Every manufacturer must define its approach to innovation. At some companies, including Swagelok Co., innovation is a core value. The innovation mindset extends across the entire enterprise at these companies, from the business offices to the shop floor.
So, how does product innovation benefit a manufacturer? Product innovation and the developments that flow from it enable companies to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Product innovation opens the door to increased brand equity, faster technology adoption rates, larger returns and an environment primed for further innovation. It also makes work fun. Associates are challenged, invigorated and feel appreciated when they know their best ideas will become reality -- for everyone's benefit.
I'll describe two key strategies for success in product innovation. One, determine the relationship between technology development and product development in your company and how they can best work together. And two, follow best practices in matching technology and product development priorities with customer needs.
The Yin and Yang of Technology and Product Development
Technology development and product development are different processes, but they are interrelated, interdependent and often occur in parallel. In technology development, companies develop multiple approaches to overcoming a problem -- generating, evaluating and iterating ideas rapidly through prototyping and piloting. By comparison, in product development, a single best solution is developed and implemented as efficiently as possible.
Both activities align with an organization's marketing goals for product development. The market aspect is important because innovation is just invention until value is realized.
The first strategy for successful product innovation is establishing how technology development and product development will best work together in your organization. One way is to create separate but parallel tracks for the two processes. In the technology development track, companies explore alternative solutions for specific technological challenges. The resulting solutions -- nuggets of information -- are stored so they can be drawn upon later. In the product development track, the company creates new products, new product lines or enhanced products.
The two tracks must interact, with product development engineers drawing from the advancements in the technology storehouse and technology developers learning about new challenges from the product developers. This interactive process enhances the time-to-market, cost effectiveness and performance of the products.
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