The consumer products industry is struggling to use commercial analytics and data in ways that deliver full value. EY Practice Leader Rob Holston explains why and suggests how to unlock this performance paradox. To reignite growth, consumer products shopper decides whether to buy a product. points of failure. These are the common companies need granular, integrated Yet we still see firms stuck in the old belief reasons why consumer products companies insights on commercial performance. And that periodic analysis at the 30,000-foot, are not getting their expected return on they need the ability to turn those insights macro level is going to tell them anything investment from commercial analytics into action, fast. Executives know this. useful about this shopper’s behavior — never and data. That’s why the question we hear time and mind how to influence it. again isn’t, “Do we need analytics?” It’s It doesn’t matter how elegant your strategy “Why aren’t our analytics delivering more sounds. If it’s informed by rudimentary The truth is most value and why is our ROI on data so low?” analysis of dated, and incomplete companies in the The truth is most companies in the sector information, its success or otherwise is are failing to get full value from their more a matter of luck than judgment. sector are failing to get data and analytics investments. That’s The most likely outcome of this operating full value from their typically because they are not prioritizing model is failure. And we’ve seen that their investment for today’s challenges happen repeatedly, at great expense, both data and analytics or changing their working practices in in financial terms and in terms of lost ways that would enable them to create market credibility. investments. competitive advantage (see “Three points of So why doesn’t the clear desire to failure” on the right). engage with commercial analytics deliver For example, the big make-or-break better results? We call it the “paradox of decisions in this industry are taken within performance.” Every company has its own arm’s reach of the shelf. It’s here that a challenges, but essentially we see three 2