Analytics

W O R K I N G K N OW L E D G E R E S E A R C H R E P O RT

Competing on Analytics
THOMAS H. DAVENPORT, DON COHEN, AND AL JACOBSON

Executive Summary

MAY 2005

business performance and making

This report describes the emergence of

On What Basis Do
Companies Compete Today?

a new form of competition based on the

In virtually every industry, many former

extensive use of analytics, data, and

per formance drives optimum financial

strategic alternatives are no longer viable

fact-based decision making. The analytics—

per formance, and to make accurate

or likely to be successful. Today, there

quantitative or statistical models to analyze

forecasts of future per formance so they

are few regulated monopolies, or compa-

business problems—may be applied to a

can react in advance of situations.

nies with unique geographical access.

variety of business problems, including cus-

Instead of throwing money at business

Proprietary technologies are rapidly copied

tomer management, supply chains, and

problems, they seek to optimize their

by competitors, and breakthrough inno-

financial performance. The research assessed

use of capital.

vation in either products or services is

32 firms with regard to their orientation to

rare. Most of the competitive strate-

But strateg ies involving optimization

analytics; about one-third were classified as

g ies organizations are employing today

require something different than those

fully engaged in analytically oriented strate-

involve optimization of key business

based on taking business as it comes.

gies. Both demand and supply factors for

processes. Instead of serving all customers,

Above all, they require extensive data

analytical competition are described. Of the

they want to serve optimal customers—

on the state of the business environ-

two, demand factors are the more difficult

those with the highest level of prof-

ment and the company’s place within it,

to create. The presence of one or more

itability and lifetime value. Instead of

and extensive analysis of the data to

committed senior executives is a primary

receiving goods and services whenever

model that environment, predict the

driver of analytical competition.

they happen to arrive, they attempt to

consequences of alternative actions,

optimize supply chains to minimize

and guide executive decision making.

disruptions and in-process inventory.

Moreover, they require analysts and

Instead of looking backward at their

decision makers who both understand

About This Research
This research report is based on analysis of
32 organizations from a variety of industries
(Figure 1) that are successful both in terms

ex post facto adjustments, they seek to
understand how optimum nonfinancial

the value of analy tics

Figure 1:
Industries of Companies Surveyed

and know how best to
apply these for driving
enhanced per form-

of their overall performance and in their
use of business analytics. The research was
undertaken to investigate and document
how and why these companies not only use

I N DUSTRI ES RE PRESE NTE D
Financial Services

N U M BE R
10

ance. Companies that
strive to optimize
their business per-

sophisticated analytics, but also make them

Consumer Products and Retail

6

formance using

the basis of their competitive strategies,

Travel, Transport, and Entertainment

5

this data-intensive

and adopt or move toward an enterprise-

Pharmaceutical and Chemical

4

approach are compet-

level approach to business intelligence.

Information Technology and Communications

3

Health Care

2

Engineering

1

Government

1

Telephone or in-person interviews were
conducted with either IT or business executives at 30 firms; three firms were analyzed
solely on the basis of secondary research.

ing on analy tics and
analy tical capabilities.
Many companies are
pursuing optimization-

CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

based strategies, but most have failed to

The Boston Red Sox baseball team is also

Analytical competition is not only taking

develop the analytical capabilities neces-

a convert to analytics (following, in many

root in U.S. sports. Some soccer teams in

sary to make them succeed.

ways, the lead of the pioneering but less

Europe also have begun to employ similar

well-financed Oakland A’s). The ability

techniques. AC Milan, one of the leading

The idea of competing on analytics is not

to extract knowledge from data presum-

teams in Europe, uses predictive models

entirely new. A few organizations—most

ably helped the Sox win the World Series

to prevent player injuries by analyzing

within financial services and particularly in

in 2004 for the first time in 86 years.

physiological, orthopedic, and mechanical

financial investment and trading businesses—

Boston has begun to select players less

data from a variety of sources. Bolton, a

have competed on this basis for decades.

on traditional criteria such as batting aver-

fast-rising English soccer team, is known

The trading of stocks, bonds, currencies,

age, but rather on newer, more subtle

for its manager’s use of extensive data to

and commodities has long been driven

evaluate player performance and team

by analytics. What is new is the spreading
of analytical competition to a variety of
other industries—from consumer finance
to retailing to travel and entertainment
to consumer goods—and within companies from individual business units to
an enterprise-wide perspective. Even the
most traditionally intuitive industries are
moving in this direction—professional
sports teams, for example.

Analytical cultures and
processes are appearing

some enviable success of late, at least in
part because of their analytical capabilities.
The New England Patriots football team,

ical models extensively, both on and off
the field. In-depth analytics help the team
select its players, stay below the salary
cap, decide whether to punt or “go for it”
on fourth down, and try for one point or
two after a touchdown. Both its coaches
and players are renowned for their extensive study of game films and statistics, and
Head Coach Bill Belichick peruses articles
by academic economists on statistical
probabilities of football outcomes. Off the
field, the team uses detailed analytics to
assess and improve the “total fan experience.” At every home game, for example,
20 to 25 people have specific assignments to make quantitative measurements
of the stadium food, parking, personnel,
bathroom cleanliness, and other factors.
External vendors of services are monitored

appearing not only in professional sports
teams, but in any business that can har-

sports teams, but in any

processing, and fact-based decision mak-

business that can harness

for competition for these firms. They use

ness extensive data, complex statistical
ing. Analytics is becoming a primary basis
analytical tools to change the way they
compete or to perform substantially better

statistical processing, and

in the existing business model. The gam-

fact-based decision making.

to compete on analytics for customer loy-

for example, won its third Super Bowl in
four years. The team uses data and analyt-

