Big data - the practice of analyzing large data sets - is increasingly driving value creation in organizations across all industries.

Analytics companies are popping up everywhere as Big Data starts to work its way into more executive conversations. We've been down this road before; analytics isn't a new concept. However, new related technologies and a better understanding of what's at stake for businesses may make this wave a different one. The key is for everyone to get comfortable with the idea of using the new tools to roll their own analytics.

Companies say they are in dire need of competent supply and demand planners, but the requirements of that position today are so varied that you wonder whether a single person exists who can do the job. It calls for strong math and statistical skills, obviously, but a good planner must also be able to communicate well across the multiple "silos" of an organization. The right candidate will have a deep understanding of the requirements of manufacturing, logistics, marketing, sales and finance. Then there's the necessity of reaching outside company walls to suppliers and customers, to ensure that all parties are in agreement about what the demand forecast should be. Who are these freakishly talented individuals? And where can they be found?

Analyst Insight: IBM's recent Chief Supply Chain Officer Report - "The Smarter Supply Chain of the Future" - has pretty much validated our four-year informal polling premise that about 90 percent of all supply chains are not mapped out in any formal approach. IBM's respondents placed supply chain visibility among the Top 5 supply chain challenges. Seventy percent said supply chain visibility is one of their major keys to success - yet the majority of those responding have not addressed the issue! - Gregory L. Schlegel, Vice President, Business Development, SherTrack LLC, and Adjunct Professor, Supply Chain Risk Management, Lehigh University, Graduate Program

Analyst Insight: Based on a survey of 160 supply chain leaders in a recent webinar conducted by Steelwedge, we found that companies captured a whopping 70 percent more data (product, supply, demand and finance) to manage their organizations in 2012. Yet, 77 percent of these businesses are not actually leveraging this data in their S&OP processes, thereby leaving "blind spots" in their decision making processes around critical supply/demand trade-offs. - Nari Viswanathan, Vice President of Product Management, Steelwedge