Revolutionize insights with Kinetic dashboards and AI

Yusuf Abbasi, Senior Director of Global Data and Analytics at Whirlpool Corporation

Yusuf Abbasi is the Global Senior Director of Data and Analytics Centers of Excellence at Whirlpool Corporation. He is responsible for leading data and analytics strategy, governance and execution for global organizations. With a diverse background in engineering, business and data science, Yusuf brings a wealth of expertise to his role. His experience spans digital transformation, machine learning, cloud computing and business intelligence.

Please tell us about your experience so far and your role and responsibilities at the companyWhirlpool Corporation.

I began my career nearly ten years ago at Caterpillar, where I delved into analytics as part of a core excellence team across all verticals. The focus is on driving revenue growth and profitability efficiency to save improvement costs. My main areas of expertise were pricing and marketing analytics, and later I explored digital analytics.

After moving to Kraft Heinz, a consumer products company, I immersed myself in consumer analytics and direct-to-consumer (D2C) digital transformation. The focus turns to the analysis of the commercial level of the CPG industry.

Later, at L’Oréal, my focus shifted to product development for the company. In my current role at Whirlpool, my primary role is to guide strategy, organizational composition, and technology implementation to build a data-driven culture. The overall goal is to increase data fluency within the organization and lay a solid foundation for a data-driven future.

Understanding the role of cloud computing in business and technology is critical because emerging technologies are like building blocks and many are either complementary or reside in the cloud. Respecting and understanding how cloud computing shapes and enhances infrastructure is critical as it forms the basis for platform technology innovation.

What are the main challengesImplementing the right technology in today’s insights engine landscape?

When building insights around a technology stack, a key consideration is identifying the specific types of insights we want to gain. Ten years ago, simply having a dashboard was a major achievement, adopted eagerly by users. However, two different user preferences are emerging today. Some users prefer diagnostic insights, leveraging technology to delve deeper into the data. Others seek to speed up the analysis process to more efficiently obtain the insights they want.

The shift to diagnostic insights is gaining traction as relying solely on traditional BI dashboards can lead to digital delays. Currently, the technology to meet this need is limited. Looker, available on Google, stands out as an analytics and visualization tool, but the challenge is modernizing and adapting to our changing needs.

Have you introduced any proprietary techniques or methods that have produced significant positive results, ensuring that the data obtained is both insightful and beneficial to the end user?

Currently, our focus is on dynamic dashboards that leverage generative AI capabilities. These dashboards differ from traditional static dashboards in that they allow consumers to gather insights dynamically. Rather than being pre-built dashboards centered around specific KPIs, dynamic dashboards respond to user queries or exploration of metrics and trends. Once an issue is resolved or a user completes a query, these dashboards remain ephemeral, ensuring relevance and efficiency.

At the same time, we are actively taking steps to simplify the development of visualization tools. While static dashboards are still important, our goal is to enable users to take a more diagnostic approach, minimize the time spent on static creation, and encourage more dynamic interaction with the material.

Do you have any specific technology or industry advancements in the pipeline over the next 12 to 18 months? Do you really want to attract attention?

The main focus over the next 12 months or so will be the implementation of Localized Learning Management Systems (LLMS) across various material areas. This measure is critical because many companies, including ours, are still in the beta stages of integrating generative AI. Our goal was to explore the limitations of this technology and evaluate the feasibility of deploying localized LLMS on our sources. This has the potential to revolutionize the way we extract insights from data and enhance its usefulness through previously unavailable technologies.

In addition, we are also actively exploring other content generation technologies, such as Amid Journey and Adobe Firefly. Given the rapid pace of technological advancement, it is expected that new content generation tools may become available within six months, further expanding our capabilities in this area. The changing landscape shows a continued influx of innovative options that may further enhance our content creation capabilities.

Do you have any specific advice you’d like to share with your peers or other industry leaders?

My team and individuals emphasize the importance of curiosity in our work. Curiosity is the catalyst for skill improvement, innovation and the pursuit of best-in-class practice. Although the pace of change may seem daunting, my decade of experience in analytics shows that change is continuous. One thing I advocate is a deep understanding of how cloud computing integrates with business and technology, considering that many emerging technologies are either complementary to the cloud or hosted in the cloud. This understanding is critical because cloud technology forms the basis, like a building block, for all kinds of advancements.

Additionally, an important aspect is the ability to become a skilled analytical translator. This involves using data and analytics to effectively translate business inquiries—whether insights, remediations, hypotheses, or root causes—into actionable findings. Building advanced models is valuable, but without the ability to translate its meaning into business and suggest improvements, its impact remains limited.