Analytical cultures and processes are

not only in professional

extensive data, complex

Two of Boston’s sports teams have had

strategies.

ing firm Harrah’s, for example, has chosen
alty and service, rather than on building
the mega-casinos in which its competitors

factors such as on-base percentage. Bill

have invested. Its CEO, Gary Loveman,

James, considered the godfather of base-

has commented, “We use database mar-

ball statistics or “sabermetrics,” was hired

keting and decision-science-based analyti-

by the Red Sox as an adviser. The Sox

cal tools to widen the gap between us

also have become more analytical off the

and casino operators who base their cus-

field. Like the Patriots, they map and

tomer incentives more on intuition than

monitor key aspects of the fan experi-

evidence.” Amazon.com uses extensive

ence—from the decision to go to a game,

analytics to predict what products will be

to the routes taken by fans to the game,

successful, and to wring every bit of effi-

to the effectiveness of the cleaning crew.

ciency out of its supply chain. Amazon

The team’s management has maximized

CEO Jeff Bezos notes, ”For every leader

revenues from Fenway Park, the smallest

in the company, not just for me, there

baseball park in the major leagues, by cal-

are decisions that can be made by analy-

culating ticket price elasticities, establish-

sis. These are the best kinds of decisions.

ing an online market for season ticket

They’re fact-based decisions.” At the

resales, and modeling revenue increases

mutual fund company Dreyfus, analysis of

from adding seats in unused locations

customer information defined segmenta-

(including on top of the Green Monster,

tion that helped reduce fund attrition from

the towering left field wall).

22 to 7 percent a year. These companies,

for contract renewal and have incentives

and a variety of others, are clearly competing on analytics.

to improve their performance.

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CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

Attributes of Analytically
Oriented Companies

cal competition. For example, Fairbank

most likely to stop being customers. They

commented:

are combining and pooling both internal
and external data in such a way as to gain

Virtually every major company uses some

It’s all about collecting information

a more comprehensive picture and under-

form of statistical or mathematical analy-

on 200 million people you’d never

standing of their customers than was ever

sis, but some take analytics much further

meet, and on the basis of that infor-

thought possible. They are optimizing

than others. In our research on the topic,

mation, making a series of very

their supply chains, so they can determine

we have identified several key attributes

critical long-term decisions about

the impact of an unexpected constraint,

of firms that compete on analytics:

lending them money and hoping

simulate alternative supply chains, and

they would pay you back.

route shipments around problems. They

• One or more senior executives who
are strongly advocating analytics and

Fairbank summarizes this approach as

fact-based decision making;

“Information-Based Strategy.” Beracha,
before he retired as CEO of Sara Lee

• Widespread use of not just descriptive

Bakery, simply kept a sign on his desk

statistics, but predictive modeling and

saying, “In God we trust; all others

complex optimization techniques;

bring data.”

• Substantial use of analytics approaches

are establishing prices in real time so as
to provide the highest yield possible from
a customer transaction. In financial performance analysis, they create complex
models of how their operational and cost
measures relate to their financial performance. No matter what the business func-

Without the push from the top, it’s rare

tion, it’s possible to improve performance

across multiple business functions or

to find a firm making the cultural changes

through the use of sophisticated analytical

processes;

necessary to become an analytical com-

techniques.

• Movement toward an enterprise-level
approach to managing analytical tools,
data, and organizational skills and

petitor. We found some firms, for example,
in which single functional or business unit
leaders were trying to engineer an analytically oriented shift in their firms, but

capabilities.

weren’t able to sufficiently change the

Each of these attributes is described

culture by themselves. This doesn’t mean,

briefly below:

of course, that such an executive couldn’t
lead such a change under other circum-

One or More Senior Executives
as Advocates

stances, and we did find organizations in
which lower-level advocates were making

The adoption of a broad analytical
approach to business requires changes in
culture, process, behavior, and skills for
multiple employees. Such changes don’t
happen by accident; they must be led by
senior executives with a passion for analytics and fact-based decision making.
Ideally, the primary advocate should be

progress on changing the culture. Any
cross-functional or cross-departmental
change, and certainly any enterprise-wide
effort, clearly requires the support and
attention of executives senior enough to
direct and coordinate efforts in those
separate units.

Companies that are recognized leaders in
using analytical techniques for performance improvements also are using sophisticated experimental designs to measure
the overall impact or “lift” of intervention
strategies and using these results to continuously improve subsequent analyses.
Capital One, for example, conducts more
than 30,000 experiments a year with
different credit card interest rates, incentives, direct mail packaging, and other
parameters to maximize both the likelihood that a potential customer will sign
up for a credit card, and that they will pay
Capital One back. Progressive Insurance
employs similar experiments. The company
defines narrow groups of customers

the CEO, and indeed we found several

Widespread Use of Predictive Modeling

(or “cells”)—for example, motorcycle

chief executives who were driving the

and Optimization Techniques

riders older than 30 with no previous

shift to analytics at their firms. These

Every firm can calculate simple descriptive

accidents, a college education, and a

included Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah’s;

statistics about aspects of its business

credit score higher than a certain level.

