2020 was quite a year for data analytics. With the spread (and fall, then spread) of COVID-19, we got used to seeing a plethora of numbers, charts and graphs on a daily basis, on television reports and social media, coupled with plenty of debate about which metrics were the right ones to help us understand the spread and impact of the virus.
Later in the year, the US election provided another case in point of the importance of accurately tracking, reporting and analysing data – in near real time.
On a lighter note, in the UK the year ended with a number of people performing their own data analysis on the contents of their Christmas chocolate boxes, which went viral on Twitter as results were shared and compared.
Here we round up some of the ways we helped our clients solve their business challenges with advanced analytics, and shared some wisdom from our data scientists, in 2020.
Becoming a strategic analytics partner
In June, we announced a strategic partnership with Retail Week to help UK retailers leverage analytics to adapt to the changing sector landscape. The first initiative involved bringing timely, relevant insights and thought leadership to the UK retail sector, during this period of extreme disruption. The Coronavirus Consumer Pulse monitor pulls together data from a multitude of sources to better understand consumer behaviour and sentiment.
The latest initiative under the strategic analytics partnership was the launch of Digital Fashion 40, a report which analyses the fashion retailers best equipped to survive and thrive in a digital post-Covid future. Read more about it here.
To dive deeper into what this partnership entails, read this Q&A, covering issues ranging from how to extract actionable customers insights from unstructured customer data to the outlook for the UK retail industry.
Supporting our clients with advanced analytics
UrbanStems wanted to improve its demand forecasting, through a greater understanding of volatile purchase patterns. Our analytics specialists leveraged business data to undertake Purchase Pattern Analysis, and Demand Sensing and Management. Read more about how our advanced data analytics delivered insights to support growth for this US e‑commerce business. You can learn more about how CPG companies can evolve from lagging to leading in their revenue growth management strategies in this blog.
Helping companies navigate the pandemic and beyond with data
Demand planning in the pandemic has challenged companies with how to manage sharp peaks and troughs. With COVID-19 constantly impacting customer needs and behaviours in new ways, we shared our insights for CPG companies and retailers to help them confidently forecast demand.
Transportation is another area that has been seriously affected by the pandemic. In large organisations, transportation typically accounts for 40-60% of supply chain costs, so any disruption or inefficiencies can have serious impacts on costs and profitability. We wrote about three areas of a data-driven strategy that can help smooth transportation management.
Maximising the value of products at every stage of their lifecycle is never easy. But, in the pharmaceutical industry, it’s a uniquely challenging task. To build and execute effective marketing strategies, teams in this sector are tasked with navigating a complex and dynamic regulatory landscape, staying on top of diverse patient and healthcare professional (HCP) preferences, and extracting meaningful insights from a deluge of traditional data and newer digital sources. We shared our top three strategies to enhance pharma marketing effectiveness.
Meet our Data Scientists
If you are wondering who does all this great work, find out here through these recent interviews with some of our Data Scientists as we try and understand how they approach their work and what makes them tick.
One of the questions we asked was how they manage to stay on top of the latest trends. Several of our interviewees answered with a single word: Kaggle. What is Kaggle really?
Open source software was another key trend that came up again again. Read more about how it’s helping us do our best work – and changing the industry as a whole.
Need help progressing your analytics maturity and digital agenda this year? Find out more about our Analytics & Digital solutions and our solutions for Commercial, Sales & Marketing teams. Or get in touch to talk to one of our specialists today.