Tool Box
Issue No. 25 - October/November 2005
The importance of collecting data
by Professor Richard Blandy
What does selling DVDs, making confectionery, and maintaining submarines have in common?
Data, that’s what.
The quality and quantity of data that a business collects over the years, and how it decides to use it, will strongly influence its market position and sustainability. That’s is why data collection is so important. Everything that comes later, from data mining to optimisation, is underpinned by data.
Fortunately, some businesses already know this. EzyDVD, Australia’s largest on-line DVD store, is a firm believer in the importance of collecting the right kind of data.
“Data collection is a critical part of our business,” says Jim Zavos, CEO of EzyDVD. “It allows us to understand trends and changes in consumer demographics.”
The story is similar at Robern Menz, Australia's largest lozenge mint manufacturer and South Australia's largest confectioner.
“We used a ‘rule of thumb’ method for making decisions before and were always caught short,” says Richard Sims, Chief Operating Officer of Robern Menz.
“By implementing a centralised data collection process, we’re now able to make data-driven decisions.”
From candy to submarines, collecting data also ranks highly at the ASC, South Australia’s iconic shipbuilder.
“The ASC collects data at five thousand points on its Collins class submarines,” points out Jack Atkinson, General Manager of Design and Engineering at the ASC.
“By making the most of this data, we’re able to make significant improvements.”
Not all businesses, however, are so savvy.
As a case in point, many corporations spent millions of dollars on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems over years, only to find that most of the advertised benefits were missing. Why?
Because the underlying data was either missing or grossly inadequate, and many of the value drivers of advanced CRM software—s...
