Aping my Innovation

Aping my Innovation 

 

When can a Society be called truly Innovative, why do Organizations struggle to Innovative and how Innovative Individuals often, do not get opportunities to bring their ideas to the society. These questions have stayed forever begging for answers, which are sometimes almost staring at us, in our face.

We all do have a mental mapping of countries, which are innovative, and those, which are not. A country like India, with the so-called ‘Jugaad’ attitude has evolved innumerable innovative solutions, to our daily needs and to problems around us. A recent whatsapp video demonstrated a climbing ‘Step shoe’ that can enable an Electrician to climb an Electric Pole, easily and safely. We can draw two conclusions, One- innovations tend to happen where there is a desperate need and secondly the sufferers tend to find their own solutions to eliminate their suffering. It is evident, where there is an acute need there will be an innovation sooner or later, Plato did say ‘True creator is the necessity, who is the Mother of our invention’.

When it comes to consumer goods, it is not surprising to note, the almost near product similarity of competing brands, with the exception of some like Gillette which has kept itself ahead and continued to provide superior products in the Men’s shaving product category. ‘King of Shaves’ a not so big a brand, made in the UK, brought in product innovation, where in the gel is absolutely see through, for easy navigation while shaving, plus works wonders on your skin, leaving it clean and with no irritation. They claim ‘Proudly made in the UK’. Mr. Will King, the founder of the company says and I quote, ‘Back in 1992 I used to suffer from shaving rash and razor burn but couldn’t find a product on the market to solve my shaving problems. I suspected a lot of guys suffered in the same way I did, so I decided to solve the problem myself and develop a range of products to give a smooth, close and burn free shave – so in 1993 the King of Shaves was born’. Clearly, product innovation comes in when there is an expressed or a hidden need, not addressed by any existing, available product.

Brands like Shiseido, have created new benchmarks in the category of skin care, their product catalogue lists some of the following; luminizing surge emulsion, Bio performance lift dynamic cream, Urban environment tinted UV protector, Micro Targeting Spot corrector etc. This is clearly using innovation to redefine the category with products, which many others would want to copy.

Copying, from what others did, is misjudged to be faster and also seen to be cost effective. The unfortunate thing is that more often than not, Organizations look for a quick fix solution and hurry to ape the already available readymade solutions. There may not be a consumer need, but the fear of competition taking on the market share drives to desperation. The reality being that even aping is not easy or comes cheap. Sometimes it takes years and a whole lot of effort, just making a copy and that too at what cost. In the effort to go on matching competition, one goes on padding up costs, the relentless pursuit carries on much to the amusement of your competition. We all justify this Innovation for the sake of Innovation, fully well knowing that it is evidently ‘Resources wasted’, in the medium to the long term. The Question remains, then why this trapping and why, the mindless aping.

We can rationalize the copying of other’s innovation on the plank of ‘Speed to the market’, but it clearly brings out the inability of Organizations to access consumer needs and motivate their own teams to come out with breakthrough products. The downside being the impact on the organization culture, where in your Benchmark stays as your Competition or the one you wish to ape and not allowing your own resources to express their intelligence in a definitive manner. The irony is, very often by the time one gets ready with the copy, the leader has already moved forward and one is left gaping at the dust being left behind.

The joy of innovation is in the creation of a distinct advantage, for articulated superlative usage, it’s in the creation of better lives for the consumers and not just to get a share of business. Inevitably business and market share surges, once the consumer relates to the product, finding value and superiority over the current available offerings in the market.

Manu Jain, India Head of Xiaomi, Smartphones says ‘I’m a Maverick, I did exactly the opposite of what the rivals were doing’. Talking about competition he says and I quote, ‘They, make products for elites who would like to show them off. We make the same high-end technology available to the masses. Innovation for all is our philosophy’. Jain followed a different path, loading enviable features at an affordable price, makes the product cool. Xiaomi India, is today at the top of the stack, innovation has given it a meteoric growth. It has demonstrated, that it is not important to be in the numbers game, what works is the belief in oneself that you can be the No.1. The path is Innovation.

