The end of my innovation journey

From the 10 tips I have found that are key in innovation there seems to be a variety of how a company can work in a way that it can gain competitive advantage.

I believe the encouragement of creativity is very important as this is where an idea will start and then develop. A leader who willl try increase the creativity of their staff may increase the good ideas that they come up with, potentially into a product or service that attracts a customer.

When I think of the word innovation I now think change. As to me it is a step in which you use facilities, resources and knowledge to try develop or produce an idea that customers will like. My blogs have talked many successful companies that have continually changed their products and services. As the world is becoming a more technically advanced companies will need to continue to develop their ideas, potentially faster and faster to attract customers as customer needs and wants will go on changing all the time. A company that wants to succeed will stay focussed on innovation and battle with competitors to continue to increase sales.

 

Tip 10: Never feeling that you've finished innovating

Customer needs and requirements are going to continue to change and your competitors will continue to influence market expectations. A innovative way to is to learn from past mistakes or other competitors mistakes and move on from it to develop an idea.

An idea may take time and patious is needed for this idea to form and be successful. This time may be to improve it or for a time for another idea to be able to become a successful idea.

There has been ongoing console Wars between Xbox and Sony plational each of these continuing to develop technology. They would learn from their own successes and failures and those of their compeitors to produce to best technology for the consumer they can.

This could be going through the "Venture model of Innovation" where changes are made of a product in response to a new or modified venture model. Technical advances are required to enable success and keep up with their competitors. 

McDonald's - Globally

The challenge that Global companies have is being innovative enough to use tried and tested products in different countries and cultures. Therefore even with a company that has standard products that it sells in a different country the products can also differ so that they would sell better in one particular country than another.


McDonald's is a Golbalised company that trades in 123 countries around the world, all countries have different foods that they prefer. McDonald's have added additional products to the menus in some countries to suit the local people and culture.


 Religion can be a possible factor that changes menus to attract the local people. "Hindus make up to 80 percent of Indians, killing cows and eating beef is against religious rules". Therefore in India there is no beef burgers on the menu, instead McDonald's include a variety of vegetarian options such as "McVeggie". 

"Hungary has the lowest cost of living and therefore has the cheapest Big Mac"  (Schnaubelt, 2002) McDonald's even change the price of products to suit the country, depending on economic wealth. This is innovative as they know if they put it at a similar price to a wealthier country less people may be able to afford it.




References

Madison, J. (2009, July 9). Mcdonalds menu items from around the world. Retrieved 1 15, 2012, from Food network humour: http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2009/07/mcdonalds-menu-items-from-around-the-world-40-pics/

Nasr, S. (n.d.). 10 Unusual Items from McDonald's international Menu. Retrieved 1 15, 2012, from How stuff works: http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-items-from-mcdonalds-international-menu5.htm

Schnaubelt, C. (2002, July). Global Arches: A Cultural Look at McDonald’s. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from murphylibrary.uwlax.edu: http://murphylibrary.uwlax.edu/digital/jur/2002/schnaubelt.pdf

(Nasr, 2011) 

Tip 9: If you want to be successful Globally be prepared to innovate within your standard way of doing things.

Many companies would like to be a globalised but to do this they would have to consider what the differences in customers are and what will attract them in these different countires. A focussed use of innovating will have to be used here for them to tap into these new markets and adapt to these different cultures.

"Globalisation is when a company grows to point that they trade in most parts of the world"
(Debab, 2011, p8-10).

To be trading all round the world shows a great sense of success and you can see how it would appeal to companies that already have power in the market they are in. Well known globalised companies such as Coca Cola, Tescos and McDonald's adapt in different cultures through innovation to gain sales.

One successful company Wal-Mart has shown how globalisation can work being top of the 500 most Global list. "Wal-Mart Stores maintains its perch atop the corporate ladder, taking the top spot on this year's Fortune's 500 and Global 500 lists, both for the second year in a row. " (DuBois) Walmart has stores all over the world in China, Canada , India, Japan, Brazil,UK and many more and these are a good example of how all stores do not look the same and do not even have the same names.

ASDA which is a very well known store for affordable weekly shops in the UK is under Walmart mangement. "In June 1999, Asda was acquired by Walmart and has grown into Britain’s second largest supermarket". They have gained success after been taken over by Walmart as they have had the money to change the market to attract more customers. This shows how a company can adapt their brands to suit the market in different countries through advertising, name, colour, font, and the lifestyle choice they choose.

In the Uk

In Japan

Another thing to consider when a company is Global is if a country is of similar wealth or culture could learn from the products they have used and become successful and try it out in a different country. This could be done for a short period of time to see if it attracts attention and if is it does could become something that is sold all the time. For example Asda could sell products that have been best sellers in America's Wallmart stores to see if they would be successful here.

