This is a common question I heard from small business owners. Some felt that their business environment is so complicated and full of uncertainties. No model can capture the essence and provide a good suggestion. Others think their years of experience has equipped them with the ability to call a decision using their mental processing power. Both have their merit but also miss a key point. For the former, the claim is true for higher level decisions, especially those at the strategic level.  Decisions for a longer horizon tend to involve higher level…continue reading →

by Chih-Yang Tsai In god we trust, all others bring data ~ W E Deming The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the operation of many organizations.  It is imperative for organizations to quickly respond to the shifting markets and improve internal processes.  Business analytics, with many of its modeling tools, can help detect new demand patterns, identify predictive maintenance needs, or find the product mix to maximize contribution margin.  For small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) it can be daunting to deploy an analytics system, especially with the plethora of jargon surrounding it, such…continue reading →