Very often individuals innovate to prove a point or to reassure their next raise in the organization. It is up to the leaders to insist and reaffirm, that the superordinate Objective of impact creation in the market, would always over ride a short-term competition strategy. Its all about the impact that you wish to create!

A Brand like Sketchers, has combined the right price with visible innovation in casual and formal shoes. Their campaign challenges the consumers to ‘Go walk’, coming from a visible confidence in their own product. They are already becoming a threat to some of the entrenched players almost pushing them to redefine their Brand positioning. They consciously stayed away from being a ‘Me to’ in their category. They wanted to create an impact.

The marketing world of cars sometimes really surprises me. Other than the Branding and some superficial accessories thrown in, all Brands offer similar products in a given price segment. Car buyers, often base their choice on the colors available, the after sales service etc., and not the product per se.  Thus there are many brands but the same value proposition, truly aping each other for many years. The next generation Electric and the Driverless cars, once again seem to be in almost every Brand’s next five years plan.

The Brands, which hit the market first with a successful innovation, creates the greatest impact and in turn a higher market share. Inadvertently they also create the greatest chance of being copied by the ‘also ran’s’, despite the web Patents and the Copyrights. Lets look at the scenario, where we learn but not copy, where we compete but on our own merits, where our success is based in our own abilities and not trying to find loop holes in the previous Patents.

If we can truly empathize with the needs in the society or the issues around our own Brands, we will work towards being superior to the previous one. If we enable our fellow colleagues and support their ideas, we will not throttle a possible revolution from happening. True Innovation happens in an environment, which allows for collaborative thinking, which appreciates the differences, which challenges the status quo and discourages a quick fix solution. You may say, ‘Don’t we know that’! Yes indeed, I did say the answer is almost staring us in our face.

Ashwani Kumar

Chief Technologist

Design and Packaging

ITC Ltd.

Packaging Greats

We all talk of all time greats in music, writing , politics, but we rarely talk of all time greats in packaging.
Is it not a fact that if someone out there had had not developed something, we would have had different kinds of lives, is it not  a fact there have been certain turning points in the history of packaging development and there have been people who have made the difference.

I would like to understand from them asto what made them do what they did, I want to understand from them their struggles in the journey and I want to learn from them asto what made them continue their efforts in making such an impact on the society at large.

Lets salute some of these great people, out there and lets try to recall their immense contribution so that the next generations can value the past.

The Bloody war

I have been thinking of writing this post for sometime, but refrained. The value of Design is so critical and so overpowering that more and more CEOs are realising the deep impact it can have on their business. The issue is speed, Can I do things faster than the others, do we need to move at a snail's pace are some of the recurring questions. Lets get the Design moving, lets get someone to present next week. Or faster !

The war has only just begun, the next weeks' meeting turns into a disappointment, the Designs are no good and the brief is perhaps not even half done. A quick question which no ones asks, why did we choose a particular designer over the other, what was the basis and what were the credentials for the required kind of work. The blood shed increases as pressures rise.

The next week is better the designers have put together something which would save their skin and also which they believe will be liked by the Client, or rather just do what was said in the last meeting. Who wants quality, there is a war out there and I have to win! The motto drives not just the designer but the Client as well.

Meanwhile the product is still into research and not clear asto why it was not completed at least four weeks back. The meeting room had shoot outs, pointing at each other , lets use the best of the ammunition, I am going to win any war what so ever.

The Technical function claimed their total ignorance of the project, " I need to be told in advance, I do not have the required machines ". Despite all efforts the decision stays, I cannot get the machine earlier than what I have said, please keep me advised 'in time' next time. The war started raging, the information was given in the last Jan meeting, there are minutes. Well yes there are minutes but it does not say that the decision was taken to launch the project. WE ARE NOT READY.

