Data is the new catalyst in formulation R&D: Experts

Future of formulation science lies in the seamless blend of data, design, and technology

The R&D sector for formulations—spanning chemical, agrochemical, and specialty materials industries—is experiencing a significant digital transformation. Historically dependent on disjointed methods like handwritten notes, scattered spreadsheets, and unreliable institutional memory for managing critical R&D data, these sectors are now adopting structured digital platforms. This "quiet revolution" integrates robust data management and AI-driven analytics, which promises accelerated innovation cycles, improved regulatory compliance, and enhanced strategic decision-making capabilities.

The leading industry experts discussed the subject at the e-Conference titled, “Transforming Formulation R&D: Data, Digitalization and Beyond” organized by the Indian Chemical News (ICN) in association with Revvity Signals on November 06, 2025.

The highly informative session moderated by Pravin Prashant, Executive Editor, Indian Chemical News, highlighted how automation, machine learning, and high-throughput experimentation are turning traditional labs into agile, connected ecosystems

Dr. Alok Khullar, Senior Technology Leader, Pidilite Industries, believes success should be measured through clear KPIs that reflect innovation speed, data quality, collaboration, compliance, and security, not just the presence of digital systems. 

“One of the most significant challenges is managing unstructured and scattered legacy data. Compounding this is the complexity of multivariate data inherent in formulations, where numerous variables—from raw materials and resins to fillers and additives—interact uniquely. Understanding these interactions and accurately capturing the corresponding data is extremely difficult using traditional methods. 

“Data security and confidentiality represent another major concern. Protecting proprietary scientific information generated both in India and globally is critical. Furthermore, non-standard data formats pose a substantial hurdle; when multiple labs operate across various locations, each team often uses different templates and formats. Achieving data format standardization across such diverse setups is far from easy. The integration and connectivity between analytical instrument data and experimental results is also a weak link, as that crucial traceability is frequently absent in conventional systems,” said Khullar. 

"The principle is simple: what we quantify, we can improve. This applies directly to digital transformation. Without clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), digital initiatives often remain abstract concepts rather than measurable successes. True transformation is not merely about deploying new software or devices; it is achieved when data and systems reach perfect synchronization. The ultimate measure of effectiveness is realized when scientists and researchers spend the majority of their time on data analysis and interpretation, rather than manual formatting or cleaning.

“Real results emerge when experimental data is efficiently captured, contextualized, and validated for design and analytics. Consequently, KPIs must evolve beyond mere system adoption metrics to reflect the genuine speed of innovation, the quality of scientific insights, regulatory compliance, collaborative efficiency, and data security,” Khullar added further.

Dr. Kamlesh Pai Fondekar, Head - R&D, Godrej Agrovet, envisions a future where traditional scientific expertise is digitized and integrated with analytics, turning scattered data into connected intelligence. 

“At Godrej Agrovet, our eight distinct businesses mean R&D approaches vary significantly. The primary challenge we face is the fragmentation of information: data is scattered across multiple formats and often retained as personal knowledge. Our formulation work heavily relies on individual experience, handwritten notes, and Excel sheets. This lack of a central repository hinders effective data access, comparison, and reuse.

“We face a significant data challenge in managing raw material variability. Sourcing actives, surfactants, and solvents from multiple suppliers creates complex hurdles in formulation development.

“Furthermore, scaling formulations from lab to pilot to commercial production requires precise recording of composition, mixing parameters, and equipment details—a process still largely handled manually,” said Fondekar.

“The R&D landscape is transforming, driven by the adoption of best practices such as electronic lab notebooks, centralized material databases, and seamless data flow across R&D, regulatory, and manufacturing departments. The immediate future focuses on integrating lab science with field intelligence in structured databases to enable faster, more precise formulation design.

The ultimate objective is the digitization of traditional expertise, merging valuable experimental wisdom with powerful data analytics. Key initiatives like adopting data lakes, implementing metadata tagging, and adhering to the FAIR data principles will allow us to construct comprehensive digital formulation libraries that bridge structured and unstructured data.

Ultimately, the industry is transitioning its focus from mere data collection to intelligent data connection, transforming previously scattered knowledge into an intelligent foundation that accelerates reliable innovation. This is the strategic direction for agrochemical R&D at Godrej Agrovet,” added Fondekar.

Dr. Anil Kumar Soni, Head - Application Development, R&D, Clariant Chemicals India, emphasizes that transformation is not a plug-and-play process but a cultural shift that demands leadership commitment, training, and sustained engagement. 

“The successful digital transformation truly depends on four key elements: people, process, technology, and customer experience. Unless these are integrated effectively, transformation efforts often remain incomplete. I interact with many clients across the globe, and one of the most common challenges we face relates to customer requirements and data availability. The first issue is the lack of sustainable, high-quality data, especially in raw material procurement. The second challenge is technical complexity. Implementing digital transformation within an organization or a center of excellence is not a plug-and-play process but requires significant cultural and organizational change. We also face a shortage of digital skills and analytical expertise, which means consistent training and capability-building programs are essential for teams to adapt and thrive in a digital environment,” opined Soni.