There are some negatives for a company to aim to be globalised as it quite expensive to change aspects of companies to achieve success in different parts of the world. Trying to chase the market could lead to bankrupcy.  A company would need to do a lot of background research on a country they were considering selling to so that they understood customer needs and knew how to attract their potentional customers.




 References


Debab, N 2011, ‘Globalization and Privatization: Two Faces One Coin’, International Research Journal Of Finance & Economics, 74, pp. 7-29, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 December 2011.

DuBois, S. (n.d.). CCN Money - Global 500. Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Fortune Magazine: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/snapshots/2255.html

Walmart. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Wamart Corporate: http://walmartstores.com/

Tip 8. Get a clear, short Supply chain - then use it

As there is a current reccession business' are working extra hard to look at every aspect of their business and see if they can improve it in a innovative way to gain competitive advantage. The suppy chain is how an organisation achieves a supply of products and facilities the company needs.

“The supply chain is the collection of activities that connect suppliers to end users, forming a chain of events. Value-added operations supply end customers, and this relationship is repeated with suppliers and their suppliers.” (Basem El Haik, 2005)

Companies will want to look at how they can cut costs and save time in their production lines. Using different technlogy and different ways to try save time.

The size of a supply chain varies from business to business, however each of these firms will strive to decrease the size of their supply chain making it as small and clear-cut as possible. In this way they are better able to manage their supply chain and keep down their costs and work with their suppliers to improve response times. They are also better able to form close relationships and work with their suppliers to innovate. Companies that have large supply chains can find it difficult to gain control over large numbers of suppliers missing out on cost savings and potential innovation.

Amazon.com is a successful company with a supply chain difficult for competitors to compete with. Using the facilities they have well and keep there customers happy.

 “As Amazon offers same-day, second-day and other fulfillment options, it competes with bricks-and-mortar companies more and more," says Serguei Netessine, professor of operations and information management at Wharton. (Knowledge@Wharton, 2009)

"Using drop shipping, Amazon also has real-time links to manufacturers, which ship goods directly to consumers on the internet-company's behalf.  "Amazon keeps the most popular products in inventory, but uses a mix of techniques to deliver goods," Netessine notes. This gives Amazon an advantage that its rivals find hard to replicate." (Knowledge@Wharton, 2009)

References

(2005). In D. M. Basem El Haik, Service design for six sigma: a roadmap of excellence (pp. 380-381). Wiley Publishers.

Knowledge@Wharton. (2009, 11 11). Fit for the Holidays: Amazon Is Shaping Up and Shipping Out. Retrieved 1 12, 2012, from Mananging Technology: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2382

Tip 7: Consider Synergy

Synergy can be useful in innovating as it could be that innovative step to work with another company that could gain competitive advantage. If a company was looking into the development of a product having other companies contribute to ideas and costs could benefit them and produce a better product that if they had done development work just themselves.

“Obtaining synergy may well imply the sharing of knowledge and other resources between divisions or business units, possibly attempting to disseminate best practice.” (John Thompson, 2010)

There are advantages to synergy but there can also be negatives to. A key advantage when synergy takes place could be the exchanging of information between the two companies which enables them get a new product to their customers faster. This could be because of shared knowledge about the process of making a new product as well as about the potentil product itself. 

How achieving synergy can be very time consuming. Spending time learning about the processes of two companies not only one. I feel working to achieve synergy is probably worthwhile if both companies can see an advantage. Another problem with syngery is that  working together may not actually work and not come out with a good product. Both companies then loose money and don't get any new customers.

Negative Synergy is often described as dysynergy or the “2+2=3” effect as the combination of two companies are not suited and do not come out with a successful outcome. 

 “when synergy is not an important consideration and hence synergy advantages of expansion over diversification are not important” (Ansoff, 2011)

Synergy is used in business all the time and companies will combine to try to get more customers. Sainsburys and Shell have now got a joint fuel and convenience store operation. This Operation has shown sucess in 100 Shell locations that are now operating with Sainsburys local stores.

"Sir Peter Davis, Chief Executive of Sainsbury's, said: "The Sainsbury's Local format is a great success -- measured by sales per square foot, 11 of the top 20 performing stores in the company are Locals, and three of these are located on Shell forecourts."  (Whitehead, 2003)


The comment above  is a very positive one about the synergy of  Shell and Sainsbury's operation. IT is a good example of how two companies can work together successfully.

References

Ansoff. (2011). In S. Karenfort, Synergy in Mergers & Acquisitions: The Role of Business Relatedness (pp. 15-24). Books on Demand.

John Thompson, F. M. (2010). In F. M. John Thompson, Strategic Management 6th edition (pp. 74-76). Thomas Rennie.

Whitehead, J. (2003, 6 2). Sainsburys's and Shell expand forecourt joint venture. Retrieved 1 11, 2012, from Brand Republic : http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/181627/