Steve Farr, Chief Digital Officer of OneMagnify, has had a longstanding fascination with data. 

This strong interest began during his educational years, studying for his Bachelor in Economics from the University of Michigan and later a Masters in Economics with a focus on Industrial Organisation from Oregon State University. Motivated and passionate about driving business success, he was quickly recruited by one of the world's biggest corporate conglomerates- General Electric (GE). For more than 130 years GE has been at the forefront of industry, devising technological innovations across healthcare, manufacturing, defence and energy.

“I was part of their marketing and risk leadership program, which involved a lot of quantitative work,” Steve explains.“ You can’t run experiments in the economy, after all, that’s why we build econometric models.” Building these sophisticated econometric models immersed Steve in the “quantitative, technical side of marketing,” where databases, business intelligence, analytics and customer segmentation could be harnessed to supercharge outreach and refine customer relationships. 

His time at GE was spent running multivariate experiments and evaluating test results, exploring newfound strategies and customer psychology, as his passion for data-driven experimentation and discovery grew. “I was fascinated by the actual use of the scientific method,” Steve explained. “The design of experiments, reading results and statistical significance measures. I saw that marketing was a domain where we could apply those things.”

Inspired, in 2012 Steve founded his own company called Vertigee, before selling it to customer experience company OneMagnify and stepping into his current position.“ Co-founding, growing, and then eventually selling that to OneMagnify is really my proudest achievement.”

Steve’s achievements have only continued at OneMagnify, which for fifty years has maintained the same core mission- to provide expert marketing to companies in the manufacturing, transportation and industrial verticals. Today that means helping manufacturers embrace digital transformation and strategically respond to the way it's reshaping customer demand.

Through helping OneMagnify’s customers, Steve has witnessed this change firsthand. “Right around 2020 at the start of the pandemic, we’d already been working on a project with a major chemical industrial firm on the East Coast to help them adapt to new buyers,” he explains. “What they were seeing is that their traditional buyers, who would’ve been a design engineer at a manufacturing company, fifty plus years old, generally buying through direct selling relationships or at trade shows was starting to change.”

The pandemic, with its remote working mandates and social distancing requirements, rapidly accelerated people's adoption of and reliance on digital platforms. What Steve observed with the chemical industrial firm was a marked difference in the decision-making process of younger engineers and an opportunity to connect with an emerging consumer base.

“The design engineers coming out of school use Google as a very frequent tool. If they're looking for a chemical ingredient or compound, they don't have that same loyalty that the older buyers had,” he explained. “So they were really looking to connect with those new design engineers, working with them on a whole digital transformation process to understand where their shoppers were, the whole buying decision experience and journey to then transform their website presence as well as all of their digital media.” 

OneMagnify here is recognising and responding to one of the broader industry trends set to dramatically alter the manufacturing sector. We are witnessing the growth of a new economic model, where manufacturers are moving away from their traditional product offerings to put service at the forefront. Customers are no longer being sold equipment, but the end result of that equipment, through a highly customisable, personalised service offering that undergoes continuous refinement and enhancement thanks to digital transformation.

“Industry expectations have changed and consumer expectations have changed,” Steve explains. “I think that comes into the business world, that customisation of our business experience. So there's this expectation for increased personalisation, that companies should know my preferences, my behaviours and be able to tailor offerings to me.”

In addition to meeting this shift in consumer mindsets, Steve urges manufacturers to adapt their own, to remain competitive and enhance value-creation opportunities.

“With the increasing pace of business and hyper-competitiveness, there needs to be a shift in the mindset from an ownership mindset to more of a value creation,” Steve adds. An ownership mindset is valuable in that it engenders greater responsibility surrounding decision-making and business outcomes, but its foundation is the manufacturer's perspective.

A value creation mindset meanwhile expands beyond that, putting customer experience at the forefront of how manufacturers approach processes, devise services and leverage technologies. Core to the value creation mindset is an understanding of how subscription-based models benefit both customers and manufacturers in a digitally transforming, hyper-competitive landscape.

