Knowledge Management In The Utility Industry

Knowledge Management F Definition F Need for knowledge management F Classifications of knowledge F Knowledge management process F Impediments to knowledge management F Tools and sources F Case studies and applications

“Knowledge Management is the organization of information from disparate sources into a context that reflects the business and decisions and processes of the business” Peter Novins Ernst & Young

1. What percent of U.S. companies have formal knowledge management systems? A.95% B.80% C.60% D.30%

2. In a recent survey, the effectiveness of KM systems was rated 6.2 across all industries, what was the rated effectiveness of utility KM systems? A.7.5 B.6.6 C5.4 D.4.5

3. According to an international study, what knowledge management tools were most frequently cited as being “very effective” or “effective?” A.Customer Management Systems B.Electronic Mail and Internet/Intranet C.Data Warehousing & Decision Tools D.Dilbert Calendars

4. Currently, 19% of the U.S. workforce is involved in manufacturing, what % is involved in information-based businesses and services? A.10% B.19% C.40% D.90%

5. Which of the following statements is false? A.Gas hearth products are currently the fastest growing major gas appliance and most likely will continue to be the fastest growing in the next decade. B. By the year 2000, consumer electronic transactions will total $150 billion and business-to-business electronic transactions will total $20 billion. C. The HVAC industry is rapidly consolidating, similar to changes that have occurred in the waste management and funeral home industries. D. About 10% of A&E firms and consulting engineers are “very familiar” with gas cooling technologies.

Knowledge Management In The Utility Industry F Critical in transition from regulated to non- regulated environment F Transfer of knowledge to different functional areas within a company to be more innovative, efficient, and competitive F Goals include success in bringing products to market, cutting cycle times, and improving customer service

Importance of Knowledge Management To Your Company F Re-engineering to downsizing to knowledge management F Knowledge = Productivity F Capability for all utility staff to be both specialists and generalists F Understand what is critical to your business and where the information resides

Knowledge Management Current Landscape Effective Tools and Technologies F Electronic Mail66% F Intranet54% F Internet53% Ineffective Tools and Technologies F Corporate “yellow pages”72% F Decision Support Tools65% F Data Warehousing65% F Customer Management Systems52% Source:Journal of Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management Current Landscape F 95% of those with KM systems believe competitors have used intelligence techniques against them F Employees, suppliers, and customers are more valuable sources than databases F 51% collect global intelligence F 67% need better information Source: The Futures Group

Knowledge Management Current Landscape - Utilities F Effectiveness measured by “actions taken” (83%/74%)* and “financial goals met” (83%/54%) F Most likely to receive intelligence on emerging technologies (100%/74%) and regulatory climate (89%/64%) F Least likely to receive intelligence on competition (78%/97%) * First percentage figure represents utility responses, second figure represents all industries Source: The Futures Group

Knowledge Management Current Landscape - Utilities F Most likely to need better intelligence on customer/supplier activities (78%/46%) F Most likely to believe a clipping service is the most valuable source of information (38%/16%) F Least likely to need better information on emerging technologies (22%/49%) an regulatory climate (11%/27%) F Effectiveness of KM system rated low (4.5/6.2) F No company rating higher than 6 Source: The Futures Group

Knowledge Management Barriers to Effective Systems F Lack of formal process to share info44% F Lack of trained personnel41% F Absence of a strong champion40% Source: The Futures Group

Knowledge Management Does Make A Difference % of Executives Demanding Better Information With KM SystemWithout KM System Competitive Activities6795 Emerging Technologies4468 Customer/Supplier Activities4263 Changing Mkt/Industry Structure3658 Regulatory Climate2153 Global Economic Conditions1942 Source: The Futures Group

“Knowledge Management is the organization of information from disparate sources into a context that reflects the business and decisions and processes of the business” Peter Novins Ernst & Young

Knowledge Management F Collection of data and information F Categorization F Collaboration F Communication

Collection Systematic gathering of data, information, facts, statistics, measurements, rumors from internal and external sources

Categorization Organizing knowledge into proper categories with cross-references for easy searching and access. 4 Product development 4 Competition 4 Markets 4 Etc.

Collaboration The use of group review, input, analysis, synthesis to validate and improve data and information.

Communication Push and pull processes for distributing and receiving information.

Market and Technology Fact Base Internal Knowledge External Knowledge

Knowledge Management The key to Fact Based management. Market and Technology Fact Base Current Operations Innovation

Need for Knowledge Management F Current operations F Defensive measures F Offensive opportunities

Applications of Knowledge Management F Product development F Business planning F Business operations F Implementation of marketing/sales tactics

Classifications of Knowledge F Internal Knowledge F External Knowledge

Internal Knowledge F Employee F Financial and budgetary F Operations F Projects F Products and services F Technology F Systems and processes

External Knowledge F Customers and non-customers F Competitors F Markets and product/service categories F Government, regulatory, legislative F Opinion leaders and technology experts F Suppliers F Distribution channels and influencers

Knowledge Management Process F Identify knowledge critical to success F Identify knowledge “suppliers” F Determine frequency of updates F Determine who need to receive each type of knowledge F Determine best acquisition, storage, communication vehicles

Impediments to Knowledge Management F No strategy to operate as a “Fact Based” business F No clear process for Knowledge Management F No clear responsibility F Inadequate budgets F Poor storage and communication vehicles

Tools for Knowledge Management F Personal and group files F Personal and group “daytimers” F Personal computer files F LAN F Databases F Intranet F Extranet, Internet

Sources of Knowledge F Internal measures and reports F Internal experts and experience F Government reports, publications F Industry associations and shows F Published materials (articles, news) F Competitive publications F Primary Market Research

Knowledge Management Tools F Departmental web sites F Browser accessible databases F Idea management software F Product literature database software

Best Practices General Mills Toro 3M

GRI Knowledge Management Tools F MarketFlex F Idea Reservoir F Interactive product database CD ROM