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of

(the average revenue per employee, or

For each cell, the company performs

Amazon; Rich Fairbank, the founder and

average order size), but the most aggres-

regression analysis to identify the factors

CEO of Capital One; and Barry Beracha,

sive analytical competitors go well beyond

that most closely correlate with its loss

formerly CEO of Sara Lee Bakery Group.

basic statistics. They are using predictive

experience. They set prices for each cell

Each of these executives has stated both

modeling, for example, to identify not only

they believe will enable them to earn

internally and publicly that their compa-

the most profitable customers, but those

a profit across a portfolio of customer

nies are engaged in some form of analyti-

with the most profit potential, or those

groups. They use simulation software to

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CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

test the financial implications of these

if they are to be broadly adopted across

IT organizations must develop new and

hypotheses. Through this analytical

the firm, it makes more sense to manage

broader capabilities for extracting and

approach, Progressive can profitably

them at an enterprise level. This ensures

cleaning data, loading and maintaining

insure customers in traditionally high-risk

that there is a critical mass of skills, that

data warehouses, data mining, and query

categories, such as motorcyclists.

critical data and other resources are

and reporting. These tools historically

protected, and that data from multiple

have come from separate vendors and

business functions can be correlated.

have been difficult to integrate. However,

The enterprise approach may include both

the leading vendors of business intelli-

organizational and technical capabilities

gence tools and applications are beginning

for business intelligence. At the organiza-

to broaden and integrate their offerings

tional level, for example, Procter &

themselves, and to market and sell them

Gamble recently consolidated its analytical

at the enterprise level.

Use of Analytics across Multiple
Functions and Business Units
One of the hallmarks of an analytically
oriented firm is the use of sophisticated
analytics not just in one business function
or process, but across multiple aspects
of the business. Successful analytical
competitors have realized the power of
these tools and approaches, and are
adopting them across their businesses.
UPS, for example, has traditionally
focused on analytics for operations and

organizations for operations and supply

Stages of Analytical
Competition

chain, marketing, and other functions. This
will allow a critical mass of analytical
expertise to be deployed to address P&G’s

Analytical competition is not a binary

most critical business issues.

attribute, which an organization either has
or lacks. There are several stages of ana-

logistics. More recently, it has developed

From a technology standpoint, many

a strong analytical focus on customers,

firms have had highly dispersed analytical

assessing the likelihood of customer attri-

technology in the form of many spread-

tion, or identifying sources of problems

sheets. However, one researcher suggests

for customers. Several firms, described

that between 20 and 40 percent of

below, are even extending their analytical

spreadsheets contain errors. Furthermore,

orientations to direct use by customers.

the proliferation of user-developed

lytical orientation that we observed in the
companies we interviewed (Figure 2).
The percentages of organizations at these
stages are by no means representative
of any larger population; we intentionally
sought out companies at the higher end of
the analytical spectrum. A random sample

spreadsheets and databases inevitably

As we will argue later, however, there
is a balance to be maintained in terms of
broadening the focus on analytics, and

of organizations would probably look like

leads to multiple versions of key indica-

an inverted version of Figure 2, with the

tors within an organization.

highest frequencies at the lower stages.

employing them to address a specific busi-

Because of these problems, many firms

ness domain. Executives at several analytical

are attempting to consolidate and inte-

competitors warned against losing a clear

grate their technologies for business ana-

business purpose for analytics. Harrah’s, for

lytics. Adopting such an approach means

Stage 1 (“Major Barriers”) organizations
have some desire to become more analytical, but thus far they lack the will and

example, has targeted much of its analysis
on increasing customer loyalty, although it
has extended it into such related areas as
pricing and promotions as well. Analytical

Figure 2:
Stages of Analytical Competition among Study Organizations

competitors can broaden their focus beyond
a narrow function, but they are careful not
to become too diffuse in their analytical

2/32

Stage 1

Major Barriers

FIRMS

targeting so that they continue to support
their primary strategies.

Stage 2

An Enterprise-Level
Management Approach

Stage 3

6/32

Local Activity

FIRMS

7/32
FIRMS

Vision Not Yet Realized

Business intelligence applications often have
been managed at the departmental level,

6/32

Stage 4

Almost There

FIRMS

with analytically oriented business functions
selecting their own tools, managing their

11/32

Stage 5

FIRMS

Analytical
Competitors

own data warehouses, and training their
own people. However, if analytics are to be

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

a company’s basis for competition, and

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What’s the Business Value
of Analytics?

skill to do so. They face some substantial

fashion of Progressive, an auto insurance

barriers—both organizational and techni-

company with a history of technological

cal—to analytical competition, and are still

and analytical innovation. But the company

focused on putting basic, integrated trans-

only recently had begun to expand its

Analytics can be used to pull almost every

action functionality in place. As a result

analytical orientation beyond the tradition-

lever of organizational performance.

they are not yet on the path to becoming

ally quantitative actuarial function, and

However, we found several business

analytical competitors. Because we attempted

there was little cooperation across the life

objectives and issues that were driving

to interview only organizations that compete

and property and casualty business units.

most of the analytical activity in the firms
we studied. They include the following:

on analytics, we encountered only two
Stage 1 organizations—a state government

Stage 4 (“Almost There”) organizations

agency and an engineering firm (and even

have the vision, and are close to achieving

that firm is becoming more analytical

it. Six organizations fell into this category.

zations were focused on customer or consumer

about its human resources). However,

Some only recently had adopted an enterprise-

analytics, which encompass a variety of

Stage 1 organizations probably constitute

wide approach to analytical competition,

specific objectives. They might include,

the majority of all large organizations.

and had yet to fully realize it in terms of

for example, identifying the most prof-

marshaling the necessary resources.

itable or desirable customers, or those

Stage 2 (“Local Activity”) organizations

Others were competing on the basis of

with the lowest risk of nonpayment.

have made substantial progress in becom-

analytics, but also were competing on the

Customer analytics also include identifying

ing more analytical, but it is primarily

basis of other factors, such as maintaining

the current customers who are most like-

local, within particular functions or units.

strong personal relationships with cus-

ly to stop being customers. They also

Marketing, for example, may be identifying

tomers. Only a small degree of added

might include customer-specific pricing

optimal customers or modeling demand,

emphasis on analytical capability would

or product/ service offerings based on

but the example has not spread to other

place these companies in the top rank.

