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Niels Van DingenenFeb 25, 2022 2:29:23 PM3 min read

How big data is shaping the supply chains of tomorrow

Companies, especially in the transport sector, are flooded with data. How do they best deal with it? At Once, competence center of software provider Qlik, helps companies to analyze big data faster via an associative model.

At Once, Epic Data's Qlik competence centre, aptly chose the decor of the Tall Ships Races in Antwerp to address the subject of big data during a presentation with three speakers for eighty guests. Nick Wuyts of Connecting the Dots showed a couple examples of how to work with data in an analytical way. For example, visual data analyzes used for dissecting football matches and real-time monitoring of cycling can yield data about speed, heart rate, and so on.

In the transport sector, all means of transport are traceable nowadays and the same applies to their freight. An analysis of the data obtained from these can increase the ‘customer experience’, lead to new business models, increase operational efficiency and provide new insights and added value. The question is how to put this into practice, according to Nick Wuyts.

 

Supply chain data are available from various sources. Qlik makes them quickly accessible no matter what the source is and associates the data from different sources. To be successful, you have to see the complete picture

 

“The Qlik platform helps companies to use big data faster. It is an associative model where the user works how he thinks and not as the data are structured. This means he is always ready to ask the next question. That is one of the most important differentiators of this platform. Qlik detects the relationship between the different data. This mechanism allows us not to skip any data, but to include them all in the analysis”, says Nick Wuyts.

 

Supply chain

Data is everywhere and the flow of data grows by a factor of 44. According to David Telford of Qlik, 42% of business professionals have to make data-based decisions within a day. Data analyzes generate a high return on investment in the supply chain, according to Telford. “In the past, the supply chain mainly revolved around making and supplying products. Today it is more about creating a commercial context. He also pointed to a number of so-called supply chain disruptors, such as Uber, drones and 3D printing.

“Supply chain data is available from various sources. Qlik makes them quickly accessible no matter what the source is and associates the data from different sources. To be successful, you have to see the complete picture “, underlines Telford.

 

Tall ships, big data

The ever-larger ships are delivering ever-larger volumes of data. Terminal operator DP World knows that very well. The company has five terminals in Belgium. “We need data to grow,” says Patrick Putman. “Because of the larger ships, the peaks in the traffic are getting bigger, bigger cranes are needed, and so on. The processes can no longer be handled in the traditional way. Because of the automation we are on a mountain of data and we need even more data. We must be able to understand that data, every day and every minute”, emphasizes Putman.

The terminal operator sent around 900 reports every day to various recipients with a web portal and a dozen dashboards. “We urgently needed a plan,” said Patrick Putman. The company teamed up with Qlik and At Once. This ensured that the number of reports dropped from 900 to 100 reports per day.

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Satisfied

The attendees were quite satisfied with the information session. “I learned a lot from this presentation”, says Patrick Merlevede, Business Development Manager at Zuidnatie. “We realize insufficiently how we can make better decisions with data analysis.” Sébastien De Vos of Pateco is also satisfied. “For a small player it is sometimes difficult to access more data. While the presentation shows that it is interesting to have more information.”
 

 

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Niels Van Dingenen

Has joined our team for more than 2 years now. Enjoys it that hard that he makes bike rides with his colleagues during weekends. A surprised end user who is able to gain new insights, makes him feel satisfied.

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