Predictive Analytics Applications for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) - A Mini Survey and Real-World Use Cases

Predictive analytics is becoming more mature and is gaining traction in smart manufacturing around the world. Over the past decade, predictive analytics has hence reached a plateau of productivity while techniques and tools became more robust and accessible. Small- and medium-sized enterprises have to seize these new opportunities in order to optimize and embed analytics in high-value business scenarios and improve their competitiveness. However, getting started with predictive modeling can seem like an insurmountable feat for SMEs, why inspiration and pointers to real-world applications can be valuable. In this paper, we first introduce current trends in predictive analytics followed by a mini survey showcasing interesting real-world use cases in SMEs. Finally, we present common algorithms and models, followed by two recent real-world applications in Danish SMEs.