Harnessing the Benefits of Big Data in Retail Industry: Advice to SMEs

• Main Authors: Dora Liskai, 李思楷
• Other Authors: Shang-Chia, Liu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/68791752622570046326

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 國際創業與經營管理學程碩士在職專班 === 103 === The term “Big Data” is a commonly used buzzword these days. In this new era of Industry 4.0, an increasing number of companies become Internet savvy, and recognize how Big Data and the related data science leads to competitive advantage. Ever since the recession years following the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been regarded as the booster of employment and economic growth. The role of SMEs became especially important as the growth of industry leader giants slowed down. The unprecedented industry growth in the era of Industry 4.0 offers the biggest growth opportunity of or time for many companies. The key success factor for SMEs is to learn how to maximize the benefits and take advantage of what data science has to offer. As the size of the middle class grows due to globalization in the developing countries, companies must recognize how essential it is for their survival to meet the needs of this new society. Gathering and analyzing data about people around the World to understand and predict consumer behavior and to better serve people’s needs is crucial, not only for the reasons of maximizing company revenue and ensuring competitive advantage, but also, to allow our society to use scarce natural resources wisely. Retailers have been traditionally concentrating on Omni-channel strategies. When it comes to understanding the in-store and cross-channel behavior, however, retailers have a long way to go. This paper can help SMEs in several ways to take advantage of this opportunity. First, the paper provides an overview of the landscape of Big Data and the importance of Data Analytics for the retail industry. After defining the main concepts, the thesis provides case studies of successful data analytics applications by retail industry leaders. This is followed by the identification of some of the major data analytics service providers and the explanation of how these companies could be beneficial for SMEs. Furthermore, the paper provides practical advice on what factors to consider and how to decide on the right Big Data solution and Data Analytics partner.