Value Innovation and innovation thought leaders
Contributed by: Nina Goodrich, VP Innovation, Alcan Inc.,USA
Growth through innovation is easy to say, and not so easy to do. While there are some great ideas from key innovation thought leaders it often requires some adaptation to turn the ideas into practical tools.
In this column I propose to examine some of the ideas that have been helpful in creating a value innovation culture and strategy at Alcan. I would welcome feedback on these ideas and additional suggestion from readers. Alcan has created an Internal Value Innovation Process (VIPSM) that was written up in the March/April 2007 issue of Research Technology Management and is posted on the Pure Insight site. It provides pretty detailed information for those of you that want more than can be addressed in these columns. Download a copy of “What does your most important Customer Want”
The first concept I want to address is from Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor in The Innovator’s Solution published in 2003 by the Harvard Business School Press.
Christensen talks about understanding the “job” a product is hired to do.
In the case of packaging, perhaps we should be willing to understand and create people-centered packaging opportunities. Increasing compliance and helping patients to manage their diseases with existing therapies could create significant value.
We need to understand the challenges for patients and caregivers and develop packaging to meet these needs. This may seem like an ambitious task for packaging to achieve alone, but innovation cannot be done without daring to look ahead and think big. We have the tools to meet the needs, what I am advocating is a re-assessment of the role that packaging can play in health care management
In the past packaging has been hired for brand recognition and product protection. In the future packaging can be hired for product security, disease management and compliance. The technology enablers exist today. Advances in smart options, web enabled links, indicators and printed electronics make a variety of features possible. The key is in understanding which features will help patients, their caregivers and retailers deliver superior value. In packaging we tend to think of products in terms of features, such as child resistance and/or senior friendly or we think about packaging by format (bottles, blisters, vials etc) The way in which manufacturers think of packaging and how people interpret their experiences with drugs and their packaging have very little to do with each other. Patients often react emotionally to drugs and packaging functionality is only a part of the experience. If we believe that patients hire products to do jobs, then can packaging be hired to do more than protect the product?