the customer’s past or predicted future

• Customers or consumer—Several organi-

buying frequency and habits. Companies

parts of the company. Their business
intelligence activities produced economic

The top rank is Stage 5 (“Analytical

that pursued this set of analytics among

benefits, but not enough to affect the

Competitors”), which describes organiza-

our study respondents included Harrah’s,

company’s competitive strategy. We found

tions that have embarked upon analytical

Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance,

six of these firms. What they primarily

competition as a primary dimension of

Barclays, and Capital One.

lacked was a vision of analytical competi-

strategy. These are the organizations we

tion that came from senior executives.

primarily sought to uncover in our

Several of the firms had some of the

research, and therefore we identified 11 of

the supply chain are well-established

same technology as firms at higher stages

them. They include such large and small

in many large firms, with the primary

of analytical activity, but they had not put

organizations as Apex Management Group

orientation usually being reduction of

it to strategic use.

(a health care actuarial firm), Barclays

in-process inventory. Supply chain analysis

Consumer Finance, Capital One, Harrah’s,

also might encompass matching demand

The organizations in Stage 3 (“Vision Not

Marriott, Owens & Minor, Progressive, Wal-

and supply, routing shipments around

Yet Realized”) do grasp the value and the

Mart, a consumer products firm, and the

logistical problems, reducing stockouts

promise of analytical competition, but

sports teams, the New England Patriots

and overstocks, alternative supply simu-

they are a long way from actually suc-

and the Boston Red Sox. These firms

lations, plant and distribution center

ceeding with it. We found seven organiza-

exhibited each of the attributes described

siting decisions, and price optimization.

tions in this position. Some only recently

above as the components of analytical

Among the companies in our study,

have articulated the vision, and have not

competition. They are also all highly suc-

Wal-Mart is the leading exponent of

begun implementing it. Others have very

cessful within their industries, and attrib-

supply chain analytics.

high levels of functional or business unit

ute their success at least in part to their

autonomy, and are having difficulty

analytical strategies. Barclays, for example,

mounting a cohesive approach to analytics

increased its revenue per active account

across the enterprise. One multiline insur-

by 25 percent, while reducing delinquent

ance company, for example, had a CEO

accounts by 23 percent, by following its

with the vision of using data, analytics,

analytically oriented “Information Based

and a strong customer orientation in the

Customer Management” strategy.

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• Supply chain—Analytics for logistics and

• Financial performance and cost
management—One domain of business
value for analytics can revolve around
performance management. Monitoring
and decision making on financial information is not often thought of as a

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CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

• Human resources—Several firms men-

competitive strategy, but it can be. At

and analysis is a focus for anyone who

MCI, (the company once known as

hopes to compete in the industry. We

tioned they were beginning to do human

WorldCom which recently emerged

also found evidence of analytics in new

resource planning with analytics, but the

from bankruptcy and was acquired by

product development in the financial

most aggressive users today seem to be

Verizon), managing the business with

services industry. Brown Brothers

professional sports teams. Both the

accurate information on costs and their

Harriman, for example, is employing

Boston Red Sox and the New England

allocations is crucial to the company’s

analytical models for its insurance

Patriots, for example, use statistical

strategy. CEO Michael Capellas and the

industry clients to model risk-adjusted

analysis to identify the most promising

The most important factor in being prepared for sophisticated
analytics is the availability of sufficient volumes of high-quality data.
management team reasoned that the

options for asset allocation. This service

players to draft. The Patriots have been

company couldn’t restore investor confi-

had not previously been available in

particularly successful in this regard,

dence or make good decisions on prod-

the industry, and it has brought BBH a

using analytics to stay below the strin-

ucts and services without a better notion

considerable amount of new business

gent salary cap in the National Football

of the company’s costs. Most of MCI’s

among insurance firms. Similarly, The

League. In fact, the Patriots have won

services run over the same network, so

Hartford was the first to market an

three of the last four Super Bowls with a

allocating costs to service offerings is

options-based annuity product that

relatively low-cost payroll, the 19th high-

difficult. MCI embarked on a major activity-

accounted for a significant increase

est in the league in the 2004-5 season.

based costing initiative, and developed

in year-to-year revenues.

The team ranks potential recruits on the

algorithms for allocating all costs. The
company needed to report segment

basis of intangible attributes that other
• Strategic planning—Several of the firms

profitability anyway, and with accurate

we interviewed are using statistical

cost allocations, managers can make

analysis for the first time in strategic

effective decisions about what services

planning. Their objective is to determine

to launch and what resources are needed

what markets and customer types to

to support them.

address with what products and services.
In the insurance industry, for example,

• Research and new product/service

while pricing decisions are made on

teams don’t assess, including intelligence, commitment, coachability, and a
willingness to subordinate individual ego
to the goals of the team. In Major
League Baseball, the Red Sox and a few
other teams have adopted the analytical
approaches pioneered by Billy Beane,
the general manager of the Oakland A’s

development—Perhaps the most active

detailed analysis of actuarial risk and

use of analytics in research and product

loss patterns, strategic planning often

development is in the pharmaceutical

has been purely intuitive. One insurance

industry. We interviewed three pharma-

firm we interviewed (The Hartford),

ceutical firms (Millennium, Novartis, and

however, is using analytics to assess

Vertex), each of which was attempting to

new business opportunities, considering

conquer the overwhelming complexity of

market segmentation, economics, risk-

relating chemical, clinical, and genomic

adjusted returns, and the cost of capital

data. Many pharmaceutical firms have

for the opportunity. Capital One is using

embarked upon discovery techniques

detailed analytics to assess what finan-

involving high-throughput screening,

cial products to offer customers in addi-

There are undoubtedly other business

which yields an enormous amount of

tion to credit cards; auto loans are one

areas in which analytics would prove to

data and a need to analyze and make

example of a product that was tested

be of value, but the ones above were the

sense of all of the experimental results.

