Digital Innovation

Business playing fields are continuously evolving, with industries and markets being transformed by wave after wave of digital disruption. The rate of change is only increasing, with looming impacts from digital advances such as Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence set to have far reaching implications for business and society as a whole.

Innovation is no longer a part-time pursuit but rather and essential survival skill in today’s digital world.

Innovation Strategy

Innovation strategy defines how the businesses' innovation efforts will support the business strategy.

The strategy defines the innovation priorities and objectives, highlighting investments that will drive growth and value creation over a time horizon. It also defines the business's innovation stance (e.g. proactive, active, reactive or passive) and targeted innovation mix (e.g. incremental, breakthrough and disruptive).

Key elements of innovation capability are also planned to enable delivery. Elements include reviewing the innovation operating model, life-cycle, associated portfolio management and innovation performance reporting.

Idea Generation & Development

Ideation is a critical element of the innovation process. However, ideas are the output of the process and not the beginning.

Effective ideation starts with understanding the business, empathizing with its customers and defining the problem statement.

Various ideation approaches are used to generate input from internal and external sources. Techniques range from ideation sessions with employees in workshops, pitch-days, innovation portals, etc. and engaging with partners (e.g. suppliers, incubators, universities) and consumers in workshop hackathons, crowd sourcing, social listening, etc.

Innovation Capability Building

As the need for continuous innovation continues, businesses are increasingly focusing on how best to organize in order to deliver successful ongoing digital innovation.

Legacy add-on type operating models with innovation separate but linked to core business activities is proving less effective.

More integrated models are being employed to deliver better outcomes and increase innovation levels of maturity.

Adoption of ‘best practice’ innovation approaches and techniques also provide an opportunity to deliver improved results.

Innovation capability is further enhanced by innovation-centric leadership and culture.

Innovation Portfolio Execution

Innovation portfolio execution focuses on managing the opportunity life-cycle from initial research and investigations through to idea development, incubation, implementation and monitoring.

Opportunities progress through the innovation funnel stage gates being assessed against business specific evaluation and prioritization criteria.

The innovation portfolio is managed with rolling updates referencing both business and innovation strategies and key internal and external business drivers.

Innovation portfolio’s performance is tracked and reported measuring impact on overall business value.

✓     Improve Products & Services
✓ Improve Productivity
✓ Increase Competitiveness
✓     Increase Growth
✓     Improve Business Value