We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » How do you get the greatest benefits from innovation?
Forward Thinking

How do you get the greatest benefits from innovation?

June 24, 2015
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
No Comments

Increasingly dynamic marketplaces are making innovation an important new focus for supply chain managers. As product lifecycles have shortened and the pace of technological change has increased, companies face a growing need to continually redesign and transform their supply chains. Even in industries that operate with relatively stable technologies, economic swings and global competition are forcing managers to continually deliver new solutions that more effectively and efficiently manage resources, processes, and relationships within their supply chains.

But just what is a supply chain innovation? How can supply chain managers get better at finding and developing them? And how can they make their innovation efforts more successful? The newest issue of CSCMP Explores... reveals the initial findings of a research project that seeks to answer these questions.

Since 2005, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) has evaluated nominations for its annual Supply Chain Innovation Award. The purpose of the award is to highlight and recognize the best in supply chain management when it comes to innovative programs, projects, and collaborations.

To enhance the understanding of supply chain innovations among its members, CSCMP's Research Strategies Committee commissioned a study to examine the success factors and long-term implications of supply chain innovations. The study largely draws upon the stories of past award finalists.

The purpose of the project is to understand supply chain innovation, examine how to implement and sustain it, and measure its impact on a company's performance. As part of this effort, the research team set out to identify circumstances, incentives, organizational structures, relationships, and other factors that foster supply chain innovations, as well as factors that contribute to success and failure in bringing innovative ideas to life.

According to the report, titled CSCMP Explores... Delivering Successful Supply Chain Innovations: Lessons from CSCMP's Supply Chain Innovation Award Winners, some organizations are better than others at identifying and/or developing opportunities for innovation. Researchers have found that this capability is an important, differentiating factor in innovation success. Many of the innovations submitted for the Supply Chain Innovation Award were stimulated by recognized needs—a problem was identified and a solution was found. The best innovators cast wide nets in searching for solutions by including both internal and external sources in their scans.

Larger companies tended to use formal processes to guide their internal efforts to develop solutions, while smaller ones typically focused more on finding partners that could help them. In either case, a somewhat linear, problem-solving orientation tended to drive "ideation," which the researchers found to be a fairly common way of thinking among supply chain professionals.

The report is free to CSCMP members and can be found here.

    • Related Articles

      The big question: Can you do more with less?

      Benchmarking "do's" and "don'ts"

      Where do you stand with Big Data Analytics? Take our brief survey!

    Recent Articles by Supply Chain Quarterly Staff

    Containerized freight handler STG acquires Best Dedicated Solutions

    Survey: supply chain professionals wary of rising operating costs

    Nearshoring trend sparks demand for logistics real estate in Mexico

    You must login or register in order to post a comment.

    Report Abusive Comment

    Most Popular Articles

    • Report: Sagging freight stats show that trucking sector is returning to its historic mean

    • Survey: parcel delivery drivers are frustrated by using their own smartphones for work

    • Heavy transport across two continents

    • Survey: most Americans unaware that truckers face shortage of parking spaces

    • Supply chain executives not yet seeing expected results from technology investments

    Featured Video

    Household goods customs broker thumb

    Household Goods Customs Broker

    Viewer Contributed
    Household Goods Customs Broker :Gallagher Transport International is a highly experienced customs broker specializing in household goods, providing efficient and cost-effective customs clearance services while ensuring compliance with all necessary regulations. Our Services Include: Importing & Exporting...

    FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

    • Three layers of forklift safety: Promoting operating best practices

    • The Complete Guide to Automated Packaging

    • Five tips for parcel success in 2023

    • Guide to Pallet Rack Safety

    View More

    Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

    Get Your Subscription
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • E-NEWSLETTERS
    • ADVERTISING
    • CUSTOMER CARE
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT
    • STAFF
    • PRIVACY POLICY

    Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing