ABSTRACT
This chapter first introduces data science and where supply chain analytics sits within that subject super-set. The needs, wants, motivations and aspirations of supply chain (SC) partners are discussed, and the importance of such to the application of SC analytics is explained. The chapter provides a discussion about how this book adds genuine value to SC professionals and students. Because of its growing significance, especially with the advent of big data, an introduction to data science is provided in this chapter. Data analytics can also of course be applied to big data, including supply chain big data, and is commonly referred to as big data analytics. Big data is simply the generation, collection and storage of large and complex data sets that are too large for conventional data processing equipment and methods to appropriately manage. Whilst not a direct sub-set of data science, cloud computing is nevertheless an important associated topic.
