Accelerating Growth and Performance through Superior Knowledge Management

Industries Profiled:
Health Care; Pharmaceutical; Diagnostic; Manufacturing; Biotech; Medical Device; Technology; Communications; Consumer Products; Banking; Financial Services; Insurance; Biopharmaceutical; Marketing; High Tech; Service; Electronics; Internet; Computer Software; Engineering; Consulting; Shipping; Professional Services; Logistics


Companies Profiled:
Abbott; Aditya Birla Group; Adocia; Alcon; Anoto; ApotheCom; Astellas; Bayer; Biological E. Limited; BioMarin; Central Bank of India; Citibank; Colorcon; Daiichi Sankyo; Datamatics Financial Services; Diners Club International; doTerra; Emergent BioSolutions; Essilor International S.A.; Farma Health; Ferring Pharmaceuticals; GlaxoSmithKline ; Grifols; Infosys; Intel; Intermountain Healthcare; Ipsen; Merck; MyDataBall; Novartis; Oracle; Pfizer; Salt Creek Biosciences; Santen; Sequor; Shire; Syntel; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Tata Technologies; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd; Transform Strategy Partners; UPS; Vifor Pharma; VMware; Women's Choice Pharmaceuticals

Study Snapshot

Sixty leaders from 45 companies distributed across biopharma, technology and other industries were engaged in this research through a benchmarking survey.

Key topics covered in this report include:

• Organizational Structure
• Role of Leadership in Driving Knowledge Management
• Effectiveness of Knowledge Management
• Innovativeness of Knowledge Management Function
• Process Management
• Knowledge Management Systems that Promote Sharing and Collaboration
• Technologies Enabling Superior Knowledge Management
• Knowledge Management Resourcing
• Lessons Learned

1. Probing the Impact of Superior Knowledge Management and the Forces Driving Knowledge Management Effectiveness

• Drivers of Knowledge Management effectiveness: Ample staffing levels, collaborative culture, org. structure that supports collaboration and integrating technology were identified as major drivers of a strong Knowledge Management organization.

• Technology and management supporting Knowledge Sharing have the most impact on knowledge exchange: For both pharma and non-pharma, platforms for knowledge sharing and leadership that actively supports knowledge sharing are contributors of a strong knowledge sharing culture at up to 9/10 of companies.

• Knowledge Management standardization is a leading indicator of mature Knowledge Management systems: Pharma lag behind non-pharma in terms of Knowledge Management standardization. 38% of pharma report mature or expert Knowledge Management standards versus 68% for non-pharma.

• To place and manage Knowledge Management resources, ~ 1/3 of companies deploy a decentralized structure, 25% centralized and 22% hub & spoke structures.

• Automation can help accelerate knowledge entry and curation, which improves timeliness, user uptake and standardization across the enterprise: Savvy knowledge management systems use automation to accelerate classification, meta tagging and distribution of critical information to different stakeholder groups.

• Knowledge Management reports directly to senior leadership: In pharma, 24% have Knowledge Management executive reporting to C-Suite, 34% - to EVP/SVP/VP and 26% to Director/Head.

I.	Executive Summary: Insights, Opportunities & Analysis
	Study Structure & Design
	Universe of Learning: Benchmark Class
	Project Summary
II.	Forces that Drive Knowledge Management Effectiveness
	Assessing Performance of Knowledge Management Organizations
	Drivers of Knowledge Management Performance
	Barriers of Knowledge Management Performance
	Impact of Knowledge Management
III.	Culture of Collaboration & Knowledge Management Systems
	Drivers and Enablers of a Strong Culture of Collaboration
	Modelling Leadership Behavior
	Knowledge Management Goals and Approaches to Instill Culture of Collaboration
IV.	Knowledge Management Processes
	Knowledge Management Standardization
	Critical Knowledge Management Components
	Packaging Knowledge Management Content and Increasing Knowledge Management Usability
	Knowledge Management Assessment Drills to Improve Knowledge Management Value
V.	Structures and Accountabilities
	Placing and Managing Knowledge Management Resources
	Saving Resources & Driving Effectiveness
	Knowledge Management Strategy and Execution
VI.	Knowledge Management Technology
	Embedding Knowledge Management Tools into Business Processes
	Identifying and Safeguarding Valuable Data
	Knowledge Management Technologies and Platforms
VII.	Staffing, Training and Incentives
	Knowledge Management Staffing by Function and Industry
	Knowledge Management Reporting Level
	Allocation of Time to Knowledge Management at Different Organizational Levels