extensively before a broad rollout, and

most common in our study. It is likely, how-

No firm has yet mastered all of these

it has become a profitable business for

ever, that many decisions previously made

complexities, but statistical modeling

the company.

on intuition and hope will soon be

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(described by Michael Lewis in the book
Moneyball). These approaches involve
selecting players on such factors as onbase percentage (the percent of the
time a batter reaches base) and slugging
percentage (the number of bases
achieved per time at bat), rather than
more traditional criteria such as batting
average and running speed.

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addressed with detailed analysis. Procter

data issues. The leading firms, however,

An analytics group at a consumer prod-

& Gamble, for example, pulls together

have largely overcome them.

ucts firm rented time on a supercomputer

an analytical team whenever it considers

to do some of its more complex analyses.

the supply chain opportunities an acquisi-

Previous studies of firms’ analytical capa-

From a software perspective, “business

tion might offer to drive synergy savings.

bilities have found even leading-edge

intelligence” software offers a variety of

One might hope that more analytical

companies tend to be good at either

capabilities, including data warehouse

approaches will improve the dismal record of

qualitative knowledge management or

management, query and reporting, data

success many companies have experienced

quantitative data management, but rarely

mining, and various forms of statistical

in mergers and acquisitions.

both. Companies still wrestle with this

analysis. Ideally all these capabilities

combination, but we found a few more

would be well-integrated and easy to use.

examples of firms that do both well—

From the end user perspective, ease of

particularly in the realm of consumer

analysis, reporting, and data visualization

information. Procter & Gamble historically

were often mentioned as important in the

has been an industry leader in customer

firms we interviewed. For some firms

analytics, but it also tries to develop

focused on real-time analytics (such as

a detailed understanding of consumer

real-time pricing and yield management),

behaviors through ethnographic (close

the speed of data management and

observation) and psychographic analysis.

analysis is a critical factor for software

Wachovia Bank combines knowledge from

and hardware.

How Do Firms Become
Analytical Competitors?
In order for a firm to become an analytical
competitor, the supply of and demand for
data and analysis must be in alignment.
The supply issues are much easier to deal
with and are generally available in the
marketplace, although their absence in a
firm is certainly problematic. The supply
factors for analytical competition include

customer relationships and quantitative
data analysis of customers (primarily cus-

Quantitative Expertise

tomer segmentation analysis and market-

While analytical software becomes

High- Quality Data

ing campaign targeting) to determine what

increasingly easy to use, firms that com-

The most important factor in being

services to offer a particular customer,

pete on analytics still require substantial

prepared for sophisticated analytics is

what markets to target, and what new ini-

quantitative skills—either in-house or con-

the availability of sufficient volumes of

tiatives to undertake at particular financial

tracted from outside. The statistical expert,

high-quality data. This is less of a prob-

centers. The importance of personal busi-

in order to be useful, also will need to be

lem today than it was previously for many

ness relationships is deeply embedded

familiar with the business problems in

organizations, which have made substan-

in the Wachovia culture, and CEO Ken

the function and industry; the quantitative

tial progress in accumulating transaction

Thompson insists it remains there even

skills of a good analyst are rarely equally

data the past several years. Whether the

as the culture also embraces analytics.

applicable across diverse businesses. One

data come from ERP systems, point-of-sale

Particularly where customers are con-

pharmaceutical company, for example,

systems, or Internet transactions, many

cerned, it’s important to remember that

attempted to use several bioinformatics

organizations have a greater volume of

marketing and service processes involve

experts to pursue analysis of commercial

data than ever before. The difficulty is pri-

more than the application of statistics.

problems in marketing and operations,

the following:

marily in ensuring data quality, integrating
and reconciling it across different systems,
and deciding what subsets of data to
make easily available in data warehouses
(i.e., having a clear strategy for data
access). Many organizations remain highly
fragmented, and have issues involving
integration across their diverse business
functions and units. Even such basic
points as agreeing on the definition of
who is a customer can be problematical
across lines of business. As we noted
above, the lowest-ranking firms in our
scale of analytical competition still face

and found they were neither motivated
A Capable Technology Environment

nor expert at the applications. While sta-

In order to take advantage of good data,

tistical analysts who also understand busi-

an organization also needs a capable

ness issues always have been difficult

hardware and software environment.

to find, it is increasingly possible to hire

Complex analytics chew up a good deal of

analytical expertise outside of a company—

processing power, so the workstations and

even from India or China in some cases.

servers used for this purpose need to be
substantially more powerful than those

However, some firms we interviewed

used for conventional office tasks. Apex

stressed the importance of a close and

Management Group, for example, a health

trusting relationship between quantitative

care actuarial firm, is transitioning to a

analysts and decision makers. The need is

64-bit computing environment to deal

for statistical experts who also understand

with the complex and data-intensive sta-

the business in general, and the particular

tistical analyses it performs for its clients.

business need of a specific decision maker.

significant difficulties with these basic

B A B S O N E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N

WORKING KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH CENTER

7

CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

As one manager at Wachovia Bank put it

that made some use of business intelli-

in a family business. At the winemaker

with regard to the relationships his analyti-

gence said the lack of demand from top-

E&J Gallo, when Joe Gallo, the son of one

cal group tries to maintain:

level senior executives was their single

of the firm’s founding brothers, became

most significant barrier to engaging in

CEO, he intensified the firm’s focus on

We are trying to build our people as

analytical competition. These executives

data and analysis—first in sales, and later

part of the business team; we want

were more comfortable with intuitive deci-

in other functions, including the assess-

them sitting at the business table,

sions, or weren’t aware of the possibilities

ment of consumer taste.

