In the typical chemical company R&D lab, the staff still communicates largely via paper, relying on lab books, print-outs of results and measurements, and spreadsheets. Reviews and guidance of the lab’s work are provided by insiders, such as the PhD or his or her supervisor. The system, while being completely offline, also misses tremendous opportunities to collaborate with customers and even other parts of the company, Accenture says.
To understand the potential impact of digital technology on chemical company innovation, here are a few of the trends Accenture discusses in its report:
1. Ideation: Innovative ideas will be developed in the lab and across the ecosystem with a deeper understanding of user and customer needs as the boundaries between the lab, the organization, partners and ad hoc collaborators become blurred and enable more exchange. P&G increased its productivity by 60% with this format, and doubled it’s innovation success rate.
2. Organization: Routine and repetitive tasks will be bundled and outsourced/offshored, increasing efficiency and enabling a stronger focus on strategic, creative work.
3. Process: Automation will drive process excellence, using telematics, robots and autonomous systems to handle experiment-related procedures such as pipetting, diluting, dispersing and even recipe mixing.
4. Connectivity: Using the “Internet of things,” which connects sensors, equipment, computers and other objects, machines will autonomously exchange and analyze data and then feed the resulting analyses into statistical experiments planning.
5. Analytics: Virtual experiments will complement and reduce the number of in-person experiments. By doing this Johnson & Johnson saved 40% in development time and saved by 60% the number of patients in clinical trials. And a pharmaceutical company reduced animal testing by up to 85%.
6. Skills: Supervisors will go beyond overseeing a few direct reporting lines in the lab, and instead motivate and engage a range of employees and non-employees alike, often working remotely and across varying cultural, technical and entrepreneurial backgrounds
Read Accenture’s full report.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
