If you don't have one already, there is a fair chance that an analytics group (AG) will become part of your supply chain organization at some point soon. This type of resource is attracting more interest partly in response to the increasing complexity and strategic importance of supply chains. Other drivers are the growing volume of market data that companies need to interpret and the availability of more sophisticated analytical tools.
One can think of this development as the next logical step after the arrival of technologies such as RFID that capture movement and other types of data for shipments and inventory. Where there was once a paucity of data there is now an overabundance. Companies now need to make sense of the mountains of data that these sources now generate.