Big data has the potential of offering valuable insights into the way organizations function, and it is changing the way organizations make decisions. Nine invited essays provide a wide range of perspectives on the role of big data in customer‐driven supply chains, healthcare operations, retail operations, demand planning and manufacturing, environmental and social issues, humanitarian operations, agriculture supply chains, and service operations. Decision makers should have clean, valid, and reliable data, and they should have a thorough understanding of the contexts of applications. Big data shorten virtual distance to customers, and thus facilitate personalization of products and services. Successful implementation of big data applications requires sharing the data with appropriate stakeholders.