How Can Manufacturers Become Data Champions?

GENEVA—Nearly three-quarters of manufacturing managers worldwide consider data sharing to improve their operations. In a recent study, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), examined the opportunities associated with data sharing in manufacturing and the enablers for building successful data-sharing ecosystems. The organizations discuss their findings in a report, Share to Gain: Unlocking Data Value in Manufacturing, released today.

Although manufacturers are making strides in applying data-driven technologies, most focus on applications within their companies and have difficulty maximizing the return on investment. By sharing data across companies, manufacturers can create even more value and foster faster innovation. The potential value of data sharing by focusing on manufacturing process optimization alone has been estimated to be more than $100 billion.

“True champions apply shared data to improve existing solutions like predictive maintenance that benefit from larger data sets,” says Daniel Küpper, BCG managing director and partner and a report coauthor. “They also successfully implement new solutions where suppliers share a digital product twin with the OEM, enabling autonomous handling of parts.”

To demonstrate the value of data sharing in manufacturing, the study examined five main areas where data sharing can help improve operations. For example, in one application area, manufacturers can improve algorithms to optimize asset performance by combining data from similar production machines. In other areas, manufacturers can apply shared data to track products, trace process conditions, and verify provenance along the value chain, thereby eliminating duplicative processes.

The authors propose a five-step approach to help manufacturers start the process of building successful data-sharing ecosystems. Understanding the business challenges to address by data sharing, identifying suitable applications, selecting viable ones, finding the right partners, and selecting the right model for collaboration are essential for getting off to a good start.

In examining successful data-sharing collaborations, the authors identified four important enablers: selecting the right technologies, using common standards, building trust, and having legal and regulatory clarity. Various organizations are pursuing activities to develop these enablers, which the authors find encouraging.

“To accelerate innovation, all stakeholders in manufacturing ecosystems must work together to address the key questions related to data sharing and unlock its full potential,” says Francisco Betti, head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Production at the World Economic Forum. “Insights from the report will help kick-start the development of new tools and establish new partnerships to take data-based excellence in manufacturing to the next level.”

The authors see the report as a starting point for building a worldwide taskforce around this topic to help all manufacturers in their journey to manufacturing excellence, making the best use of data and data sharing.

A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

To arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617 850 3783 or gregoire.eric@bcg.com.

About The World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).