An effectively managed MRO supply chain creates efficiencies that drive and optimize E-commerce. Commitment to big data and a dedicated supply chain partner to manage and integrate it, will give organizations well-coordinated scheduling, procurement, production, delivery, and inventory-control systems. As a result, companies can expect:
- Reduced warehouse costs
- Speedier maintenance and repair activities
- Better use of their employees’ time
A skilled, professional E-commerce service provider can aggregate big data from disparate sources, mine seemingly unrelated information, and put it together to uncover valuable information and resource savings throughout the MRO supply chain. More importantly, a quality vendor will assign a dedicated team to customize and personalize customer service to ensure the client is satisfied and reaping every scrap of insightful data to make the best strategic decisions.
Advantages to Looking at Big Data through the Eyes of an MRO Expert
Engaging a capable MRO logistics partner to analyze and implement reliable big data to empower a robust procurement and distribution infrastructure can harness E-commerce advantages in multiple ways:
- Forecasting – MRO managers, especially in smaller firms with limited physical assets constantly seek a balance between running out of inventory and dedicating too many resources to managing too much stock. Without big data and proper analysis, the struggle too often comes down to trial and error and “guestimates.” But effective interpretation of clean big data yields more predictable demand. That leads to better maintenance scheduling, reduces inventory carrying costs, boosts churn rate, and ensures great internal customer service.
- Demand-Based Pricing – Big data can tell organizations how much of each product will sell over the next given number days, allowing production to shift as necessary and marketing to price-position offerings to maximize revenue. Business cycles, holidays, tax refund season, historical data, and other variables influence sales and production. MRO predictable demand allows for smoother ordering and proactive procurement when companies know when to reduce prices to avoid excess inventory and production demand.
- Consumer Analysis – Big data can follow the breadcrumbs left by individual customers as they wind their way through the E-commerce site, noting where they linger, what they skip, and what products they buy. Similarly, big data can track a firm’s employees, departments, customer orders, and processes to ascertain where, when, and how MRO assets are consumed.
- Market Segmentation – If consumer analysis is the micro, market segmentation is the macro. Big data not only can collect individual demographics, it can categorize similar profiles into distinct segments. It can help E-commerce firms extrapolate information that can be used to guide advertising campaigns and other promotions aimed at people with matching characteristics.
There is no doubt big data gives companies a powerful tool in tracking demand and sourcing and managing supplies. But without dedicated customer service and expert analysis, MRO data is just data, no matter how big it is. SDI’s comprehensive MRO supply chain service enables clients to combine the convenience of E-commerce with the decision-making power of big data and the collaborative ingenuity our experts provide.
