Integrity and innovation in sustainable product development, preparing for rapid globalization and growth, and utilizing existing assets to the fullest extent possible are some of the key factors that would aid in achieving success in the chemical industry.
FREMONT, CA: After a decade of financial struggle and consolidation, chemical companies are facing fierce competition as they strive to drive sustainable innovation, growth, and profitability. Despite the industry's forecasted growth rates being the highest in more than 20 years, there are still many challenges ahead.
A variety of industries are looking for new ways to manage highly fluctuating economic conditions, uncertain markets, global competition, and continually increasing regulatory requirements.
The forerunners in this industry are already adopting crucial strategies to advance beyond surviving to thrive, and that is elaborated as follows:
Integrity and innovation in sustainable product development: Global competition and new demands from emerging markets are driving shorter product lifecycles and mass customization. Speed to market must not compromise product quality or integrity, however. As a result, they are accelerating the speed of innovation with integrated processes that ensure product safety and stewardship throughout the entire product lifecycle. Cradle to Cradle, for example, targets zero emissions and 100 percent waste recycling.
Increasing profitability through customer-centric sales and service: Revenue and margins can be eroded by poor customer segmentation, pipeline visibility, and inconsistent pricing policies. Companies are finding ways to increase visibility into sales performance, pipelines, and price waterfalls at the customer and product level, as well as regional and channel performance, so they can proactively manage prices and margins. To ensure sustainable growth of revenues and margins, they are also implementing consistent policies around price setting, price execution, and delivered services.
Utilizing existing assets to the fullest extent possible: The chemical industry is capital-intensive, and hazardous materials are always associated with inherent risks. Because of this, leading companies use Big Data to maximize the use of their assets without compromising their safety or performance. Due to its dispersed nature and volume, this enormous amount of valuable data was not fully exploited in the past. However, smart companies are now leveraging that data for real-time analytics, performance insights, and predictive models to maximize overall plant and asset performance. Leading innovators and leaders are clearly distinguishing themselves from average performers by focusing on this key success factor.
Preparing for rapid globalization and growth: Chemical companies understand the importance of rapid growth in new regions and markets through mergers and acquisitions. As a result, they enter these markets with preconfigured, field-proven best practices and adaptable business processes that can be quickly deployed. They are eliminating historically grown complexity as they harmonize processes and operations on a global basis to create a business model that is poised for sustainable expansion.