Manufacturers across industries, no matter if they manufacture industrial equipment or apparel or chemicals or food are all reliant upon industrial equipment. Therefore subscriptions to spare parts and services enable manufacturers to open up new revenue streams, offering advanced maintenance, inspection and emergency repair services, data-driven personalisation and limited-edition parts. Customers benefit from continually improving services, streamlined purchasing decisions and exclusive offers, without bearing the costs and responsibilities of ownership.

With the continuous innovation enabled by Industry 4.0 technologies, manufacturers having ownership of equipment, tools, and hardware today can even be a competitive disadvantage. For example, many manufacturers still rely on outdated equipment, struggling with the decision to either upgrade or retrofit due to high downtime costs. Leasing in an age of digital transformation provides customers and manufacturers greater agility and flexibility, benefitting the whole supply chain. 

“So there needs to be this question of: where can I plug into supply networks and lease and get value?” Steve adds. “ More of a subscription model versus I'm ploughing a lot of capital into ownership. I think we see that as some of the driving forces of the changes.” 

A big believer in the future of AI

An almost-mythology has fused around artificial intelligence. Prophesied to have transformative potential, we’ve seen the growth of enthusiastic disciples and reverent denouncers. 

AI is a true embodiment of data-driven experimentation, designed for continuous learning and self-improvement. It’s no wonder therefore that Steve is a big believer in its future. “I’m a big believer in the transformative power of AI and its ability to enhance complex businesses,” he says. “That’s part of what I really enjoy about the manufacturing sector is the complexity, not just in the business and the decision journeys of the users, but in the actual creation of the process and the output itself.” 

AI in the manufacturing field is shaping all of these things, promising fast, quantifiable gains in productivity, efficiency and insight. Manufacturing experts believe it's the key to bridging the digital skills gap and enhancing operations throughout the supply chain. However, what's critical to unlocking that potential is understanding the customer value chain, an area where OneMagnify provides manufacturers with tailored support.

“Something that's helping a lot of manufacturers assess where they can provide more value, both to customers and both internally through optimising their operations is data,” Steve says. “We see AI being used as well in a lot of these strategies.” OneMagnify’s strategy is precise and holistic, taking into account all dimensions of how a manufacturer's digital transformation process will shape business development and customer relationships.

Within it, AI and data are an indispensable partnership. “It’s data first and then AI,” Steve says. “So, you know, garbage in garbage out when it comes to modelling. So really focusing on that data layer, making sure we're building a completely rounded view of the customer and buying behaviours.”

This completely rounded view involves a comprehensive integration of transactional data, CRM data systems and online activities, to build a complete-360 customer foundation. This data is then introduced into predictive models. OneMagnify analyses these models to help manufacturers craft an expert digital transformation strategy and define the key lever points that will substantially impact the business. Defining business impact is key, as both a means of planning and persuasion. 

“Part of what we do is work with companies to really help prioritise the impact, that quick time to value, showing those use cases and the business ROI early in the journey so that the stakeholders and senior executives don't get disillusioned by the size of the investment,” Steve explains. “So making sure we're bringing those key points of where we can leverage AI, whether it be a customer value model, a lead scoring model or a content responsiveness model.”

Building solutions through a dynamic partner ecosystem

OneMagnify doesn’t work alone. The company is acutely aware that businesses are at their best when engaged with a vibrant, versatile ecosystem that offers expertise in every niche. One of OneMagnify’s most influential partnerships has been with Salesforce, the leading CRM provider. 

“We're an official Salesforce partner,” Steve states proudly. “We are tech agnostic, so we bring Salesforce in where we know it's going to have the best fit for the customer's problem. Tools like Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud are fabulous, completely geared towards the manufacturing industry.”

The Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud helps manufacturers manage their entire customer service lifecycle, enabling total transparency between operations and partners. 

