Electricity and Control December 2022

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT

Data management in supply chain and logistics Nick Wonfor, Head of Sales, Data Management Professionals South Africa (DMPSA)

In logistics and the supply chain, the market is highly competitive. If one supplier cannot deliver, customers will take their business elsewhere.There has been significant growth in connected devices, like sensors to track goods and vehicles, as well as analytics and artificial intelligence for more efficient route planning and delivery.The industry has become increasingly data-driven as lead operators seek a further competitive advantage, and there is potential to leverage significant value from data – but only if it is managed and protected effectively. Nick Wonfor, Data Management Professionals SA.

Source and target Data lies at the core of the logistics industry. It is generated in many more areas than before, through the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices, and it can be very valuable for analytics and AI. However, if the data is not accessible, there is nothing to analyse, so no insights are gained and the supply chain may stall or be forced to a halt. Due to the volume and value of the data it holds, the logistics and supply chain sector is an attractive target for ransomware and other malware attacks. An appropriate data management strategy must be implemented to ensure that the correct data is collected, that precautionary plans are in place to protect critical data, and that regular testing of data protection measures is conducted. Analytics should also be put into place to ensure that data is correct and accurate, so when it is used to gain insights, those insights can be trusted. The foundation of protecting and leveraging data is in understanding what data a business relies on and where that data resides, and ensuring that business-critical data is protected and accessible, should a data loss event occur.

Once the critical data has been identified and located, the next challenge is ensuring the data is protected against malicious attacks or accidental deletion. Ransomware and security issues threaten the volumes of data collected, so the right security solutions need to be in place. Data must be always available, which makes an updated and well-maintained backup system essential – together with secure access authorisations. Without these in place, logistics organisations risk unauthorised access, deletion and lockout. There are also governance and compliance considera tions to factor in, as personal information must be managed according to legislated regulations. Finding the solution There is a tendency for businesses to focus on data management infrastructure rather than the data itself, but buying more storage does not necessarily protect the data, and hoarding all data can result in unnecessary storage costs as well as compliance and security challenges.

Data management challenges

While data is essential, effective data management presents a number of challenges. Firstly, the explosion of data: from sensors on trucks and in warehouses to various software platforms – almost everything may be collecting data, which is growing at a massive rate. Furthermore, once data is collected, it can be enormously time-consuming to prepare the data: to identify what data is available, where it comes from, to profile it, clean it and understand what value it has and whether it needs to be kept.

Effective data management is essential to ensuring relevant data is collected and useful analysis accessible.

5 DECEMBER 2022 Electricity + Control