participating in a discussion of what

for analytical competition within their

the key issues are, determining

industry. Some were not averse to analyt-

At the New England Patriots National

what information needs the business

ics, but didn’t have enough personal ana-

Football League team, the involvement in

people have, and recommending

lytical experience to base their strategies

the team by Jonathan Kraft, the son of the

actions to the business partners.

on analytics and fact-based decisions.

owner Bob Kraft and a former manage-

We want this [analytical group]

Without executives who want to use data

ment consultant, helped move the team

to be more than a general utility,

and analysis to make decisions, even the

in a more analytical direction both in

but rather an active and critical

best business intelligence applications will

terms of on-field issues such as play

part of the business unit’s success.

not be used. We saw several patterns of

selection and team composition, and off-

involvement by senior executives on the

field issues affecting the fan experience.

A consumer products firm we interviewed
hires what it calls “PhD’s with personality”

demand side, which we describe below.

The prime mover for analytical demand

for its analytical group—individuals with

Some organizations’ leaders had the

doesn’t always have to be the CEO. At

heavy quantitative skills, but also the ability

desire to compete analytically from their

Procter & Gamble, for example, the pri-

to speak the language of the business

beginning. Capital One, for example, was

mary impetus for more analysis is coming

and market their work to internal (and in

created in a 1994 IPO in order to apply

from a vice chairman. However, we did

some cases, external) customers. To find

the founders’ information-based strategy

observe two cases in which a single func-

these types of people and develop these

to the credit card business. Amazon.com

tional executive with a strong demand for

types of relationships would surely be

was viewed by founder Jeff Bezos as

an analytical orientation was unable to

much more difficult in an outsourcing sit-

competing on analytics from its start. Its

change the culture in that direction. At a

uation, and virtually impossible with the

concept of personalization was based on

consumer products firm, an analytically

analysts half a world away from the deci-

statistical algorithms and Web transaction

focused marketing executive made his

sion makers.

data, and it quickly moved into analytics

own function more analytical, but was

on supply chain and marketing issues as

unsuccessful in moving the entire firm in

well. Amazon recently used analytics to

that direction. Another analytical market-

explore whether it should advertise on tel-

ing and sales executive at an information

More difficult to create than supply is the

evision, and concluded it would not be a

technology firm was similarly unable to

demand for analysis and fact-based deci-

successful use of its resources. The vision

change his firm’s entire culture, although

sion making within a company. In the

of the founders of these startup businesses

other executives were certainly aware of

earliest stages of analytical competition

led to analytical competition.

his strongly data-based management style.

Demand—The Critical Factor
in Analytical Competition

(Stage 1 and 2 organizations), demand is
created by particular business problems.
As analytics becomes more central to the
competitive strategy, demand becomes
more generalized across an organization.
Yet, unlike the supply factors described
above, demand—the desire to use analytics as a primary competitive factor—cannot
be bought in the marketplace. The key
demand factors we identified include:

In both firms, business intelligence is alive
In other cases, the demand for analytical

and well, but it has not yet become a key

competition came from a new senior exec-

element of strategy.

utive arriving at an established company.
At Harrah’s, for example, the recruitment
of Gary Loveman as chief operating officer,
and eventually CEO, greatly accelerated
the company’s analytical orientation and
led to a new basis for competition—
competing on customer loyalty and service,
rather than building the most expensive

Willing Senior Executives

casino properties. Sometimes the change

Several lower-stage firms we interviewed

comes from a new generation of managers

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Stimulating Demand
Even with willing executives, there is often
a need to stimulate demand on an ongoing basis. Several firms have created
organizational units for this purpose. At
Quaker Chemical, each business unit has
a “business adviser”—an analytical specialist—
reporting to the head of the business unit.
The role acts as an intermediary between

8

CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

the suppliers (normally the IT organiza-

stimulate analysis per se, but rather to

agement team. These IT managers refuse to

tion) and users (executives) of data and

stimulate a different kind of analysis by

wait until more analytically oriented senior

analyses. The advisers not only stimulate

different groups of people. Verizon and

executives happen to arrive at the company.

demand by showing the business unit

other firms arising out of the “Bell

how analysis can be useful but, as inter-

System” have long been analytically ori-

Several executives we interviewed com-

mediaries, explain business needs to the

ented, but decisions were generally made

mented that analytics have to be continually

suppliers and ensure that business-relevant

slowly and were pushed up the organiza-

sold throughout an organization. Executives

data and analysis will be provided. Wachovia

tional hierarchy. Shaygan Kheradpir,

change, new business issues emerge, and

has a similar arrangement in its Customer

Verizon’s chief information officer, is

those who need to use analytical approach-

Analytics group, in which analytical teams

attempting to change this culture through

es in their jobs are not always compliant. At

are tied to particular business units and

continual exposure to information. He

UPS, for example, the customer intelligence

act as partners in creating and fulfilling

created a form of continuous scorecard in

group determined customer defections

analytical demand. Managers of these

which hundreds of performance metrics of

could be accurately predicted based on cus-

groups commented frequently that a rela-

various types are broadcast to PCs around

tomer data patterns and complaints, but the

tionship of trust between the analyst and

the company, each occupying the screen

sales force needed to be sold on the new

the executive decision maker is critical to

for 15 seconds. The idea is to get every-

approach. When a potential defector is iden-

the success of an analytical strategy.