Steve says OneMagnify has benefited significantly from the partner's core pre-packaged solutions, which enable them to do minimal coding, configuring and adapting the solutions to their needs.

“Salesforce will bring us in knowing that we're a trusted partner that understands the industry, especially in Manufacturing Automotive and Energy, which is a core vertical for Salesforce,” Steve says. “We've got the depth in those markets and really understand the use cases so that the client can get more out of their investment in Salesforce and our professional services.”

OneMagnify’s other partnerships include Pricefx, which handles the company’s pricing optimisation needs, Snowflake which contributes an essential data sharing and analytics platform and Domo, which they’ve partnered with for years. “We've been partner of the year for Domo, which is a holistic data platform that combines data integration, transformation and visualisation.” Steve adds. OneMagnify leverages all of these partnerships to provide elite marketing support, guidance and insight to the manufacturing industry. 

OneMagnify’s Rebrand Of The Manufacturing Sector 

The manufacturing sector is undergoing a period of upheaval. As it digitally transforms, embracing and integrating emerging technologies and a new economic model, the industry lacks the workforce it desperately needs- one with digital skills.

The skills that fuelled the careers of the current manufacturing workforce aren’t the focus they once were, with the rise of AI, robotics, smart factory setups and automation. 

Upskilling the existing workforce, while vital in the short term, is only the start of digitally transforming the industry. The manufacturing sector needs new talent, digital natives who bring newfound skills, curiosity and enthusiasm.

Attracting this talent is an arduous challenge, and part of the problem is the industry’s outdated branding. Steve agrees, arguing there needs to be a transformation of this        “dated outlook or understanding of manufacturing to be low tech or hands-on dirty work,” into one where manufacturing is a “high tech, hub of innovation.” According to him, manufacturers will have to start “dispelling some of those misconceptions through highlighting the real stories that are happening.”  

But this is easier said than done. Redefining the image of a company alone is difficult- but an entire industry? Like most overarching questions, this question then generates even more, like a renegade cell splitting in a forever-mitosis: What can we do to make a career in manufacturing attractive? What is our unique value proposition as an industry? How can we nurture and reach new talent? OneMagnify helps manufacturers answer these questions every single day, transforming strategic soul-searching into profound business value.“There are a lot of different approaches, they're going to be nuanced to each business,” Steve explains. “It starts with really understanding who's that end target.”

Part of understanding this end target according to Steve, is to consider the unique employment landscape younger generations find themselves in, and how it’s shaped their decision-making. “We're seeing that even in the services industry things are increasingly competitive. Graduates aren't just looking at the salary and the responsibilities of the job offer,” Steve adds. “They're really looking at that five-year trajectory. What's my path in the next five years?” 

OneMagnify under Steve’s expert leadership has helped manufacturers articulate the path they offer to prospective employees, giving concrete examples of problems they’ll be tackling and benefits they’ll receive. “We work with companies to do rewards and loyalty programs for things like their technologists and technicians in the field to really serve as sort of an engagement point to highlight the real work and exciting things people are doing,” Steve adds. 

Ultimately, Steve asserts that data is set to be a driving force of change in the manufacturing industry, enabling companies through vital insights to act in proactive, thoughtful and personalised ways like never before. “Leaning in on a one-to-one basis and connecting with people where they are is where you can make a big difference,” he asserts. “So that's leveraging the power of digital to understand that unique user. What's their context? What are they looking for? What's the message that's going to resonate with them?”

The message that resonates with the next generation is one of flexibility, opportunity and advancement- three things the manufacturing industry is poised now more than ever to have in abundance. As digital transformation increases, the manufacturing ecosystem must evolve beyond the mentality of ownership, expanding to participate in a personalised system of sharing and value creation.

OneMagnify, led by Steve as Chief Digital Officer, will continue to help companies across the sector embrace this evolution, enhancing competitiveness and ensuring long-term business success through the transformative power of data and AI.

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