Innovations don’t happen by chance
The competitive pressure in the automotive industry also requires constant innovation and adaptability from suppliers. Where companies can look for and find innovations and how an automotive supplier from Plettenberg has turned this into a strategy.
What inspires innovation – and how does it go beyond theory? These are two of the questions that Charlotte Edzard, innovation coach at the Digital Hub Logistics, is most frequently asked by company representatives. As part of a three-part workshop of the ATLAS project, she – together with other project partners – has now shown companies where to look, explained pitfalls and presented initial steps for implementing ideas. “Innovations don’t happen by chance. That’s why you have to create structures and deal with innovation processes and methods,” says the transformation expert. “This is how innovation is spurred on in the company!”
Innovation as a strategic task
Companies in the automotive supply industry generally have very well-developed product development and are therefore good at driving technological innovation in their traditional field, often driven by vehicle manufacturers. However, according to Charlotte Edzard, the companies themselves complain that many hierarchies, processes and structures have become entrenched: “A company can only counter this if innovation is seen as a strategic task and becomes part of the company’s strategy. The management must set a good example – and the necessary spirit – and put together a team of people from different departments of the company who really want to develop innovations.”
In order for innovation management to be practiced in the company, personal initiative and responsibility must be encouraged. Entrepreneurs must create freedom for employees: On the one hand, it must be made clear that they are allowed to spend part of their working time coming up with new ideas. On the other hand, ideas must be recognized and – as a motivating factor – also rewarded. Important here: a modern error culture in which wrong turns or dead ends are also recognized as opportunities. “An innovation team will not turn the company inside out from one day to the next,” says Charlotte Edzard. “The result of the work does not have to lead to completely disruptive innovations: Changes to production processes or shift schedules are just as valuable!” Especially at the beginning, it is particularly important to generate small successes in order to secure support and acceptance from the organization and the workforce and to approach innovation on a cultural level.
Inspiration for innovation
Innovation does not originate in an ivory tower. So-called search areas range from the market, i.e. the confrontation with competitors, partners and customers, to the private environment, where family and friends become sources of ideas. “If a company wants to improve technologically, cooperation with research institutions is a good idea. If the aim is to improve the approach to innovation, collaboration with a start-up from the industry is more likely. And for supply chain innovations, you might want to get a network partner on board,” says Charlotte Edzard, naming further sources of inspiration and innovation. “Many companies often do this as a matter of course or intuitively. But as soon as you change your perspective and look at your search areas from the outside, it becomes clear whether you are really exploiting all the potential.”
The Plettenberg-based company PRINZ VERBINDUNGSELEMENTE, which presented the main features of its innovation management at the ATLAS workshop, has also made this its mission. The company, which employs around 180 people, is an expert in long-shaft fasteners such as screws and shafts, and the automotive industry is one of the company’s most important customer segments. PRINZ is systematically driving forward the digital transformation of the company and follows a structured process when developing innovations. “We have an appetite for the future and know that we cannot rely on lucky breaks, but must approach innovation in a structured way in order to be innovative in the long term,” says Stephan Schwarz, CEO of Prinz.
A recent customer order for thin and long screws for e-bike batteries proved to be just such a stroke of luck. Over a glass of red wine, the team realized that the requested screws resembled bicycle spokes in terms of their structure and properties – and an employee who was a cycling enthusiast brought up the idea of self-luminous bicycle spokes. No sooner said than done: PRINZ presented the innovative product at an international bike trade fair last year.
