The media is full of stories of our food companies in trouble with imports. Sunbeam with currants from Greece, SPC Ardmona with canned fruit from South Africa, the list goes on.
Why don’t these companies innovate to meet these challenges?
Clearly, innovation is not simple or Australia would have a growing manufacturing sector with lots of exports.
We do have a thriving services export sector though. Check out Australian Laboratory Services, Gloria Jeans, Domino’s Pizza and our education sector.
Perhaps everyone is too busy to look over the horizon. Many companies have slimmed down their product development team.
Cutting costs may be part of the solution but, given our cost structures, not the only issue. We are never going to meet developing world labour costs.
New technology? This is probably part of the answer but often not the only answer.
A whole new approach to innovation is needed, looking at all elements of the company’s operations, along their whole supply chain, and taking a broad view of where the market is going.
Many will say we don’t have the staff with the range of skills needed for such a systematic approach.
The answer is Innovation Optimisers, www.InnovationOptimisers.com
Innovation Optimisers (IO) is a new group that brings together the skills of Joycelyn Davies, with more than 20 years’ experience in marketing and sales (http://www.marketingondemand.com.au), and the broad range of technological expertise and resources via the FoodStream business.
IO offers a broad range of innovation services and is able to span the entire innovation process, from idea/concept generation through to commercialisation. It can assist on short term projects or become a business’ permanent ‘outsourced innovation team’ – the structure and the solution being tailored to the business’ need.
However, for innovation to work, executive management have to be serious about fundamental change in the company. There can be no silos, no areas isolated from change. The challenges from developing nations are such that everything has to be on the table.
IO can help you ‘shake the tree’ in your company to identify the hidden issues holding you back.
Companies also have to be prepared for the long fuse – big bang that Deloitte’s predicts for agriculture over the next 3-5 years in order to catch the next wave of prosperity for agribusiness, also predicted by Deloitte’s. Or be prepared for the Greener Pastures that the ANZ Bank predicts, if we get things right.
Continuing to stay in our comfort zone by simply ‘tinkering’ with systems, approaches and business structures simply won’t work – we’ll continue to ‘get what we’ve always got’!
IO creates an immediate step change in the innovation capability within businesses – from market analysis/opportunity identification, brand & product development, process/system development or modification, packaging and label design through to commercialisation – a holistic approach. The IO team has experience and expertise ranging from small, through to large global companies.
Long experience is that getting all these right, and integrating all these elements, is critical.
IO can provide this ‘holistic service’ without a company having to employ additional resources permanently – providing a cost efficient model with the IO team dedicating the appropriate experts required for the period of the project.
IO is happy to talk to companies on a no-obligation basis. www.InnovationOptimisers.com.