Competing with Data

October 05, 2022

Read The Full Prompt

Many organizations use large data and data analytics as an essential asset in their business. Think about how Waze collects and analyzes millions of queries every day to estimate traffic flows, or UPS uses hundreds of thousands of sensors to track millions of packages each day to feed users information about the progress of their shipments.

For this assignment, please choose a company that uses large data or data analytics to enhance its business. In other words, big data can be valuable in the context of offering a service or as a complement to another business process. What type of processes generate and renew that asset? What type of investments and process put that asset to use, and creates value for the company? How does the company capture value from large data and analytics? What challenges did the company have to overcome to make use of the assets? What challenges and opportunities do you anticipate for the company in the near term?

Devote most of the space to value creation, but feel free to make observations about aspects of the value capture strategy. (Once again, to make it interesting, please stay away from big data use by the big five – Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.)

750 words max

Assignment

Create an approximately 750 word post to make your contribution by October 5 at 6 p.m.

Please use graphics, data, videos, and links to other sites to corroborate your points. These additional links do not count against your word limit.

Please also respond to and comment on three other posts per module. Comments are due by October 6 at 9 a.m.

Selected posts will be discussed in class. Please prepare a 2-3 min summary of your blog post before class.

 

If you have any problems with the d3.hbs.org platform, please visit the digital platform resources page for helpful advice or email diplatform@hbs.edu for help.

Submitted (42)

Penguin Random House: Can it beat Amazon at its own game?
Nitya
Last modified on October 2, 2022 at 10:44 pm
Book publishing is becoming an increasingly competitive industry with the big players vying for share of a mature market. Penguin Random House is responding by building a competitive edge through data and technology.
Flo Health: Big Data in “FemTech”
Patric Cao
Posted on October 3, 2022 at 12:30 am
Flo Health is building and monetizing a menstrual cycle tracking app, but it now faces unique challenges managing and monetizing an asset on sensitive personal reproductive health data.
Sushiro: Always bring the best sushi for you, because they know you
Lina E
Last modified on October 5, 2022 at 6:22 pm
A billion of sushi is consumed at Sushiro every year. Sushiro uses its big-data to meticulously predict what sushi you want to eat next and how much more you want to eat.
Marriott: Data-driven Customer Experience for Decades at Scale
Jiwon Woo
Last modified on October 3, 2022 at 1:06 pm
Marriott uses Big Data technologies across its hotel chain operations. Both unstructured and semi-structured datasets are used to forecast demand and determine a value for each individual room throughout the year.
American Express: Using Big Data to Prevent Fraud
Manuel Llano
Posted on October 2, 2022 at 2:58 pm
American Express is a 170 year old company that was able to reposition itself as an innovator and pioneer in the use of Big Data for fraud detection and credit underwriting. Their path to success was not straight forward, but [...]
Bayer Crop Science: Unlocking value through AI-driven digital farming
Anand Trivedi
Posted on October 4, 2022 at 8:10 pm
How a company is leveraging data science and artificial intelligence for unlocking value in a traditional sector known for stagnating productivity?
Animal AI– The New Age of Petsitters
Katelyn Sweeney
Last modified on October 5, 2022 at 12:37 pm
AI-Powered Pet Cameras are Changing the Game for Animal Analytics
The Weather Company: Using Big Data to Drive Marketing Insights
Anon
Last modified on October 3, 2022 at 10:48 pm
A legacy media company arrests its decline through an ambitious digital transformation strategy built on big data and predictive analytics.
Nintendo + Nvidia: Applying Machine Learning to Disrupt the Value Chain
Jonathan
Posted on October 4, 2022 at 10:22 pm
Nintendo's application of machine learning to its handheld gaming device breaks down supply barriers and opens strategic opportunities.
Property Insurance in a time of Climate Change
Kate Saulenas
Last modified on October 5, 2022 at 6:47 pm
Increasing Access to Insurance and Accurately Pricing Risk
Spotify – Your Personal DJ Committed to Curating Your Music Experience
Sultana Vukor-Quarshie
Last modified on October 4, 2022 at 10:16 pm
Spotify's use of thoughtful use of ML to curate personalized listening experiences for its users.
Leveraging Big Data at Ibotta
Elizabeth M.
Posted on October 2, 2022 at 1:26 pm
Ibotta leverages AI to curate unstructured receipt data to deliver deals to customers and high confidence offer ROI analytics, hyper-targeted in-app advertising, market share and trend insights, and shelf placement verification to brand partners. 
Asian Paints: India’s Biggest Data Science Company that Sells Paint
Aditya Mate
Last modified on October 5, 2022 at 6:06 pm
Asian Paints — the familiar name across the Indian household for manufacturing and selling paint — knows exactly what paint you will buy and when!
Airbnb: Anywhere is ̶h̶̶o̶̶m̶̶e̶  DATA.
Laura
Last modified on October 3, 2022 at 4:41 pm
Airbnb came, saw and won. With a market cap of 67b$ it is the leading online travel company worldwide and with over 200 countries offered it is larger than any hotel chain. But how did Airbnb become so successful?
Uber knows you: how data optimizes our rides
Yannik Dobler
Last modified on October 4, 2022 at 12:30 pm
While Uber transports people and meals around the world without owning a car, they still rely on fuel: Data, data and more data - the magic word for Uber.
Starbucks: Leveraging Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Experience and Performance
Feifei Shen
Posted on October 2, 2022 at 11:17 pm
Starbucks uses powerful data science and analytics beans to brew each cup of coffee to improve their customer experience and service performance.
Garmin’s navigation to a new business segment: fitness wearables
ecerri
Posted on October 5, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Garmin's evolution follows the historical change of technology from hardware-based innovation to the use of software and data for value creation.
Falabella – Data analytics and A/B testing gone wrong?
Katy Triantafilo
Posted on October 5, 2022 at 5:59 pm
image: change in Falabella's logo and consolidation of all conglomerate's ecommerce platforms
Grammarly: Writing the Future of NLP
Steph Denoyer
Last modified on October 4, 2022 at 5:25 pm
Unlike most chatbots and AI assistants, Grammarly's AI does not seek to converse naturally with its user or otherwise mimic human behavior. Yet its ever-increasing "fluency" in the intricacies of human communications surpasses many mass-adopted AI offerings.
Building a Connected Ecosystem for Physical Operations
Saad Hirani
Posted on October 5, 2022 at 4:26 pm
A quick primer on how a fleet-management software company used several sources of data to establish itself as a key system of record in the logistics industry
MicroConnect – Connecting Global Capital with China’s Small Businesses
Yifei Wu
Posted on October 3, 2022 at 3:14 pm
Recent development in China’s digital economy has substantially increased the interconnectedness and transparency of small businesses, finally opening up the possibility to invest in them at a scale and with a level of diversification that has not been achieved before.
Flexport: Data that Whips the Bullwhip Effect
Natasha VK
Posted on October 5, 2022 at 5:02 pm
Data that whips the Bullwhip Effect
Netflix: Leveraging Data to Win
Isha Khambra
Last modified on October 4, 2022 at 4:29 pm
Netflix is one of the innovators of offering entertainment content using video streaming technology in exchange for a subscription fee, which is a highly scalable solution. Over the years their revenue, subscriptions and stock price have been soaring for as [...]
Visa and Big Data
Julien Clayton
Posted on October 5, 2022 at 2:33 pm
Visa uses machine learning tools and insights from big data to drive value for customers, banks, and merchants.
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