• Analyzing and organizing knowledge management through a management framework of five pillars or integrated systems
• Benchmark partners’ geographical representation and job level
• Industries represented in the study
• Forces driving change across knowledge management systems
• Accelerated evolution of knowledge management from emerging systems to best-in-class systems

• Effectiveness rating of benchmark partners’ knowledge management practices at functional and enterprise level
• Industry segmentation of non-pharma companies
• Drivers of superior knowledge management effectiveness across medical, commercial and R&D / engineering functions
• Case study: Outcomes of conducting secondary research before initiating primary research
• Factors impeding knowledge management effectiveness across medical, commercial and R&D / engineering functions
• Top two impediments and drivers of effectiveness of knowledge management systems across medical, commercial and R&D functions
• Knowledge management areas where benchmark partners are able to invent or adopt new or novel know-how
• Impact of knowledge management innovativeness on organizational agility across pharma and non-pharma industry segments
• Impact of knowledge management innovativeness on organizational agility commercial and R&D / engineering function segments
• Case study: Dodging “Ground Hog Day” for recurring decisions
• Impact of pharma segment’s knowledge management system on listed new product launch and growth activities
• Heat map of knowledge management deployment activities/factors
• Case study: Blinded sample of a brand community dashboard

• Catalysts for developing a strong knowledge sharing culture
• Case study: Leadership words and behaviors influence group culture
• Clarity of knowledge management goals
• Case study: Custom knowledge management dashboards inform diverse brand populations
• Effectiveness of specialized roles and teams in supporting knowledge and best practice sharing
• Approaches used by benchmarked companies to effectively instill the importance of knowledge sharing
• Case study: Knowledge management plays a key role in ensuring timely access of relevant content to all the concerned stakeholders

• Level of standardization applied to knowledge management systems within benchmarked companies
• Components critical to biopharma knowledge management system success
• Highly valued knowledge categories that are actively collected and managed by pharma and non-pharma segment
• Highly valued knowledge categories that are actively collected and managed by commercial, medical and R&D functions
• Tactics for packaging knowledge for easy use and making it usable for performance improvement
• Case example: How to fine-tune the knowledge management system for greater business impact
• Effective practices for distributing, sharing and communicating knowledge

• Benchmark partners’ structural approach to placing and managing knowledge management resources
• Structure and staffing profile for Center of Excellence
• Functions having a dedicated knowledge management team/group
• Leadership profile
• Tactics to improve / accelerate innovativeness in knowledge management
• Six steps leadership can take to encourage collaborative behavior

• Case example: Data awareness campaigns used to stimulate knowledge management use and demand
• Effective tactics for embedding knowledge management tools into critical business processes
• Case example: Use of automation to help accelerate knowledge management process
• Effective systems or approaches to safeguarding valuable organizational knowledge
• Identifying and classifying valuable data
• Lessons learned from knowledge management leaders in accelerating innovativeness
• Lessons learned in archiving and maintaining knowledge
• Case study: Innovation and looking to the future for commercial knowledge management
• Highly valued technology tools / platforms and vendors
• Innovative knowledge management tools / vendors to improve performance
• Top three knowledge delivery mechanisms

• Number of employees engaged in the knowledge management groups and the functions supported by these groups
• Ratio of average number of knowledge management FTEs to total number of FTEs within the pharma companies segment
• Case study: Use action learning principles to train employees to use the knowledge management system effectively in their jobs
• Reporting relationships for knowledge management leadership
• Case study: Reducing costs and achieving efficiency are the focus at one of the participating big pharma’s commercial knowledge management function
• Alignment of the knowledge management system with different organizational strategies
• Amount of time dedicated / earmarked to knowledge management within each leadership level
• Case study: Enhanced onboarding and training helps speed-to-productivity and knowledge preservation during transitions
• Key pitfalls or stumbling points encountered in deploying knowledge management tools, technologies or approaches