Big Data and its Applications in Supply Chain Management: Findings from a Delphi Study

Abstract

Big data and its applications have increasingly received interest by both scholars and practitioners. However, there is still missing evidence regarding how big data is understood as well as its applications in supply chain management (SCM). Empirical contributions are especially limited. This study seeks to address this gap through an explorative Delphi study to understand the terminology of big data and its application in the SCM processes of sourcing, manufacturing, service, logistics, planning, and return. The findings reveal that big data is mostly concerned with data collection and logistics, service, and planning processes are the most applicable processes for deploying big data analytics in SCM. Furthermore, a range of applications have been identified and ranked within each process.