Thursday, July 7, 2011

INFORMS Launches Analytics Section

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) recently launched a special interest group devoted to analytics. The Analytics Section of INFORMS attracted more than 300 members during its first two months of existence, immediately making it one of the largest – and certainly the most talked about – Section in the venerable Institute that traces its roots back to World War II.

“The response has been tremendous,” says Michael Gorman, the first president of the fledgling Analytics Section. “There’s a high level of energy and excitement. We’re very bullish about creating a very powerful group.”

Anyone – members and non-members of INFORMS – can join the Analytics Section of INFORMS for free throughout the remainder of 2011.

According to its bylaws, the “Analytics Section of INFORMS is focused on promoting the use of data-driven analytics and fact-based decision-making in practice. The Section recognizes that analytics is seen as both a complete business problem-solving and decision-making process and a broad set of analytical methodologies that enable the creation of business value. To this purpose, the Section promotes the integration of a wide range of analytical techniques and the end-to-end analytics process.”

to read the full article please visit www.analytics-magazine.com

Monday, June 27, 2011

University Of Cincinatti RFID Study Presented at INFORMS Healthcare AnalyticsConference

Reporting from Healthcare ITNews

University of Cincinnati analysis of hospital supply chains – medicines, materials, devices and office supplies – reveals that the use of RFID technology can help hospitals cut as much as 18 percent in labor costs associated with resupplying.The research, to be presented June 22 at the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science Healthcare Conference in Montreal, has implications for affecting many significant costs associated with hospital supplies. On average, supplies and inventory account for 30 to 40 percent of an average hospital’s budget, according to the research.

The presentation is part of a long-term research project involving analysis of supply chains at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Montreal and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto.

To read full article please visit-http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/new-research-shows-rfid-key-leaner-hospital-supply-chain

Analytics Magazine Corporate Profile- FedEx

Published in the May/June issue of Analytics

FedEx presents a "playground" of analytical problems


By Chris Holliday

The recent 2010 FedEx Annual Report shows that the company had $34.7 billion in revenue. More than 280,000 team members provide service to over 220 countries. There are 664 aircraft and more than 80,000 vehicles moving eight million packages a day. All those employees with all those vehicles moving all those packages on a daily basis provide problems that need to be modeled and solved.

The operations research group at FedEx Express has been solving operational challenges since the early stages of the company. The group operates as an internal consultant, working on specific issues for various departments. Customers within FedEx Express include Air Operations, U.S. Operations, Central Support Services, Air Ground Freight Services and International Operations.

FedEx Founder Fred Smith introduced the "People, Service, Profit" philosophy at FedEx. If you put your people first, they will in turn provide quality service and profit will be the end result. People, Service, Profit also works well when grouping operations research (O.R.) problems.

To read the full article please visit http://www.analytics-magazine.com/may-june-2011/323-corporate-profile-fedex-presents-a-qplaygroundq-of-analytical-problems.html

Simulation frameworks: The key to dashboard success

Article published in May/June Issue of Analytics
By Zubin Dowlaty, Subir Mansukhani and Keshav Athreya
Regardless of the organization that you work for, chances are that you use dashboards to display and deploy metrics. The technology for building dashboards has continuously evolved, so much so that it is now possible for a non-technical person to "build" a dashboard. Despite their ubiquity, whether dashboards have been able to achieve their utmost potential is subject to debate.
Most dashboards typically start life in a business function (e.g. a spreadsheet tracking report). With increasing use, more data integration is required and the number of users burgeons, spawning the need for a full-fledged dashboarding solution. Departments (or governance bodies, in some instances) typically determine key metrics that must be part of the dashboarding solution, and IT is brought in to gather requirements and select the technology for a successful implementation.
Independent of the hierarchy of implementation, each such exercise must attempt to answer two key questions:
  • What metrics must be chosen to maximize impact on business?
  • What is the relationship between metrics, and is there an overarching framework into which these KPIs slot in?
Often the latter of the two — the focus on the big picture — is lost during the development of dashboards.

IBM study: Cloud computing, BI, analytics top CIO priorities

A new IBM study of more than Three thousand global CIOs shows that 60 percent of organizations are ready to embrace cloud computing over the next 5 years as a means of growing their businesses and achieving competitive advantage. The figure nearly doubles the number of CIOs who said they would utilize cloud in IBM’s 2009 CIO study, and is one of dozens of new insights and trends learned from CIOs worldwide in businesses of all sizes.

As demand for ever-growing amounts of information continues to increase, companies are seeking simple and direct access to data and applications that cloud computing delivers in a cost-efficient, always-available manner. The use of cloud, which began in supporting deployments mainly inside companies, has now also grown common between organizations and their partners and customers. In IBM’s 2009 CIO study, only a third of CIOs said they planned to pursue cloud to gain a competitive advantage. This year’s study shows a dramatic increase in the focus on cloud, particularly in media and entertainment, which rose to 73 percent, automotive (70 percent) and telecommunications (69 percent).

To read full article please visit
http://www.analytics-magazine.com/special-articles/339-ibm-study-cloud-computing-bi-analytics-top-cio-priorities.html











http://www.analytics-magazine.com/special-articles/339-ibm-study-cloud-computing-bi-analytics-top-cio-priorities.html

Thursday, June 23, 2011

SAS Analytics Provides Healthcare Analytics Solution to Express Scripts

Express Scripts trusts SAS Analytics to keep patients on their drug regimens to live healthier lives.When patients stop taking prescribed drugs or reduce frequency or dosages, the effect can be devastating.  Express Scripts handles millions of prescriptions annually. Using software from SAS, the leader in business analytics, the company predicts patients likely to abandon medication, offering intervention programs to address potential patient safety issues before the patient becomes noncompliant.

"When patients stop taking a prescribed drug against doctors' advice, it can significantly set back treatment," said Jason Burke, Managing Director and Chief Strategist for the SAS Center for Health Analytics and Insights (CHAI). "It's a widespread problem. A Harris Interactive poll estimated that between 14 and 30 percent of US patients have stopped or altered their prescription drug regimens."

SAS predictive models developed by Express Scripts analyze more than 400 factors related to patients, drugs, conditions, physicians and other issues. Based on that analysis, Express Scripts tailors proactive interventions to an individual's likely barriers to compliance. Actions might include automated reminder calls, individualized education and support, or automated refills, for example.

"For patients requiring medications with chronic disease classes, such as hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol, it's in their best interest for better health outcomes, as well as in the payer's best interest, that they continue their prescription regimens," said Express Scripts Director of Advanced Analytics Dave Tomala. "Even if medication costs increase marginally, overall medical costs are minimized through better health outcomes."

Express Scripts uses the predictive models created with SAS Analytics to continually improve its services and become a proactive partner in patients' health.

"We're talking about treating patients proactively. We can predict who will comply with their medication or not,"

Tomala explained. "Our outreach programs address an individual's risk factors. People too busy to order a refill can be moved into an automated refill program before a lapse occurs. Patients concerned about side effects might benefit from talking to a pharmacist. We analyze each patient to offer the most effective programs to keep them healthy."

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

New Issue of Analytics Magazine Available

The May/June issue of Analytics is now available as a digital magazine at no charge by visiting the website-www.analytics-magazine.com. Analytics is published by INFORMS, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. INFORMS is the largest membership society in the world dedicated to the analytics profession. The society publishes 12 scholarly journals and a membership magazine, organizes national and international conferences, bestows awards and prizes, and arranges for efficient communication and networking among analytics professionals.