Supply Chain Analysis: The Lure of BIG DATA

Over the past few months, a catchy phrase has juiced up the marketplace -- "BIG DATA." 

Is it really big data, or just lots of small data points brought together through great technology, allowing the combined information to be made visible and used by progressive companies for supply chain analysis?  Let's not focus on the size of the database, but rather the quality of the supply chain data we are sharing/trading to improve the flow of commerce.  

Access to supply chain data can and does accelerate commerce and create efficient supply chains, as long as we have the ability to 1) exchange information across disparate systems and 2) create open, collaborative partnerships with trading partners – such as the partnership between retailers and their vendors.  Typically, number two, cross-enterprise collaboration, is the trickiest. 

So, before we start creating giant data warehouses, let's use the information we have.  Let's start leveraging small data.