Six building blocks for digital R&D in chemicals
June 24, 2021
June 24, 2021
In the chemical industry, digital technology has come to play an important role in research and development (R&D), where it is helping companies with everything from increasing throughput in the development of molecules to optimizing formulations for cost and performance. That’s good—but today, there is a growing opportunity to do more with technology. In fact, according to Accenture research, a “typical” €10 billion revenue chemical company could potentially see an EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) increase of €40 to €70 million by making fuller, more effective use of digital technology.
To achieve those kinds of benefits, however, R&D departments will have to move beyond the traditional approach of implementing fragmented standalone systems. Instead, they will need to pursue cross-functional and cross-value chain integration—and use the technology to support and connect the entire innovation process. As they do so, they should focus on six technology building blocks:
1. Search and content analytics for deeper insights
2. Lab automation to increase productivity and data consistency
3. Artificial intelligence to accelerate product innovation and market expansion
4. Quantum computing to enable new forms of rapid, cost-effective analysis
5. Intelligent knowledge management for the efficient use of innovation-related information
6. Co-creation platforms to foster collaboration and integration
These building blocks can be applied at key points in the core R&D process to help move innovations from concepts to products ready for commercialization and marketing:
Figure 1: R&D stage-gate process enabled by digital technology and integrated with digital marketing
Source: Accenture
With a planned, comprehensive approach, chemical companies can put themselves into position to create an R&D function that is integrated, highly automated and AI-enabled.
As chemical companies take advantage of these technologies, they will need to take a systematic approach to assessing and implementing them. This will be key to controlling costs, keeping a sharp focus on achieving the expected benefits and, of course, avoiding the traditional fragmentation of the R&D technology landscape.
With that in mind, R&D teams should begin by working with IT to create a clear vision and roadmap and build the appropriate data and technology platforms—all in alignment with the company’s overall digital strategy. With a planned, comprehensive approach, chemical companies can put themselves into position to create an R&D function that is integrated, highly automated and AI-enabled—one that is able to move with greater speed and efficiency, and put innovation on a faster track.