The USPS inspector general has issued a report following a forum with postal and big data experts considering how crunching high volumes of data with new and faster tools can help organizations become more agile and flexible, including by optimizing operations and sales.
For example, it said DHL developed a tool to analyze correlations between external factors such as weather, flu epidemics, Google trends, and shipment data resulting in a model that allows the global shipper to better predict parcel volumes and determine delivery staff and vehicle requirements.
Additional examples include: Frances’s La Poste has equipped new electric vehicles with sensors that track vehicles’ vital statistics to help it proactively maintain its fleet to save on maintenance costs; Australia Post is using predictive analytics to develop daily customer sales forecasts and to predict the profitability of products; and, Italy’s Poste Italiane’s newly deployed big data architecture supports financial services sales in two main ways: credit risk assessment and the real-time generation of tailor-made offerings and discounts for mobile banking customers.
The report argues that big data has moved beyond hype, is becoming ingrained in how companies do business and that managing all the new data being generated is a major challenge that requires a new mindset.
Report: https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2014/rarc-ib-14-002.pdf
