People vs data: striking the balance
What’s the best investment for companies when navigating product lifecycle challenges??
?As we emerge from the pandemic, the forces weighing on the world of product development seem greater than ever. Shrinking time-to-market windows, increasing product complexity, emerging environmental regulations, and supply chain delays are just a few factors forcing companies to look beyond business-as-usual to find a competitive edge.??
?So, where should they be focusing their resources? For companies with limited capital at their disposal, that can be a difficult question to answer.?
Many product innovators now realize that better leveraging product data can help them become faster, smarter, and more agile across their product lifecycles. Our research shows that organizations with advanced product data strategies are experiencing more positive business outcomes than those with limited strategies.??
?Organizations with limited data strategies tend to restrict their data management strategies to certain functions without encompassing manufacturing or engineering. Product data is typically siloed to functional areas and used primarily for reporting rather than generating insights.
Do you need more talent??
Finding the right investment balance is a key consideration for all organizations. Product innovators are divided on which investments will demonstrate the highest returns. They could hire new people with specific skill sets, manage costs by developing talent in-house, or invest in data-driven technology to reduce the required headcount.?
?For many organizations, plugging the skills gap with increased headcount seems the way forward. Joseph Felicelli, director of product strategy at Phillips Industries, explains the value a shift in perspective can bring:?
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?“We brought someone in from NASA to work in truck parts,” he says. “It's like bringing a Ferrari to a Sunday drive. It's overkill, but then you start to look at how differently he views what we're trying to do and how quickly we're taking leaps, based on the information and the knowledge that he's brought into the organization.”?
?However, ongoing talent shortages can make high-skilled candidates hard to come by. They often present a short-term solution where long-term change is needed. Investing in a data strategy that requires less recruitment—but more targeted, technical hires—could provide the leapfrog moment many companies are looking for.?
Democratizing data will be critical, no matter the strategy
An added benefit to this approach is the boost it brings to employees already in the operational space. The insights from product data can help them implement more efficient strategies for existing workflows, particularly if data is democratized across teams. And access to the right product data—test, process, equipment, inspection, genealogy, ERP, and more—helps ensure specific problems can be solved. Companies shouldn’t allow a single team to create a bottleneck at the data gateway to get the best value from their data. Instead, they should put an infrastructure in place so employees can access and use its insights at all levels of the business.?
?“A top priority of ours right now is the democratization of data,” explains one associate director of product management and development at a global telecommunications company. “But you need a cross-collaborative team that converges to bring about a center of excellence for data operations. The accessibility of data is there for those who have the skill sets, and one of the big things we are doing is upskilling workers in data analytics and data engineering,” she explains.??
?The question of where best to invest has no easy answer. Companies should begin by identifying areas for improvement and take steps to better understand how data can help optimize both talent and processes.