Kayla Matthews
tech journalist & writer http://productivitybytes.com http://productivitybytes.com
Any business structure can benefit from using data, including the food and beverage industry. Whether they're distributors or fast food chains, these businesses offer a product people are willing to buy. Judging the details comes down to utilizing data.
With data, the food industry can decide which of their products are in demand, what to advertise for seasonal changes and many other options they simply wouldn't have without the extra information. Because the population is large and there are many opinions floating around, using big data as a tool for businesses is key to getting ahead.
Making Pricing Less Complicated
First, the food and beverage industry uses big data to understand how prices fluctuate. Knowing where the majority of profits is coming from and creating a pricing strategy based on this information can help businesses perform better overall. If a product is selling poorly, then cutting down on the price and supply will help with the potential overflow of said product and waste of food.
Businesses also use big data for pricing to monitor the competition. Big data helps the industry watch the prices of similar products and helps them base their prices on this information. This way, they get a better idea of how to stand up to the competition in the public eye.
Making pricing more effective hinges on supply and demand. With big data, a food and beverage company finds popularity trends among their products, not just observing the poor selling items. For seasonal products, cashing in on trends could make a good name for a brand if used correctly. Plus, big data analytics used for temperature monitoring helps make sure they're selling only the best seasonal products at the right time.
Advertising Directly to Consumers
Businesses also use big data to target particular consumers. If a consumer likes a certain product, the company markets the product specifically to that audience. Monitoring big data and getting this detail-oriented may hinge on the data servers, equipment and services the company chooses to use. Having the right servers is imperative to using the data wisely and finding where the consumer-base is.
If marketing on an individualized basis is out of reach, a business can still use big data to market toward the overwhelming crowd. A majority of people likely favor the best-selling products. When a business offers discounts on these products thanks to information from big data, consumers will likely buy more and even try new products.
Time Is Money
Big data doesn't just deal with products and sales, though. There are data points for everything, and businesses use all of them. For example, distributors and delivery drivers benefit from a much wider range of data. They now check in on road traffic, weather, construction and other elements that give them an idea of how long a delivery will take.
Food and beverages are perishable items, meaning time is literally money. Distribution centers and their drivers have to run on-time all of the time. Companies use big data to judge the impact on the products during travel, so they can further cut down on waste. Programs such as Orion, On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation, learn routes before drivers take to the streets. Orion is projected to reduce about 100 million miles for delivery trucks.
Get Creative With Big Data
Needless to say, data can help in any industry. There are many ways to use big data so long as people are willing to get creative. Even customer comments on social media are a part of data to find better customer service alternatives and improve the quality of products. The limit to big data is when a company simply stops pushing for more.