one—not just senior executives—focused

tified through the use of the data, the sales-

on information and what it means, and

person should contact the customer to

to encourage employees at all levels to

review and resolve the potential issue.

address any issues that appear in the

Despite a high record of success, only about

data. Kheradpir feels he is beginning to

75 percent of the salespeople were willing

see signs of cultural change from the

to act on the predictions—though the per-

use of the scorecard.

centage is increasing. Even without full com-

The enemies of an analytical orientation
are decisions based solely on intuition
and gut feel. Yet these have always been
popular approaches to decision making
because of their ease and speed, and a
belief that gut-feel decisions might be

pliance, the analytical approach has reduced

better. For those organizations without

At one pharmaceutical firm where we

sufficient demand for data and analysis in

interviewed several IT executives, there was

executive decision making, the obvious

generally little demand from senior execu-

Harrah’s has developed a centralized

question is whether such demand can be

tives for analytical decision making, particu-

real-time yield management system for all

stimulated. If there is no senior executive

larly in marketing. IT managers didn’t have

of its hotels that needed to be sold to prop-

with a strong analytical orientation, must

access to the decisions marketers were try-

erty managers. The system’s decisions are

the organization wait for such a manager

ing to make, and the marketing executives

based not only upon the usual room avail-

to be appointed? One answer, of course,

didn’t know what data or analysis might be

ability patterns, but also on the customer’s

is for an analytical group to build a suc-

available to support their decisions.

loyalty level. When a customer calls for a

cessful track record of analytical decisions

However, two external events offered

reservation, the system’s algorithms weigh a

that have paid off—a set of success stories.

opportunities to build analytical demand.

number of variables and data (including the

However, it can take several years to build

One marketing manager discovered a ven-

number of available rooms, the amount of

this type of reputation.

dor who showed how sales data could be

time before the planned stay, and the

displayed graphically in terms of geography

amount of business the customer gives

on an interactive map. The company’s IT

Harrah’s at this and other casinos) to calcu-

executives felt the display technique was

late a price to offer to the customer. The

relatively simple, and they offered similar

system almost always produces higher rev-

capabilities to the manager.

enues for individual properties when it is

We did find some more specific examples
of attempts to stimulate demand. Whether
they will ultimately prove successful is as
yet unclear. One reasonable and logical
approach is simply to provide senior exec-

the frequency of customer defections.

employed. Yet property managers usually

utives with accurate and timely informa-

A second opportunity was offered by an

have to be convinced the system is more

tion and performance measures so the

external study from a consulting firm. One

effective than traditional approaches to yield

facts will be available if they choose to

outcome of the study will be a new set of

management and local decision making.

make fact-based decisions.

performance indicators. The IT group plans

At the telecommunications firm Verizon,

to seize upon the indicators and will offer

These examples are evidence that in order

more analysis and related data to the man-

to build demand for complex analytics, man-

for example, one executive’s goal is not to

B A B S O N E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N

WORKING KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH CENTER

agers and affected users need to be educated.

9

CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

Bank of America is facing this issue head-on

Virtually every firm we interviewed that

Wal-Mart is not alone in sharing data.

by incorporating models into its executive

had built up its analytical capabilities finds

Progressive Insurance, for example, shares

development programs that encourage leaders

demand for them exceeds the supply.

pricing data—its own and that of competi-

to look at the “three I’s”—insight, intelligence,

Therefore, the use of analytical resources

tors—with customers. The company also

and ideas—when looking for opportunities to

must be prioritized and allocated. Procter &

offers customers the possibility of lower
rates if they accept a device in their cars

“We’ve been collecting data for six or seven years,
but it's only become usable in the last two or

that gathers data about driving activity.
Some firms share both data and analyses
with their customers. Procter & Gamble

three, with enough time and experience to validate

offers data and analytics as a service to its

conclusions based on the data.”

calls “Joint Value Creation,” and to its sup-

— Manager of Customer Data at UPS

retail customers as part of a program it
pliers in order to help them improve their
responsiveness and costs. The hospital supplier Owens & Minor provides data and
analyses for its customers and suppliers,

grow their businesses. The program chal-

Gamble, for example, ensures that the

enabling them to access and analyze their

lenges leaders to look more broadly at the

efforts of its Global Analytics group are

buying and selling data, track ordering pat-

data available to them, both data available

devoted to issues that are highly strategic

terns to look for ways to consolidate orders,

internally as well as external data related to

and worthy of the scarce talent. Although

and move off-contract product purchases to

customers, competitors, and the broader

Wachovia has invested significantly in ana-

a group contract—for products distributed

environment. This program builds on a solid

lytical resources, it must still go through an

by Owens & Minor or its competitors. The

cultural and strategic foundation of using

annual planning process (with quarterly

winemaker E&J Gallo provides its distribu-

data to drive the business.

adjustments) to ensure that its initiatives are

tors with data and analytics that lets them

well-targeted.

determine how best to convince retailers to

Analytical Targets: The
Fine Line Between Spread
and Focus
One challenge in using analytical capabilities
to advance strategy is maintaining a balance
between depth and focus. Several executives commented in our interviews that a
focus on particular business problems and
outcomes is necessary if an analytical strategy
is to be successful. There is only so much
analytical expertise to go around, and only
so many business problems on which analytical supply and demand can be focused.

add shelf space for Gallo wines. Finally, the

Customer and Supplier Use
As we noted above, analytical tools and
techniques are often used to enhance relations with customers. The most obvious
uses of customer analytics are internal, to
inform decisions about internal strategies
and operations. Quaker Chemical, for example, uses detailed analysis of its product
performance with current customers to win

provider of electronic stored value cards for
public transport, provides retailers with data
on the customers who pass nearby the
retailers’ facilities, and runs promotions
encouraging customers to use the Octopus
Cards for retail purchases.

