Prescriptive Analytics
Prescriptive analytics is the most advanced layer of analytics: it not only predicts an outcome but recommends the action to take in response — the "what should we do?" It combines forecasts with optimisation and business rules to suggest, or even automate, the best next step.
In logistics, prescriptive analytics turns an at-risk shipment alert into a recommended re-booking, or a demand forecast into a suggested replenishment — surfacing decisions, not just numbers.
Diagram
Descriptive
what happened
what happened
Diagnostic
why
why
Predictive
what next
what next
Prescriptive
what to do
what to do
The four levels of analytics — prescriptive is where data becomes action.
Also known as
Decision Analytics
Related terms
Where this matters at WHIZTEC
Frequently asked
What are the four levels of analytics?
Descriptive (what happened), diagnostic (why), predictive (what will happen) and prescriptive (what to do about it). Value grows at each level.