The Future of Competitive Strategy

Introduction

9

©2022 MIT. This excerpt is from The Future of Competitive Strategy by Mohan Subramaniam, published by The MIT Press.

Table 0.2 The expanding role of data

Examples

Prevailing Role of Data

New Role of Data

A mattress company

• Streamline inputs from suppliers • Optimize production scheduling, inventory, and distribution logistics • Shape product design • Tailor marketing and sales efforts to customer needs

• Track mattress-user interactions to monitor quality of sleep (through sensors) • Improve quality of sleep, making mattresses adapt in real time to sleep data • Improve quality of sleep by sharing real-time sleep data with external objects in the room (e.g., lights, soothing music) • Generate new data-driven services and revenue streams by making mattresses a health and wellness product • Monitor individual risks (e.g., individual homes through sensors) • Predict damage (e.g., the likelihood of frozen pipes) • Avert damage through alerts (e.g., by asking homeowners to run hot water through their pipes before they freeze) • Provide post-damage services (e.g., sending repair crews if damage is not averted) • Reposition the insurance business from compensating damage to preventing and servicing damage through new data-driven services and revenue streams

An insurance company

• Assess risks in populations (e.g., populations of homes for home insurance)

• Price profitable and competitive policies • Improve efficiencies in processing claims post-damage • Generate effective

marketing campaigns tailored to different market segments to increase population base, mitigate customer churn, and reduce average risks