Procurement led innovation
Europe
On my first day with my client, I asked the Vice President of Food Procurement, "What do you most need me to help you with?" My preconception was that like many other procurement functions, making cost savings would be his answer. He paused with timely effect and then said just one word, "innovation".
He then explained:
"Like many big organisations, we are under huge pressure to innovate. Small challenger brands are biting hard at our heals. They can be more nimble than us and they are typically not constrained by a highly structured asset base for production.
We always seem to be second to market. Can you bring some of your innocent drinks magic to our team?" Of course I said "yes"!
What I found was a fantastic team, but they felt weighed down by a bureaucratic NPD process, they were miles away from the product and procurement had lost its voice for innovation.
I realised their innovation flame needed re-igniting; to play with product un-constrained, like my children make cakes at home. So I devised a fun and interactive innovation game. Dividing the team up, each group had to come up with an exciting product from a huge range of different materials. I was blown away with their creativity! Incredible flavours and textures. Whole new offerings were created in a matter of hours.
After the event I was then asked the question, "but how do we now take this forward? Our ideas will only get lost in the heavy NPD process. We don't even know how to test the product".
To somewhat disbelieving faces, I told them that we would be testing the product ourselves on the streets of Amsterdam. And we did. It was a resounding success as we listened first hand to what consumers thought of our ideas and what they wanted.
The Result?
We presented our concepts to R&D and Marketing and worked together with the client's suppliers to develop these products quickly. This is Procurement led innovation.
Paul Gardner the VP Food shared: "Simon became an integral member of the leadership team, driving forwards the innovation agenda, with passion, insights and purpose. He is an excellent addition to any team – no matter how long or short the mission. My only regret is to not have been able to convince him to stay with the organisation on a permanent basis".