A recent global report by Alteryx, which surveyed 775 manufacturing and supply chain IT decision-makers, reveals that the lack of cohesion between data and IT teams is impeding the modernization of analytics and application of data in these sectors.
Siloed Operations and Lack of Collaboration
The study found that 58% of respondents reported that their data leadership and IT teams operate in silos, with 13% admitting to no collaboration between these teams at all. This lack of collaboration is preventing the sharing of data and knowledge necessary for new data analytics use cases. The report suggests that this is causing difficulties for the increasing number of firms prioritizing the modernization of analytics and data applications to address complexities in modern supply chains.
Data Ownership and Culture Challenges
The report also highlighted a lack of consensus on where the responsibility for data processes lies, with a 50/50 split among respondents on whether data quality management should be the responsibility of the IT team or the data leadership team. This lack of ownership is contributing to a weak data culture, with only 25% of IT decision-makers prioritizing data consistency across sources. Furthermore, only 22% of firms have governance policies and strategies in place for data distribution, indicating a lack of data democratization.
Alan Jacobson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Alteryx, emphasized the need for a centralized strategy and chain of command to fully unlock the potential of data analytics in manufacturing and supply chain sectors. He warned that businesses relying on fragmented operations and reactive analytics risk falling behind their competitors. He advocated for aligning data science with overall strategic corporate direction and embedding a data culture across the organization to reach the analytics maturity necessary for driving innovation.
