The topic of analytics as a performance lever for continuous improvement seems both obvious and odd. Anyone who has been involved in operational excellence, Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kepner-Tregoe, or other problem-solving techniques knows the value of measurement as a tool for improvement. Yet, analytics is much more than just measuring and reporting data. The concept of using analytics as a catalyst for business improvement involves transforming an organization’s decision-making process and offers a foundation for business strategy and tactics.

Why focus on analytics now? There are several compelling reasons why analytics is a catalyst for business performance. The unprecedented contraction of the pharmaceutical industry worldwide has pushed the industry to look at ways of improving business performance. In the U.S., the passage of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America act of 2009, purports to put even greater pressure on the industry to drive down payer costs. Cost reduction strategies will only go so far before capability and business performance become mutually exclusive. As corporations look for any advantage in the marketplace, business performance remains the last great differentiator. The industry will always look for the next blockbuster drug, but this hardly constitutes a strategy. Many companies find themselves competing with similar drug therapies, cannibalizing each competitor’s market share in a relentless game of give and take. Geographical advantages have largely fallen by the wayside as pharma has gone global, and the impact of proprietary regulation has also been largely eliminated.

The Hatch-Waxman Act has changed the payback paradigm of innovator drugs while variability in global IP protection law has made it more difficult to keep copycat drugs off the market. So if you don’t have the blockbuster drug in your pipeline, the road ahead can be a rocky one. Analytic organizations do not discount these challenges or opportunities, but accept them with the clear business objective of maximizing efficiency and effectiveness in all of their critical business performances along the way.

Analytics Today

I don’t mean to imply that pharma does not apply analytics today. There are numerous examples of analytics in most organizations, such as:

•    Design of Experiments
•    Monte-Carlo Simulation
•    Statistical Process Control
•    Yield and Capacity Analysis

Typically, these analytics represent pockets of activity, including significant data gathering and trending activity as part of a regulatory and compliance commitment.

Business Intelligence

There is not a Six Sigma or Lean manufacturing professional in our industry who has not at one time or another shouted the mantra of improvement through measurement. Analytics represents the end product output of the data gathering and measurement exercise. The relationship between business performance and analytics is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Analytics and Business Intelligence

This graph may seem self explanatory, but it captures the essential failure point within organizations that have embraced measurement and reporting as part of their culture and highlights the benefits of integrating analytics to exploit their business strength. In simple terms, this means using analytics to exploit what the business does best and employ this as a catalyst for business performance.

Organizations that compete effectively on analytics have several characteristics in common [1]. They are:

•    Hard to Duplicate
•    Unique
•    Adaptable
•    Better than the Competition
•    Renewable

Hard to Duplicate

There is no magic formula for success. If there were, organizations would be launching blockbuster drugs each year. Trying to duplicate a company’s systems and culture is nearly impossible. Dashboards are a case in point. Most organizations that consider themselves on the leading edge employ some level of summary dashboard. These are typically linked in some fashion to divisional, departmental and individual goals and focus the organization on those critical activities that help the business meet its strategic imperatives.

However, many of these same organizations are the ones which are mired in the high profile quality issues that have rocked consumer confidence. A framework without focus will not push the organization’s performance to the next level. To be successful, the lessons learned from other companies must be tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of your organization and exploited as a business differentiator.

For example, one company may compete on analytics built around low cost highly skilled labor. Any organization can understand the potential benefit of lower standard costs but the question is, is the decision to pursue an expansion into such a market really appropriate for your business? If it is, can’t I just copy my competitor’s blueprint and realize the same benefits? Many of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations have seen tremendous growth because of this same thinking. Most multinational pharma companies have some sort of operation overseas. But along with this low-cost opportunity comes supply chain complexity and heightened compliance issues. The details behind what it takes to make such an expansion and your organization’s ability to meet these challenges will dictate the degree of success in terms of business performance.

Unique