How Long Does the

new ones by offering both documentary

Change Take?

proof of product quality and evidence of its

Firms desiring to compete on analytics will

extensive, experience-based expertise.

naturally wonder how long it takes

Harrah’s, as mentioned above, focuses its

Yet we found several of the more advanced

efforts on the management of customer loy-

analytical competitors offer some elements

alty, and its management team is reluctant

of their data and analytics directly to their

to venture very far outside of that orienta-

customers and suppliers. Perhaps the best-

tion. Capital One briefly diversified its appli-

known example is Wal-Mart, which uses its

cation of analytics into such businesses as

voluminous data and product demand

cellular phones and flowers, but concluded

analyses not only for internal purposes, but

credit cards and other consumer financial

also to share with its suppliers through its

services should remain its focus.

Retail Link private exchange. All suppliers
are required to use the system.

B A B S O N E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N

Hong Kong-based Octopus Cards, a

WORKING KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH CENTER

to implement such a strategy. The best
advice is to begin working on it now,
because it typically requires several years
for analytical competitive strategies to come
to fruition. Barclays Consumer Finance, for
example, embarked upon a five-year plan to
apply analytical approaches to marketing
credit cards and other financial products to
its customers. It takes time to refine the
systems that produce transaction data, to

10

CO M P ET I N G O N A N A LY T I C S

make the data available in warehouses, to

However, despite the difficulty and expense

select and implement analytical software,

of establishing these capabilities, many

and to build a robust hardware and com-

of the firms we have identified as early

munications environment. Firms planning to

adopters of analytical strategies are clear

embark upon analytical competition should

leaders in their industries. This suggests the

have a hardware and software plan for how

time and trouble necessary to become ana-

they will achieve the needed capabilities.

lytical competitors are definitely worthwhile.

Figure 3:
Action Steps for Analytical
Competition
1. Begin to build analytical skills—It’s
often difficult to find individuals with
the requisite quantitative and business

It should address such issues as the amount of
data to be processed, the number of users

Summary

skills. Organizations should start looking

of the analytical systems, and the speed of

This study has provided a glimpse into a new

for them as soon as possible, and hire

response necessary to meet the business need.

form of competition. Instead of competing on

them in sufficient volume to create

traditional factors, companies are beginning to

“critical mass.”

Even more time-consuming at most firms is
coming up to speed in human capabilities,
to optimize business processes based on
the outputs of analysis, and, in some cases,
to build a sufficient body of data to support
reliable predictive results. At UPS, one manager of customer data analytics noted that:

employ statistical and quantitative analysis and
predictive modeling as primary elements of
competition. These firms have overcome the
historical barriers to gathering and managing
transaction data and some of the cultural
resistance in organizations accustomed to
“gut-feel” decision making, and are using com-

2. Get your data in shape—Analytical
environments require large amounts of
high-quality data. Figure out what data you
really need to advance your strategy, make
sure it’s being gathered, and clean it up.
3. Implement analytical technology—You’ll

“We’ve been collecting data for six

plex analysis and data-intensive decisions to

need heavy-duty hardware and software

or seven years, but it’s only become

change the way they manage themselves and

to do serious analytical work. Start putting

usable in the last two or three, with

compete in the marketplace. They have mar-

it in place today.

enough time and experience to vali-

shaled both supply and demand factors for

date conclusions based on data.”

analytical competition, and are employing their
capabilities across multiple functions.

4. Examine your business strategy—
Analytical competition requires a clear
business strategy that is optimized with

Several executives at other firms noted that
it takes time for managers to understand

Opportunities for analytical competition are

data and analysis. Your executives should

data and be comfortable with the analytics

possible in every industry. Therefore, virtually

begin to consider what key processes and

based on it. An analytical executive at

every firm should consider how it might adopt

strategic initiatives would be advanced if

Procter & Gamble suggested firms might

analytical methods and capabilities. Figure 3

the right analytics were available.

begin to keep managers in their jobs for

summarizes key action steps that firms should

longer periods because of the time required

consider in moving toward analytical competi-

5. Find an executive partner—Since the

to master analytical approaches to their

tion. While not all of the steps will be applica-

most difficult factor to put in place in

businesses.

ble to all organizations, it’s likely everyone

analytical competition is demand from

would find some of them appropriate.

senior executives, you should begin to
cultivate that demand by finding an exec-

One manager of an analytical group in a
consumer products firm pointed out that

There is every reason to believe this approach

utive partner and embarking with him or

the longevity of analytical capabilities is crit-

will grow in acceptance. The necessary data

her on some analytical initiatives.

ical to their value; his firm has been pursuing

will become increasingly available, and the

analytical capabilities for more than 50 years.

analytical resources are increasingly accessible

This executive pointed out that not all proj-

to all. Yet the move to analytical competitive-

ects will be successful, so analytical groups

ness is typically a journey of several years.

need to build up a broad portfolio of exec-

Companies that do not rapidly embrace these

utive relationships, projects, and analytical

possibilities risk falling dramatically behind.

technologies. He also suggested that short-

No business can afford to lose its best cus-

term, project-based funding of analytical

tomers, to spend more on logistics and inven-

resources is inconsistent with the long-term

tory, to miss out on opportunities for new

nature of analytical competition.

products and services, and to hire less capa-

This research report is part of an ongoing
research study at Babson on how companies compete with analytics. The research
was carried out independently, but was
sponsored by SAS and Intel. To learn more
about or participate in the research, contact
Tom Davenport at [email protected].

ble employees than its more analytically
astute competitors.

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11

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