For example, data analytics programs like Clinical Decision Support are helping to save lives with real-time alerts in hospitals.
Telecommunications companies can monitor and anticipate customer churn; retailers can predict which products will sell; even fast-food restaurants are using data analysis to optimize customer service.
Data analysis can be used to pinpoint changing customer requirements and predict changes in supply and demand for electronic component purchasing. It can also be used to improve customer service and loyalty programs, to make planning and logistics more efficient, and to eliminate waste, error, and duplicated effort throughout an organization.
Data analytics is a powerful tool for a forward-thinking company, particularly in the supply chain. A study by Accenture found that big data has impacted reaction time to supply chain issues in 41% of companies surveyed.
Companies that integrated data analytics into the supply chain realized efficiency increases of 10% or higher in 36% of those surveyed. The same study found that order-to-cycle improves delivery times up 425% by embedding big data analytics.
There are tangible ways in which data analytics can improve the supply chain, particularly in the electronic components industry. These include efficiency, scalability, and flexibility among others.
5 Ways Data Analytics Improve the Components Supply Chain
1. Predict Changes in Demand
Data analytics can be applied to help a company predict and respond to changes in demand. Some demand changes are cyclical with others influenced by environmental factors. Data analytics can help bring in and connect many disparate elements to make prediction possible in a way that it wasn’t previously. In using data analytics to build a predictive model, a company can anticipate fluctuations in demand and adjust available supply accordingly.
Customer service is improved, as anticipating the changes in demand helps an organization to anticipate customer requirements and respond quickly. Technological advancements have changed customer expectations for fast, accurate, and personalized service. The company that can meet these demands gains an important competitive advantage.
2. Reduce Costs
In a competitive environment, the supply chain is constantly pressed to become more cost-effective. In using data analytics, an organization can continually compare real-time pricing and availability from suppliers, incorporating the history of order accuracy, transportation and logistics costs, and many additional variables. Utilizing analytical insights, electronic component purchasing officers can be confident that they are always receiving the highest-quality product available at the best price.
3. Increase Efficiency
A supply chain using integrated data analytics tools becomes transparent, from start to finish. Duplicated efforts are eliminated, as are manual processes, as automation is key to data modeling. The electronic component supply chain as a whole becomes more efficient and, as visibility is increased all along the process, opportunities for improvements are more easily spotted, and the focus can turn to implementing better business strategies. Increased efficiency, along with cost reduction, has a direct effect on the bottom line of the company.
4. Flexibility
Data analysis can help a company predict changes in an operational environment, and with some foresight, it can result in a more flexible organization that rapidly responds to environmental changes. Flexibility is critical to adapting to a changing environment, and rapid, appropriate responses are key to remaining competitive.
5. Scalability
A company that has harnessed the power of big data can use that information to pursue and support a growth strategy. Typical growth strategies include growing a customer base, expanding into new markets, or offering new products. Data analysis can promote growth by providing information that is vital to growth strategies including customer preferences, regulatory differences, competition analysis and more.
In the electronic component industry, incorporating data analysis into the supply chain can help a company improve visibility throughout the entire chain.
Data analysis allows a purchasing officer to access real-time pricing and availability of products at all times, securing the best products at the best price possible. Additionally, improving the efficiency of systems in the supply chain allows the procurement department to spend more time on customer service and enhancing vendor relations, as well as creating innovative solutions to ongoing challenges.
To learn more about how to improve efficiencies in your procurement process, request a free consultation with Orbweaver today.
