Project

Becoming/Creating a Data Driven Organization

From its inception in 2006, Thermo Fisher Scientific was a powerhouse, encompassing Fisher Scientific which was founded over a century ago in 1902, and Thermo Electric co-founded in 1956. Even though the company’s revenue has been rising for a decade, they recognize that to stay on top of the industry they need to embrace and implement data science applications and analytics throughout their 70,000 employee company. The CSUSM MBA program and our team were engaged to identify some of the best practices and industry leaders, to help Thermo Fisher in their journey to become a more data-driven organization. We also concentrated on analyzing successful data science integrations in other companies with the goal of drawing from these companies’ experiences and challenges to make a successful transition and embedding Data Science in their culture. The team interviewed fourteen Thermo Fisher Biosciences Division stakeholders, two Subject Matter Experts at California State University San Marcos, and three company leaders. Our results found that the most significant issues across Thermo Fisher regarding data analytics and their current state include the number of systems in use to share data cross-functionally. This lack of standardization was evident in our analysis. The way data is communicated to stakeholders varied as well as some inconsistencies. In addition to hearing some of the pain points in the current process, most of the interviewees have a positive outlook in the companies efforts to be a more data-driven organization. The stakeholders have seen recent changes and process improvements in different areas of the division and are aware of the capabilities that data science can bring to their organization. Given the access we had, the stakeholders we were able to interview, and our research on data science, we compiled five general recommendations for Thermo Fisher’s Biosciences Division. These recommendations focus on addressing the needs in structure, resources, and alignment given the division’s current state. Overall, our recommendations are intended to assist Thermo Fisher in becoming a more data-driven organization and integrate data science across multiple functions and departments in their organization. Recommendations include: continuing to start small and creating a timeline to guide stakeholder and monitor strategy as well as having a single strategy implementation plan focused on customer data to increase revenue sales. Another recommendation is that Thermo Fisher improves communication between their divisions and add training tools and modules so that every member in every division knows what actions need to be taken. Lastly, we recommend that the stakeholders’ take initiative in becoming more knowledgeable in data science in general such as attending conferences, being flexible in change, and always inquiring to learn more.

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