Periodically, You Need to Scrub Your Data

Data is useless if it’s corrupted.

While most information stored in digital files remains intact, the process of locating and remove corrupted data is a critical practice to observe. Whether your information and vital records are stored on hard drives or hosted in the cloud, all data is susceptible to corruption, damage or even hacking attempts.

Those who move freight through the supply chain depend on maintaining accurate data. Everything from contact information to inventory management tasks require the collection and subsequent maintenance of that data. However, they also maintain other highly secure data, including bank account numbers, individual personnel history, and financial records. 

To this point, professional organizations make it a point to set up data cleansing procedures and policies. These procedures and policies keep all information stored in their network secure, safe, and free of corruption.

In today's blog post, we are going to talk a bit about data cleansing. We will discuss why it is crucial to scrub your data periodically and the advantages of having a professional in data security help you with this vital task.

What are the Advantages of Data Cleansing?

Let’s clarify something right off the bat; data cleansing is no longer simply a physical task.

There was a time, not too long ago, when IT professionals would be retained to review and find files that were corrupted, fragmented, or otherwise damaged. They would then physically remove them using a software solution. 

Well, those days have long passed.

Today, IT professionals use dedicated software solutions and robust data analytics tools to expedite this vital cleansing process. However, it’s not just a plug-in-and-play SaaS, either. 

When you make a proactive decision to invest in data cleansing services, it does provide your company with several key benefits and advantages. Here are just a few to consider:

Improved Efficiency

Most business managers understand how computer systems work. Any solution that uses computer technology is at it’s best when every piece of software is optimized for efficiency overall all else... aside from security, but we will get to that.

Data cleansing solutions ensure that each file that shows signs of damage or corruption is removed. It likewise can remove duplicate or redundant files, folders, or data points that do nothing but consume bandwidth. And as they sit there idle and undiscovered by the IT department it leaves them open to tampering such as in the event of a hacking attempt.

Expedites Organization

Companies move, employees get promoted, and some people move on from their current jobs. This results in the frequent changing of contact information, personnel files and other historical data.

When this old data is left lying around or otherwise mishandled, it increases the potential of business disruption, communication errors and can severely stagnate predictive analytics tasks.

Through data cleansing, a supply chain business can improve the organization of their information, such as a vendor's updated contact information, payment procedures, and billing. This increased organization improves communication between vendors, suppliers, and customers. It also serves to expedite payments, shipments, and even order fulfillment. 

Increases Business Productivity

Data cleansing enhances your database, computer software, and communications platforms. This increases the speed of each system, reduces lag-time, and allows employees to do more – with less delay or effort.

Removing corrupted data files or outdated information also reduces the potential of communication errors, missed deliveries, or failing inventory control processes. 

How Often Should you Scrub Your Data?

Every business has different levels of data retention. Some that operate in logistics are likewise just as unique – with regards to the volume of computer data and files they receive or process daily. According to most IT professionals, the rate in which you collect information or process computer data will greatly determine how often you need to scrub your data. 

One of the best resources available to supply chain businesses are professional 3PLs like Redwood Logistics that specialize in software solutions – such as data cleansing. They can help you determine where opportunities of corrupted files exist, what type of software data cleansing solutions are best suited for your network, and how often this should be completed. 

Above all, an experienced 3PL like Redwood Logistics can guide you through the data scrubbing and cleansing process, ensuring you don’t miss any vital steps – for optimal results. If you’d like to learn more about how to scrub your data, contact Redwood Logistics today.