We need to decide where to get bloodied and where not to. It is just not worth it to get bloodied for an insignificant outcome. Take up issues were it is worth it, let the war go on, like it is happening all around you , leaving you untouched. Difficult not impossible.

Is it essential to start this war, who starts it and who fans the fire. One has all the answers, but no one is prepared to listen, I do not want to understand the reality, it is too stark, I may have to take some action, why should I be the bad boy. Let the war go on, it happened last time, it is anyway happening all the time.

Hey ! when can I see the revised designs, you said you will show me last week. Design is the most critical input , lets get it fast, very fast, I have very little time, I have to start the next project. No I do not want wars, we are all a great team .

I do not need it now !

A few weeks back, a certain project was hot, ' I need it now ', WHEN CAN WE LAUNCH IT. Is the brief ready, is the communication ready, is the packaging ready........... Yes and everybody is charged up to get the entire package ready.

It is important to understand the seriousness of some of these projects, specially when it comes to packaging. The Implications are tremendous and and huge amount of work can get affected/ wasted.

The most important thing is to get the BRIEF into place, whoever needs to do it should do it irrespective of the urgency, as that reflects the first step towards seriousness of the project.

The issue comes in when everything is into place and suddenly the project is no longer so Hot. May be desirable but no longer urgent, hence nobody wants to stop the project completely but also do not have much time for it or want to focus on it or want to take a decision on it.

'I do not need it now ' is there in the mind and thus Packaging needs to work carefully.

Very often some great work can be put into abeyance or rejected or given a vague feedback and left into a complete whirlpool.

Given the urgency the Packaging team goes into top gear and gets everything ready with full excitement and the best that can be brought in. Now that the situation is somewhat nebulous, every presentation becomes an issue. ' I do not like this' can something more be done, can we explore with some more designers. Is this the best that we can have ?The fact remains that if the urgency of the project had stayed, the same designs would have looked brilliant , perhaps outstanding and would have gone into the market.

The issue that the Packaging development faces is the subjectivity in the Creative decision making. As somebody said ' A large part of decision making is emotional and a small part is rational'.

Perhaps the actually brilliant work now stands rejected or in a state of confusion, the worse thing being that our egos may not allow us to re-look at that work or even accept that work. ' I had a logic for rejecting it last time, why should I accept it now '.

How should the packaging development handle such a situation and not have some genuine good work wasted. One clear way is to keep you ears to the ground and have a picture of the shifting needs or the urgency. In case it appears to be the case, delay the presentation, keep working at it or re-prioritise it , but definitely not present it. Wait for the right signal, be sure that it is required and then progress it.

The other approach is to express clearly for a re - brief. It is indeed painful to re write the brief but incase the creative work is not liked, one should request for revised brief, as it brings in abundant clarity and also helps in removing subjectivity.

The reality is that the moods swing and the priorities change but the Packaging development team has to remain steady.

Innovative , differentiated - can also be serious

Very often whenever the Packaging developers come up with something innovative and out of the box, the straight comment that comes up - is this serious ! will the consumer think it to be frivolous and just not worth it . I firmly believe that such comments are not to be taken seriously. Such critiques do not know where is the seed of innovation and how one should nurture it.

It is this out of the box thinking and the ability to challenge the regular gives birth to packaging innovation. Most often than not for an idea to be taken seriously becomes a huge challenge. To sell the concept and have buy in from the decision makers itself becomes a stumbling block and the biggest de-motivator.

Very often the out of the box idea can be non serious at a superficial level, however the same idea could be carrying with it the seeds of a game changer.

How often we end up showering praises on an absolutely innovative packaging idea from competition and kill ourselves on why we did not do the same thing - ' Why did we not get this superb idea ' , whereas we would have on our own killed similar such ideas under the criticism of ' Non serious '.

