Data management: From gut feelings to facts

PioneersCareers

Jan 18, 2023 | 5 min read

“As a science-driven company, we know data can make a difference”

Data is everywhere. Especially in a global corporation. There’s data generated by products, customers, suppliers, business processes – almost anything you can think of can generate data. And this data can empower better decision making and guide the way to new frontiers for companies. However, not all data is equally available, valuable, and informative. Learn how the Data Strategy and Management team at Sartorius takes care of creating insights from data – and what else having the "sexiest job of the 21^st century" entails.

Editor's note: This article dates from 2023; the Data Strategy and Management team is now part of two divisions as well as Sartorius' IT organization.

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“Sartorius is a very ambitious company. We have clear business targets and as a science-driven company we know that data can make a difference in our efforts,” Philipp Behre, who helped build and lead the Data Strategy and Management team. “Big data can help drive digitization, improve operational processes and make well-reasoned business decisions. The use cases range from how to respond efficiently to customer needs to how to become more sustainable as a company.”

Navigating the Way to Becoming a More Data-Driven Company

The Data Strategy and Management team was established in 2021, starting with an initial make-up with experts from IT and Business Process Management. The assignment: taking on group-wide data management, data platforms and business intelligence as well as advanced analytics – and thereby defining how Sartorius generates, processes, stores, and eventually uses data smartly.

“Every sale, every delivery of goods, and every business trip of an employee generates data,” Philipp says. The team starts with collecting, maintaining, and converting this data from its raw state into accessible information. “We try to make discoveries within these significant amounts of data that eventually lead to business insights. Our ambition is to support the business functions to better understand what is going on in their area of responsibility, for example in the form of business reporting.”

Going further, with predictive insights, teams can then anticipate future developments – and act accordingly if necessary. “By embracing the value of data, we improve customer experience and contribute to simplifying our daily processes e.g., optimizing supply chain, forecasting sales precisely or tracking production processes efficiently,“ Philipp explains. But there is still a long way to go. “Becoming more data-driven is a challenging journey for companies, partially due to existing processes and decision habits. So, a big part of our work is pointing out how – instead of relying on a manager’s gut feeling – data can lead the way.”

Data Management

The data management team, consisting of data specialists and experts, defines how data is generated, stored, processed, used, and eventually archived or deleted at Sartorius. They ensure that data Sartorius has, for example on products or business processes, is of high quality and can be fully utilized.

Data Platforms

Sartorius data engineers develop and maintain the data platform, which aggregates data from multiple systems that are used throughout the company. This platform allows Sartorius employees across the company to compile reports to and find answers to their business questions in data. Data and business analysts provide additional support and training to empower these colleagues to make better use of data and base decisions on their findings.

Advanced Analytics

Data scientists from our advanced analytics team transform the available Sartorius data and further-reaching information into predictive models and other applications by using statistical methods, machine learning algorithms and other techniques. The insights the team discovers and tools they develop help us understand our business, customers, and products even better.

Ensuring Stakeholders Speak the Same Language

And for that, the organization needs an understanding of data analytics. “Explaining complex data topics – like the technical approaches and methods that data scientists use – and pointing out the benefits in a simple way is key,” Philipp says.

Hannah Barthel is an expert in that. After completing her PhD in Physics at the Max-Planck-Institute in Göttingen, she joined Sartorius as Analytics Translator in the Advanced Analytics team.

Hannah Barthel finds purpose in her job as an Analytics Translator.

“People always wonder what’s behind that title,” Hannah says with a smile on her face. “I am looking for business questions that still need to be answered or processes that can be simplified. I talk to specialist departments like product development or corporate sustainability to get a grasp of what challenges they are dealing with. I take this to our data science team and work with them to find insights that can inform business decision making processes – and be a solution. In my job, you need both the analytical skills of a data scientist or a data engineer and a degree of business acumen to ensure that both sides are on the same page and that the colleagues we support understand the results and feel comfortable to act on them.”

A Job With a Purpose

The data scientist job has been a roller-coaster ride when it comes to its public image: While Harvard Business Review claimed ten years ago that the data scientist profession is “the sexiest job of the 21st century,” a recent study by Boston Consulting Group suggests that many STEM students feel that data science jobs are conceptual and lack purpose.

“I could not disagree more,” Hannah says. “By helping to optimize our own processes, we enable our teams to support our customers faster and more efficiently – which again helps them to develop and produce medicine for patients worldwide. Other findings can help us become more sustainable as company, reducing our CO₂ footprint, for example. This makes me feel a true sense of meaning in my work,” Hannah says.

By helping to optimize our own processes, we enable our teams to support our customers faster and more efficiently – which again helps them to develop and produce medicine for patients worldwide.

Hannah Barthel, Analytics Translator

A Team with Flexible Work Arrangements

Along with growing digitalization, the importance of data is increasing – and companies all over the world are competing for skilled data professionals. “Sartorius offers a dynamic environment and hands-on mentality where everyone can leave their mark. Here, you can grow your career according to your personal goals and pursue either an expert or management career – it is up to you,” says Philipp, describing some of the benefits of the company. “Beyond that, my team is flexible in choosing their work location and schedule – depending on what best fits to their lives.”

Many colleagues of the 71-strong team are located in Germany, either at the Headquarters in Göttingen or the Berlin office. But there are also team members working remotely from Portugal, Sweden, the U.S., Japan and India. “The team is still quite young and set to grow further within the next years,” Philipp says, “And we’re looking forward to meeting ambitious and creative new people who want to join us for the next steps in their careers.”

Learn more about Sartorius as an employer and check out our latest job openings.

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