Accelerating progress through the use of data analytics for innovation

In today's fast-paced business environment, organisations are under immense pressure to increase profit margins, reduce waste, capture market share, and outperform the competition. To meet these challenges, many organisations are turning to big data, IoT, and Industry 4.0 technologies. However, it remains unclear if these organisations are effectively leveraging data and analytics to drive success.

Industry 4.0, in particular, generates vast amounts of data, but some industries struggle to utilise it effectively. This is a concern for R&D and manufacturing professionals who seek ways to improve their personal effectiveness and do their jobs better.

One organisation that has successfully harnessed the power of analytics is BASF. Chemists at the company were able to cut design time by 75% when researching a replacement for phosphates in detergents, thanks to the use of analytics. Empowering experts closest to the data to use it effectively can unlock innovation and free up data scientists to tackle further challenges.

However, the challenge lies in making data accessible and providing the means to analyse it. McKinsey's 2016 report, "The Age of Analytics," estimated that manufacturing industries had achieved only 20-30% of the potential value from data and analytics identified by 2011. This suggests that there is a significant untapped potential for organisations to unlock information required to make significant developments ahead of the competition.

To address this issue, businesses can empower R&D and manufacturing experts to find solutions hidden in their data by unlocking data hidden in existing systems, encouraging experimentation, and providing tools for effective data analysis.

David Kriesel, a data scientist and technology engineer, emphasises the importance of every team having a few people who understand data science. However, this can create tension and inefficiency within a team. Kriesel predicts that in 10 years, more data science will be performed by employees who have learned the basics of data analytics through their work rather than through formal training.

Stan Higgins, a business and technical consultant with nearly five decades of process industry experience, will be discussing these issues in a roundtable event with business leaders on 26 September 2019 in London. Unfortunately, there are no search results that provide information about the organisations participating in this event.

In conclusion, the effective use of data and analytics is crucial for organisations to remain competitive. By empowering R&D and manufacturing experts to analyse their own data, businesses can unlock hidden solutions, accelerate innovation, reduce costs, and get to market faster. The roundtable event with Stan Higgins promises to be an exciting opportunity for business leaders to discuss these issues and share best practices.