  Advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) has given rise
to explosion of data in every field of operations. Working with the enormous
volume of data (or Big Data, as it is popularly known as) for extraction of
useful information to support decision making is one of the sources of
competitive advantage for organizations today. Enterprises are leveraging the
power of analytics in formulating business strategy in every facet of their
operations to mitigate business risk. Volatile global market scenario has
compelled the organizations to redefine their supply chain management (SCM). In
this paper, we have delineated the relevance of Big Data and its importance in
managing end to end supply chains for achieving business excellence. A Big
Data-centric architecture for SCM has been proposed that exploits the current
state of the art technology of data management, analytics and visualization.
The security and privacy requirements of a Big Data system have also been
highlighted and several mechanisms have been discussed to implement these
features in a real world Big Data system deployment in the context of SCM. Some
future scope of work has also been pointed out. Keyword: Big Data, Analytics,
Cloud, Architecture, Protocols, Supply Chain Management, Security, Privacy.
