Here’s a question that pops up regularly in customer meetings, usually 2 to 3 years in:
"What value are we actually getting from TrendMiner?"
It's a fair question. And it almost always leads to a second one that's harder to answer:
"What value were we hoping to achieve?"
When nobody has a clean answer to that second question, people start listing anecdotes, pulling up usage numbers, trying to build a case on the fly. It feels defensive rather than confident. Even when the results are real…
The fix is actually simple: a one-line vision. One sentence, written before the program gets started (or now if you don’t have one yet), that answers: what are we trying to achieve, for whom, by when.
Bayer called it: "Uncover hidden potential to initiate process improvements directly on site." Ten words that gave the program lead a filter for every use case decision and the sponsor something concrete to fund and protect.
From there, the use cases selected themselves. A root cause analysis of viscosity problems in a reactor: 10% capacity increase. A batch distillation process analyzed across 2000+ batches: 36% capacity increase, 26% better energy efficiency. Two cases on two different sites, but tying into that same simple vision.
In the short term, a clear vision makes your life a lot easier. It means that when someone wants to add scope, shift the direction, or deprioritize a key user, you have something to point to. It aligns everyone towards the same goal. And that means you can push back when things go sidewise.
In the long term, the vision lets you take credit. Without it, results belong to no one. With it, they're yours! That's a whole different conversation at renewal, and a different story in your annual review.
Where are you right now?
- No vision written
- Something informal, not documented
- A clear one-liner that the team knows
Benchmark the state of your analytics program and get recommendations to strengthen it:
https://community.trendminer.com/p/maturity
Read more on the Bayer success story: https://www.trendminer.com/bayer