare its inventories accordingly.
For example, if warm weather is expected to come to an area after a
particularly brutal cold spell, Tesco would
ensure that surrounding stores are well stocked with more barbecue meats and
less cat litter. The program is even powerful enough to detect local habits and adjust
its stock levels based on the weather forecast, so its stores do not run out of
the goods people want [3].
Another
data analysis implementation is discounts and promotions. Tesco has over a
thousand of promotions every day and Tesco is able to predict how popular these
sales promotions will be in make it has enough - but not too much - stock to
meet demand. The data analysis has revealed some interesting insights. For
example, a "buy one, get one free" offer works better than a 50%
discount for non-perishable goods, such as cooking sauces, but the reverse is
true for fruit and vegetables [4].
By
implanting the big data techniques, Tesco is able to reduce its inventory costs,
increase its sales revenue and even increase its customer satisfaction.
However, these techniques sometimes will take some personal data into the
model. People are really concern about their privacies, when facing national
security or government surveillance. Are
people willing to sell their privacy for daily commodities?
Reference:
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