Reflection of

learnings
from week - 2
Group - 10
Divanshu Kakkar
Priyasha Dutta
Shirsho Ghosh
Shweta Ved
Sneha Kundu

1. What were the top take-aways from the current weeks teachings?
The second week at in our GFT program involved the phase of execution and the importance of
doing things right. After understanding the importance of innovation in todays competitive world, it
is also important to have the right strategy for execution primarily to ensure the innovation streaks
certain amount of visibility. Also, coupled with the teachings was our visit to Steelcase which
strengthened our understanding and also enhanced the relevance of perfect execution.

To ensure a continuous improvement process and to ensure what needs to be done has to
be right, the performance measurement is a vital tool
The right balance needs to be maintained between effectiveness and efficiency
To improve on performance, a right analytical tool needs to be derived which could
effectively measure the correlations between what needs to be done and what is done
Understanding the correlation is very important to succeed in any market. This is clearly
visible from our visit to Steelcase where, their constant focus on product improvement have
taken them to greater heights in achieving innovative product designs and gain market
share. The constant analysis of consumer surveys has helped them in implementing
incremental and also radical innovations in their products. They have built on their existing
product lines by building in more than 50000 forecasting models and including the most
intricate changes in their products. Also we see their variety of products which they offer
and take into account all the different possibilities of design which could serve the customer
The simulation that we played was an extensive example of how data need to be visualized
and primarily the importance of data visualization in todays market. The world puts forward
a lot of unstructured data and effective visualization can lead to the correct outcome
Also it is important on a much broader scale to be clear about the strategic objectives before
execution as the correct alignment is needed for better performance
Risk analysis is a very important parameter while evaluating supply chain performance and
taking the right risk measure is vital in achieving success. The key to this understands the
correct risk measurement model which would not only calculate the correct probability but
also the degree of impact. Steelcase uses such vast tool sets to understand their risk in
procurement as that is a very critical component of their operations.
Also with a case study we understood the correct way and importance of cluster analysis
and how it can be used to give a better understanding of the data

The relevance of execution is deeply embedded in understanding the strategic objectives and the
path that needs to be followed to achieve the same.

2. What are some fundamental impediments you foresee in implementing

the learnings of the current week in any practice environment? Base
your answer on the collective experience of your group.

When we look at impediments towards implementing the learnings at a practical level, the most
outrageous factor that comes out is the inferiorquality of data that exists when derived from the
market surveys.

The biggest challenge is to derive consistency in the data that has been collected
Many companies like Steelcase which are made to order, are highly reliant on consumer
surveys to deduce sensible insights from their data. It is important for these types of firms to
conclude strategies from this information and due to variability, the data often becomes
misleading
A majority of qualitative study cannot be performed through data analytics. When we try to
quantify a qualitative aspect of a piece of information, often the result might not be
correctly correlated and hence can lead to bad information

Overcoming such challenges is of prime importance for the success of most organizations which are
highly dependent on data for the success of their company.

What you can (or cannot) apply in the Indian context based on your learning
in the current week?
Looking at the Indian context there a number of threats as well as opportunities that can be for seen
when we consider analytics as a key aspect of execution. There are numerous firms which are
coming up to use big data as a key differentiating factor but not much is implementable in practice.

The vastness of population acts both in favour and as a threat to organizations reliant on big
data for achieving significant profits. The vastness is a clear indicative of the large breadth of
insights that can be drawn but also their lie a high chance of roughness and inconsistency in
data. A significant amount of effort need to go in to ensure data cleanup for analysis.
Logistics and network analysis is an upcoming industry which has started using data analytics
to ensure significant cost savings and competitive advantage analysis for firms. This has
proven to be successful in those cases where implementability has been favourable i.e
where land acquisition and labour problems are not prone. But, it has helped in the growth
of many markets, especially the supply chain consulting industry.

India is progressing fast in the use of big data but the implementation is still in its nascent stage
given the numerous bottlenecks that arise when practicality is concerned.