From raw material to valuable asset: making data work in Manufacturing

Data can revolutionise business models, create new revenue streams and drive operational efficiencies. But to make the most of it, manufacturers must approach data with a new mindset. 

Manufacturing has already driven one industrial revolution, and it’s now poised to drive another. The data collected by manufacturers can not only guide product strategy, but also become an asset in its own right – ushering in a fourth industrial revolution where data underpins new products and services. 

Take aerospace. A single flight generates around 17 terabytes of data, enabling a new kind of business model. By using telemetry to predict when engines need servicing or replacing, aerospace manufacturers can use in-flight data to sell engines as a service. That's the real value of data in action—and it’s now delivering results for companies from Apple to JCB. 

“A lot of the good techniques in data come from manufacturing approaches. When manufacturers imagine data as a product in its own right, it becomes a true asset for the company.” - Niraj Seth, Head of Manufacturing, Logistics, Energy and Utilities, Cognizant UKI

But a lot has to happen between collecting data and turning it into a game-changer for the business. Data is just raw material: it needs an engineering mindset to turn that raw material into a revenue-generating asset. 

In a recent interview with The Manufacturer, Cognizant’s Niraj Seth and Andrew Rawling discuss how manufacturers can make their data work harder for them. Read the interview here.

Don’t miss the next instalment of this series “A data-first approach is the key to true digital transformation in Manufacturing.”