The Polarity of the Packaging supplier and the Machine Packer

Most often than not for the large volumes of your Brands, we need heavy mechanisation on the packing and the filling lines and at the same time you need a large volume packaging supplier. It is interesting to see how the two are at the polar ends and very often large projects get hugely delayed just trying to get the two meet at the Equator.
Recently a very large project was to be worked upon paperboard and needed very special creases on the board to ensure proper running on the machine and above all a proper pack formation and a stable pack in the hands of the consumer. The volumes being large the Packaging supplier was very clear that the paperboard needs to be in the long grain. On the other hand given the complexity of the pack, the machine supplier was very clear that the paperboard has to be in the short grain. The Packaging supplier explained that in case they were to supply in the short grain the machine speeds are to come down drastically and impact the costs adversely. They agreed to supply in the short grain but came up with the issue of the ability to supply the required volumes given the machine speed retardation.
Negotiations of any sort did not work and every discussion led into a deadlock. The big question, where should we go from here , scrapping the project was not a solution given the competition pressures and going up to the Board and expressing this confusion was too much of an embarrassment for the senior managers.
These experiences are not uncommon and one could relate many more, however the solutions are extremely difficult and the challenges become insurmountable.
Often the solutions exist but need a technological breakthrough , which is time consuming and also cost consuming. One could say that one needs to build in timelines according to the project requirements, but the other side is the market pressures to implement the packaging change right away. You need both the supplier and the packer as both have their technical edge and unique competencies.
This polarity needs to be bridged, we need to work at an approach that the two parties can look at a single point or perhaps make an effort to look at a single point. One clear point emerges that on should not be dependent upon a single source for anything. A constant and persistent effort should be made to have alternatives and build competencies accordingly.
One clear challenge for the Sourcing manager should be supplier development and he needs to put in energies into building up multiple long term relationships in the supply chain. On the other hand the Organisation should seriously discourage rigidities , as this leads to the polar positioning.

Print Runs- whats done cannot be undone

Many a times, one believes that certain issues would be resolved during the print approvals on the bulk machine. I am reasonably sure that you would be mostly disappointed. Whatever needs to be done to get your Brand design right has to be done before hand or at the pre- press stage. Thus a lot of stringent preparation and detailing leads to success on the press. To begin with the mandatory text, get every word, punctuation etc all perfect, as changing at the time of the press run is costly and time consuming, plus also there is a chance of just missing out and you may be saddled with incorrect text packaging. The artwork and the ability to think through is critical, one needs to have the experience to predict as to what are the likely results due to a particular level of screens or the colour sequence. This has to be got right at the time of the pre-press or else whats done cannot be undone at the time of the bulk run.
It is a healthy practise to do a semi bulk proofing on a separate press to analyse the likely results and build in corrective actions. I have had several incidents when the lack of this understanding has resulted in costly print run failures and above all huge loss of time.
Plan to treat the bulk printing as a final and commercial run rather than an opportunity to do creative iterations or subjective value additions.
Very often by a stroke of good luck one hits upon something interesting during the print run and can feel reasonably elated about the outcome. It is always advisable to doubly check if that will sustain,very often what looks good may have scuffing problems or may have odour or may not glue well or may not run well on your packing lines etc. You will be surprised as to how many unimaginable issues crop up and become serious problems and bottlenecks.
The critical role is for each and every element to get the print run successful - the printing machine, the inks, the people running the machine and the knowledge they have and above all the printing plates and the printing cylinders. Each of them needs to work in unison and in perfection to ultimately get things right. Try to have a colour swatch approved and a colour matching be done offline, thus ensuring that the inks are in total readiness. Check the cylinder prints or the pulls as they are fairly indicative of the likely on the machine results. Rarely can we correct things, if the inks of the printing plates / cylinders are not just right.
Yes , I have seen rare examples of extraordinary wisdom ,when the knowledge of the People on the machine has helped to overcome the blemishes and get things undone. Yes it happens but rare !