“Once the digital transformation framework and data integration systems are firmly established, the organization should begin measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand the initiative's true impact. KPIs should initially focus on four core dimensions: Efficiency, Quality & Innovation, Data Integrity and Business Impact. Digital transformation is a staged process requiring thoughtful implementation, ensuring that people, processes, and systems evolve in alignment,” Soni added further.

As per Dr. Hiten Mehta, Head - R&D (Chlor-Alkali), Aditya Birla Chemicals, the real transformation isn’t just technological but cultural: about inspiring teams to embrace digital platforms as enablers of smarter, more connected innovation. 

“Data is the fundamental pillar of effective processes, whether it’s inventory management, collaboration workflows, or data standardization itself. Without standardized data capture, individuals record information based on personal interpretation, leading to person-dependent and inconsistent results. This lack of uniformity compromises data reliability, usability, and, critically, decision-making.

Therefore, standardization is the essential first step. It ensures data is accurate, consistent, and repeatable across departments and systems. In stringent sectors like pharmaceuticals, original and reliable data is mandatory. A standardized foundation also guarantees continuity; if a team member departs, their successor can easily continue the work. Ultimately, building a solid, standardized data foundation is the non-negotiable starting point for any successful digital transformation. 

“For technical experts like me, the main hurdle isn't the technology itself—it’s effectively translating our solutions into concrete business value for the CEO and CFO. This communication gap is exactly where digital tools and integrated analytics prove transformative.

We’ve consolidated critical data streams—everything from R&D (literature and patent searches) to compliance (regulatory lifecycle analysis) and the supply chain (raw material costs and sourcing)—into one unified digital ecosystem.

This integration changes the dynamic. The software, fueled by comprehensive data, tells the story for us. Instead of lengthy justifications and abstract explanations, scientists can instantly present the strategic impact of their work using data-driven insights and clear visual dashboards. This empowers leadership to make faster, more confident, and ultimately, more profitable decisions.

We are entering a pivotal era. This is beyond merely adopting new software; it’s about establishing a data culture where every team member is motivated and equipped to leverage these platforms to drive organizational success,” Dr Mehta added further.

Dr Rupak Paul, Deputy General Manager – Formulation, Rallis India, underscores the role of integrated digital platforms in automating material tracking, connect lab and factory workflows. 

"In our industry, data sharing remains highly fragmented. While we utilize cloud platforms, crucial information is often siloed in disparate file formats, including Excel files, Word documents, PowerPoint slides, SOPs, and reports. Though some real-time data is managed effectively, most communication, such as urgent updates between R&D and factory teams, occurs informally via email, internal apps, or messaging platforms like WhatsApp. This practice, while highlighting the need for immediate data access, is suboptimal. The absence of a centralized, searchable repository and robust backup systems increases the risk of data loss and inaccessibility. Furthermore, limited cross-training between departments contributes to a significant knowledge gap,” mentioned Dr Paul.

“Material traceability is fundamental to successful and reproducible formulation R&D. The reliability of any outcome depends entirely on the consistency of upstream raw materials. While our R&D setup diligently records essential material details (batch numbers, COAs, supplier info) and assigns unique identifiers for traceability, these manual processes—spanning lab notebooks, spreadsheets, and shared documents—result in inconsistencies, siloed data, and poor real-time visibility. Digital platforms offer a powerful solution by integrating material tracking into a centralized, automated system, providing immediate visibility into usage, shelf life, and properties,” added Dr Paul. 

Dr Manish M. Khandagale, Senior Field Application Specialist, Revvity Signals, highlights how digital transformation is redefining formulation science by turning complex, scattered data into actionable intelligence. 

“What particularly excites me is the potential for digital transformation to streamline the entire product development lifecycle, from initial data capture to generating meaningful insights and making smarter, evidence-based decisions.

“Firstly, in the specialty chemicals industry, product development often begins with precise performance targets based on specific customer needs. With Revvity Signals’ visualization tools, scientists can now intuitively link a product’s properties directly with its real-world performance, significantly enhancing R&D efficiency.

“Second, challenge for the corrosion coatings lies in effectively balancing adhesion and corrosion resistance across varied environmental conditions. By consolidating all experimental and analytical data onto a single interactive dashboard, Scientists can readily compare different production batches, adjust additive levels, and instantly visualize how minute changes in composition affect overall performance.

“Third, the digital tools in the generic formulations space are proving instrumental in developing cost-effective, bioequivalent products that mirror the performance of innovator products. A unified dashboard allows cross-functional teams to track batches, monitor costs, analyze test results, and visually compare performance data clusters. This shift ensures decisions are made faster and based on robust evidence rather than intuition alone,” added.

He further informed that Lab data is often fragmented across various sources, creating significant integration challenges. "Revvity Signals solves this with a unified, cloud-native ecosystem featuring products like Signals Notebook, Signals Inventa, Signals DLX, and Spotfire. This platform enables scientists to seamlessly design, record, and analyze experiments digitally, integrating instrument data and delivering real-time insights. By standardizing your data, Revvity Signals prepares your organization for the next step: AI-driven capabilities such as semantic search, predictive analytics, and automated summaries. This transformation requires consistency, collaboration, and the right technology partner,” added Khandagale.