How can product development find direction from order data instead of relying on the boss's decision?

Order data actually contains many market signals: which specifications are repeatedly inquired but not converted to orders (possibly due to pricing or MOQ issues), which products are growing fastest, and which markets only place orders during specific seasons. All of these can serve as basis for R&D topic selection. Methodologically, you need to review inquiry records, quotation results, and final orders together—you cannot only look at closed deals. Low conversion rates on certain specs warrant investigation into the reasons: sometimes it's specifications not matching local demand, sometimes competitor pricing is lower. Different root causes require entirely different R&D strategies. To perform this analysis, the prerequisite is that all inquiry and quotation records are completely preserved, rather than scattered across business emails.