VANTAGE POINT: Toward a Demand Data Center of Excellence and a Data Czar
By Michael Sorensen, Vice President, Vision Chain
"We can't keep doing what we're doing because what we're doing is nothing." --Data Czar for Healthcare, appointed by Barack Obama, April 2009
We've seen a lot of activity in the last three years over how to engage with demand data from retailers. The activity is on two fronts. First, the number of retailers sharing data in a programmatic fashion has grown significantly. Second, the data is growing in size, in speed, and in breadth per source. This means there are more insights, and more actionability along with greater expectations from your retail partners.
What has not changed is the organizational structure around making this data an active asset. We no longer get the question 'Is this data available outside of Wal-Mart, Target, and dunnhumby?' Now the question is 'How do I manage all the constituents of data, the departments who want it, the skunk work databases, and talk to retailers? Who's in charge of this?"
This kind of comment speaks to the pain we feel from companies large and small who've progressed down a path with a demand signal repository and analytical programs against point-of-sale and inventory data coming from retailers. The pain includes:
- A desire to talk to retailers currently not providing a consistent stream of data, and not knowing who in the organization should be taking the lead
- No single place in the organization that can document what data is available, from what retailer, when, and how it can be accessed
- No one who is keeping current with what peers or competitors are doing with data, to ensure no one is building competitive advantage, as well as no one with a clear, consistent vision of how to create competitive advantage using the data in the future
- A group to stop one-off, 'skunk work', retailer-specific databases built by retailer co-located teams who have immediate need to use the data, when there are more robust, centrally budgeted and supported alternatives
- Nowhere to go for models of how to measure return-on-investment and how to go faster, and no one to evangelize the presence and value of the data to business departments not currently using it to be more real-time
- A place to coordinate efforts across many very different, currently not collaborative business departments all of whom need or want access to retailer-direct consumption and inventory data
We believe the remedy for many organizations may be the incorporation of a Center of Excellence, including a 'Data Czar'. A Center of Excellence (COE) provides the right motivation, accountability, and resources to speed up expensive, and sometimes floundering efforts to catch up to competitors already using demand data from multiple retailers. A white paper due out soon from the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) on Retailer Direct Data lists over thirty business benefits for demand data. These benefits tie to different departments, such as supply chain, sales, marketing and service. Each of these organizations needs a single place to go to get the straight story on what is available, when and how.
"We can't keep doing what we're doing because what we're doing is nothing." --Data Czar for Healthcare, appointed by Barack Obama, April 2009
We've seen a lot of activity in the last three years over how to engage with demand data from retailers. The activity is on two fronts. First, the number of retailers sharing data in a programmatic fashion has grown significantly. Second, the data is growing in size, in speed, and in breadth per source. This means there are more insights, and more actionability along with greater expectations from your retail partners.
What has not changed is the organizational structure around making this data an active asset. We no longer get the question 'Is this data available outside of Wal-Mart, Target, and dunnhumby?' Now the question is 'How do I manage all the constituents of data, the departments who want it, the skunk work databases, and talk to retailers? Who's in charge of this?"
This kind of comment speaks to the pain we feel from companies large and small who've progressed down a path with a demand signal repository and analytical programs against point-of-sale and inventory data coming from retailers. The pain includes:
- A desire to talk to retailers currently not providing a consistent stream of data, and not knowing who in the organization should be taking the lead
- No single place in the organization that can document what data is available, from what retailer, when, and how it can be accessed
- No one who is keeping current with what peers or competitors are doing with data, to ensure no one is building competitive advantage, as well as no one with a clear, consistent vision of how to create competitive advantage using the data in the future
- A group to stop one-off, 'skunk work', retailer-specific databases built by retailer co-located teams who have immediate need to use the data, when there are more robust, centrally budgeted and supported alternatives
- Nowhere to go for models of how to measure return-on-investment and how to go faster, and no one to evangelize the presence and value of the data to business departments not currently using it to be more real-time
- A place to coordinate efforts across many very different, currently not collaborative business departments all of whom need or want access to retailer-direct consumption and inventory data
We believe the remedy for many organizations may be the incorporation of a Center of Excellence, including a 'Data Czar'. A Center of Excellence (COE) provides the right motivation, accountability, and resources to speed up expensive, and sometimes floundering efforts to catch up to competitors already using demand data from multiple retailers. A white paper due out soon from the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) on Retailer Direct Data lists over thirty business benefits for demand data. These benefits tie to different departments, such as supply chain, sales, marketing and service. Each of these organizations needs a single place to go to get the straight story on what is available, when and how.
Starting your COE includes a nine step process:
1. Understand current processes and need areas to be filled by the COE
2. Develop the roles and function of COE to drive operational excellence
3. Establish accountability to key performance metrics
4. Define rules of engagement for COE within the organization
5. Identify and recruit the members
6. Embed knowledge into organization through creating a 'State of the Data' address
7. Begin tackling the needs, solving problems, saving money, and speeding the company up
8. Make changes to the model and the COE based on initial findings
9. Operationalize the COE model for the future
There are many ways to kick this off and get support for the effort. One is to create a 'POS Strategy', either by using an industry firm or creating it internally. Another is to do a 'Data Assessment' management consulting engagement. These kinds of efforts help to inventory the current pain and issues, and measure what kind of investment is right-sized for the realistic opportunities. When we've conducted these vendor-neutral studies, we've found that they can be completed in less than ninety days, and they often free-up capital budgets for immediate investment around pain areas that, until the study, were hiding within the organization.
We've seen President Barack Obama adopt a 'czar' approach to handling problems that are cross-departmental, urgent, and have emerged in the last two to four years. If it works for the United States, it can certainly work for you.
1. Understand current processes and need areas to be filled by the COE
2. Develop the roles and function of COE to drive operational excellence
3. Establish accountability to key performance metrics
4. Define rules of engagement for COE within the organization
5. Identify and recruit the members
6. Embed knowledge into organization through creating a 'State of the Data' address
7. Begin tackling the needs, solving problems, saving money, and speeding the company up
8. Make changes to the model and the COE based on initial findings
9. Operationalize the COE model for the future
There are many ways to kick this off and get support for the effort. One is to create a 'POS Strategy', either by using an industry firm or creating it internally. Another is to do a 'Data Assessment' management consulting engagement. These kinds of efforts help to inventory the current pain and issues, and measure what kind of investment is right-sized for the realistic opportunities. When we've conducted these vendor-neutral studies, we've found that they can be completed in less than ninety days, and they often free-up capital budgets for immediate investment around pain areas that, until the study, were hiding within the organization.
We've seen President Barack Obama adopt a 'czar' approach to handling problems that are cross-departmental, urgent, and have emerged in the last two to four years. If it works for the United States, it can certainly work for you.
________________________________________________________
About the Author
Michael Sorensen is a vice president for Vision Chain (www.visionchain.com) a Data Signal repository provider. He has 20 years of experience in helping manufacturers achieve operational excellence by getting the most out of their technology, human and intellectual assets. He has been involved in the creation of numerous best practices centers and data assessments. He can be reached at [email protected].
About the Author
Michael Sorensen is a vice president for Vision Chain (www.visionchain.com) a Data Signal repository provider. He has 20 years of experience in helping manufacturers achieve operational excellence by getting the most out of their technology, human and intellectual assets. He has been involved in the creation of numerous best practices centers and data assessments. He can be reached at [email protected].