“Can you patent the Sun?”
Jonas Salk responded with this answer on why he would not patent the Polio Vaccine. It might have been potentially worth billions of dollars today. I wonder if 60-years later if his rhetorical question still valid, especially in the context today’s vaccine: data?
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. — Henry David Thoreau
But, first please consider these recent (mind-shifting) news snippets:
Second, this one:
This unlikely last one, perhaps?
Do you all see the connection and the point I am trying to make? Please allow me to clarify: If two hard-core Pharma competitors can share proprietary compounds, a high-tech — high-fructose company collaborate, and a discombobulated triumvirate of congress-regulators-and-private-companies can jointly agree to share cyber security information — then any excitement to “data as an asset class” is worth serious consideration.
Sharing of security information, for example and especially during a “cyber-attack”, was just unheard of just a few years ago. The thought of a CIO of a large bank, calling his counterpart at a competitor as his first call to exchange any info — was anathema to their culture. Now because of the lall global banks are interconnected, it would behoove them to share information — and it is now become the norm! Now the government does the same.
Three Cheers to this emerging constructive coöpetition data democracy movement!
Here is my #2016 prediction is that this will go mainstream for industries like retail and consumer goods: The unlikeliest and strangest of bedfellows are going to get together to disrupt the “data Scrooges”. Maybe they should be called “data kidnappers”? No one should be allowed to be a longstanding and sole gatekeeper of data and then holding them hostage. We believe this greatly limits innovation in the eco-system. There needs to be an “Data Pledge” equivalent to the Polio Pledge in the 1950's.
Even the laggard of all industry verticals — HealthCare — now runs and makes decisions based on Data. Companies like United HealthCare who advertise their prowess in “health in numbers” even has a namesake website with amazing data and consumer insights for patients and providers. The retail and consumer goods industry is a strong-follower in the laggard lane. The level of data that is currently available, while staggering, trying to put the puzzle together to solve recurring industry issues (like out of stock, overstock inventory, failed promotions and new product launches etc.,) that can be disdainfully hard and complex. It just shouldn’t be so. However, the “data quilt” one would have to wear against the chilly-looks one gets when it comes to data sharing in this industry is palpable. One of the many reasons is that one wants to monetize their data over creating value on top of the data for larger benefit of the ecosystem — above all else. Our belief is that when you exchange a dollar — both have the same amount. When you exchange ideas on the same data landscape — you have 2 insights. Not one!
Oddly enough, big-box retailers such as Walmart, Target and others have a fairly open policy only for their suppliers to get access to some complex supply-chain data. However, the sophistication and maturity of players in this Eco-system that makes availability and deriving insights from the “lakes of data” a moot point. Not because these executives don’t know that data is important, or that data when shared actually is proportional to the profitable actions they could take to their mutual benefit. It is that they have little to no budget or time left to spend analyzing the data. They are also confusing sharing from protection and governance around their data. Somehow they think by sharing the data that it will dilute its value or that it will be used as a lever of negotation. Au contraire. It just makes both parties game the system and look at ways to undercut each other in vicious cycle — as opposed to using the opportunity to creating a virtuous one.
Consider the current omni -channel challenges being faced by retailers and consumer goods alike:
- 71% of US consumers expect to be able to view in-store inventory information online, and on their mobile.
- Less than 1/3rd of retailers offered any data visibility capability to their suppliers or consumers to support this need, according to a Accenture Survey.
- 50% of US consumers expect to be able to buy a product online and pick it up in a store but only 33% of retailers have operationalized in-store pickup.
- According to GS1 and University of Arkansas study, Standards-based processes can reduce out-of-stocks by 50%, and safety stock by up to 27%, for certain sub-sectors of consumer goods like Apparel.
- 68% of all 18–24 olds use their mobile devices in the physical store.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust
At Orchestro, we have a strong 2016 message for these data hostage-takers of data brokers and providers. Your time has come. Your game is up. We fundamentally believe in the following three things that we hold to be true and sacred, that:
- It’s not the possession of data that makes you smart. It’s the profitable actions you can take on the data that truly matters.
- It’s not predicting outcomes that makes you better. It’s the preventing issues before they happen, and then taking counter-measures against what the data is telling you that makes new growth happens and limits lost sales opportunities.
- It’s not just machine-learning that is important — its one continually taking smarter action against that learning that is critical. The ability to pinpoint the root-cause issues at a nano-level (eg., store-SKU-timeOfDay during Valentine’s day on an unusually ), everyday, and ensuring it never happens again. That is what learning is all about.
Our wish for 2016:: may all the data be available to solve the challenges at hand and may the best analytical solution win. I we will end with one of my favorite New Yorker [copyrighted] cartoon (c):
