Innovation refers to the change or creation of more effective products, ideas and processes which increases the prospects of the business thriving. This encourages more proficient work processes, enhanced productivity and performance. Innovation is not defined as inventing. It can also mean changing the business model and adapting to environmental changes to generate improved products or services. Invention and innovation is a continuous process as products are drastically improved compared to the first marketable models due to the incorporation of numerous of various inventions and innovations. Implementing original ideas, improving existing services or manufacturing dynamic products can all be a catalyst for the success and growth of …show more content…
[3]
Electronics and Energy
Technology is converted into solutions for customers in energy markets and solutions worldwide. 3M contribute to dependable communication networks, reliable sources of power and high-performance electronic devices. The company focuses on alternative energy sources such as renewable energy to increase the quality whilst reducing expenses. [3]
Safety Graphics
Products are produced to increase the safety, security and productivity of people, facilities and systems around the world. Personal protective equipment, safety and security products, track and trace solutions are among many of the products 3M manufacture. [3]
Industrial
3M deliver numerous products to various markets such as: abrasives, adhesives, tape, speciality materials and filtration systems- from purification to aerospace. [3]
Factors Affecting Innovation
Research and Development
3M believe the best way to predict the future is to create it therefore their business model focus on inventing products which previously did not exist. This model has led to the creation of new industries as well as products such as coated abrasives, pressure sensitive tapes and so on. In order to promote such growth, the company recognizes the significance of Research and Development (R&D) and six percent of its yearly avenue is dedicated to that sector. [4] Research and Development is vital in the innovation process for
I would define innovation as the ability to apply this creative thinking to an existing product, solution or approach that improves the outcome of a solution to a problem or usefulness of a product. Innovation is the ability to put creative thoughts to use in a way that is beneficial to a person, product, object, problem or situation. .
Alongside the entrepreneur spirit, Innovation is the process of taking new ideas and implementing them into the market. Key word being “new”, an innovation can be sometimes viewed as the application to better solutions that meet new demand-requirements, inarticulated needs or existing market needs. Innovative ideas range from: goods, services, products, processes, services, technologies or ideas that create value for which customers will pay for. For an idea to be an innovation, it must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need. This means is that one must be ready and willing put their new idea to the test. On the other hand, there is recognition that “innovation is also critical to cultural, environmental, social, and artistic progress as well” (Bullinger, 2006). With this stated, high-tech innovation is ultimately the reason why we can be thankful for the many new conveniences of the 21st century. Although we might see the forefront of innovation being very prominent in today’s world, innovation is truly nothing new. From the start of modern man times, innovative ideas have paved the way for civilization to advance and develop into what we are today and at the same time, we have barely begin to chip away at the tip of the iceberg of our true human potential. Some scholars believe that innovation is a
Innovation: An initiative, practice, or objective that is modern by individual or other elements of acceptance (Rogers, 2003).
Product Innovation – Innovation of new products had failed many times and MTI has lost reputation with Wall Street. This process had been placed on the backburner and when the CEO came on board there were only six products in the pipeline. Therefore, to be successful in the future, MTI needs to invest more in R&D and focus on delivering new products.
The word ‘innovation’ is derived from Latin word ‘innovare’, which means “to change something to new”. In other words, we may say that ‘innovation’ means changing the regular way of doing things and involves doing the regular things in a novel way.
Innovation is not a single activity; it is a process. For businesses, innovation means fresh ideas, developing new products or services and its effective processes. Innovation can be key to any business or company in the future. Bringing innovation into your business can help you save time and money and gives you the competitive advantage needed to grow your business.
3M heavily based its business on innovation and while doing this it always supported its employees in terms of being innovative. 3M also always followed the alternative ways in order to increase their profit and market share, and they found that one of the best ways is through organizational innovation. Therefore, in order to improve their business 3M developed 6 different strategies over its history. These strategies helped 3M to promote entrepreneurship and increase customer satisfaction within the market.
The Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Corporation (3M) was founded in 1902. It reported sales revenues of $16.7 billion during the year 2000. These revenues came from 3M's six business divisions: industrial; transportation, graphics, and safety; healthcare; consumer and office; electro and communications; and specialty materials. All business divisions were profitable in 2000. The same year, the company made more than 60,000 products and about $5.6 billion sales came from products that had been introduced during the prior four years and
W. W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products to businesses and institutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico with an expanding presence in Japan, India, China and Panama. The company works with more than 3,000 suppliers and runs an extensive Website (http://www.grainger.com) where Grainger offers nearly 900,000 products. The products range from industrial adhesives used in manufacturing, to hand tools, janitorial supplies, lighting equipment, and power tools. When something is needed by one of their 1.8 million customers it is often needed quickly, so quick service and product
Tidd et al (2000) states, “the innovation is a business process of revolving opportunity into new ideas and of putting these into widely used practice. In term of the nature, there are five major types of innovations: novelty, competence shifting, complexity, robust design and continuous improvement. While in term of the extent of change, innovations can be divided into incremental, radical and
I think Medical-Surgical User team need to recommend to Dunlop the three product recommendation and in these three recommendations the first two recommendations are simple to extend the 3M product lines. But in the fourth recommendation as product development team stuck on upstream containment of infection and suppose to include upstream containment in business strategy and even if 3M Medical division enter in this infection field and applied successfully then it has become a major achievement. On the other hand if the business strategies not succeed then it shows the process of planning is unfortunate and risky for financial prospective and spend lot of time on research and
The company 3M is a diverse company that was incorporated on June 25, 1929 with presence in more than 10 industries alone. “3M products are sold through a number of distribution channels, including directly to users and through wholesalers, retailers, jobbers, distributors and dealers in a range of trades in a number of countries worldwide” ("3M Co," n.d., para. 1) The company head quarters is located in St. Paul Minnesota, however 3M has locations all over the United States. 3M is best known within the consumer industry with brands such as Post-it, Scotch, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, O-Cel-O, Nexcare, and Command. “3M is one of 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and also is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500
Innovation is normally used to denote the process that takes place when a product or a process is developed, from idea to market; the concept of invention only denotes the process that takes place when new ideas or solutions are generated. Baumol (2002) argues “is it possible to have lots of inventions and still lack innovations. Nevertheless, inventions are a necessary precondition for innovation”.
Growing market for materials- Suppliers in marketplace may impact buyers through lower quality, higher cost, or limited availability of products . Considering that a great segment of people today want to own and use 3D printers, one is likely to profit by selling 3D supplies like new manufacturing techniques equipment, specific software and specific material vendors.
Innovation refers to finding new ways to improve the existing products, services, processes, technologies, and employee performance in an organizational setup. In today's competitive business environment, organizations have to focus on bringing innovation in each and every aspect of their business operations; like products or service offerings, enterprise resource planning systems, marketing and promotional efforts, and organizational structure. The market challenges and competitive pressures also force organizations to use a blend of all these innovation processes in their business activities. Therefore, it is vital to give an equal focus on product innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation, and organizational innovation within the limited organizational resources and capabilities.