Want FREE Templates on Strategy & Transformation? Download our FREE compilation of 50+ slides. This is an exclusive promotion being run on LinkedIn.






Marcus Insights
Innovating Consumer Goods: Strategies for Market Leadership & Growth


Need help finding what you need? Say hello to Marcus. Based on our proprietary MARC [?] technology, Marcus will search our vast database of management topics and best practice documents to identify the most relevant to your specific, unique business situation. This tool is still in beta. If you have any suggestions or questions, please let us know at support@flevy.com.

Role: Director of Corporate Innovation
Industry: Multinational Consumer Goods Corporation

Situation: As the Director of Corporate Innovation for a multinational consumer goods corporation, I am charged with fostering a culture of innovation and steering the development of next-generation products. We're facing the dual challenge of maintaining market leadership in our existing categories while also identifying and investing in future growth areas, all amidst changing consumer preferences and disruptive market entrants.

Question to Marcus:


What frameworks and strategies can we implement to accelerate innovation and product development while maintaining leadership in our core markets?


Ask Marcus a Question

Based on your specific organizational details captured above, Marcus recommends the following areas for evaluation (in roughly decreasing priority). If you need any further clarification or details on the specific frameworks and concepts described below, please contact us: support@flevy.com.

Innovation Management

Innovation Management is critical for ensuring your corporation stays at the forefront of consumer goods. Implement a structured process to capture, evaluate, and develop ideas that can lead to breakthrough products or improvements.

Encourage cross-functional teams to collaborate and leverage tools such as Open Innovation platforms to tap into external expertise. Additionally, consider establishing a corporate venture arm to invest in startups with synergistic technologies or business models that align with your future growth areas.

Learn more about Innovation Management Open Innovation

Design Thinking

Design Thinking can provide a human-centered framework to understand consumer needs and develop innovative solutions. This approach encourages empathy with users, leading to products that resonate on a deeper level.

It can help in creating offerings that not only meet practical needs but also deliver on the emotional and experiential aspects that consumers increasingly demand. Use design thinking workshops to involve diverse teams in the ideation process, ensuring that new products are not only feasible and viable but also desirable.

Learn more about Design Thinking

Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation is not just about technology; it's a strategic imperative to improve speed, efficiency, and innovation. Your corporation can leverage digital tools to gain insights from consumer data, automate production processes, and personalize marketing efforts.

Encourage a digital-first mindset within your teams and consider partnerships with tech companies to co-develop digital solutions that complement your physical products, such as smart packaging or IoT-enabled appliances.

Learn more about Digital Transformation

Agile

Adopting Agile methodologies can accelerate product development and innovation. By breaking down projects into smaller, manageable segments with frequent reassessments, you can respond to market changes more swiftly.

This approach also promotes collaboration and accountability, allowing teams to pivot quickly and efficiently when consumer trends shift or new technologies emerge. Agile can help in maintaining market leadership by reducing time-to-market for new products and features.

Learn more about Agile

Corporate Culture

To sustain innovation, a supportive Corporate Culture is essential. Build an environment that rewards risk-taking and creativity.

Encourage your employees to think like intrapreneurs, providing them with the autonomy to pursue new ideas. Create innovation champions within the organization who can drive the innovation agenda and foster a culture where learning from failures is seen as a stepping stone to success.

Learn more about Corporate Culture

Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is vital to balance core market leadership with exploring new opportunities. Develop a long-term plan that identifies Core Competencies to leverage and new markets to explore.

Use Scenario Planning to anticipate future trends and create a flexible strategy that allows for adjustments as the market evolves. Invest in technologies and capabilities that align with your strategic goals, ensuring that innovation efforts are not just scattered initiatives but integrated into the overall Corporate Strategy.

Learn more about Strategic Planning Core Competencies Corporate Strategy Scenario Planning

Supply Chain Resilience

Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience can mitigate risks that might hinder your innovation efforts. Diversify your supplier base to prevent disruptions and invest in technologies that provide real-time supply chain visibility.

Agile supply chains enable quick adaptation to new manufacturing processes for innovative products and support the rapid scaling of successful market entries. Strong supply chain partnerships can also contribute to collaborative innovation.

Learn more about Supply Chain Supply Chain Resilience

Total Productive Maintenance

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) can play a significant role in improving operational efficiency and equipment reliability, which are prerequisites for innovation. Implement TPM to involve all employees in proactive maintenance, reducing downtime and increasing productivity.

This approach ensures that the equipment is always ready to produce new prototypes or products, supporting a faster innovation cycle.

Learn more about Total Productive Maintenance

Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing principles can streamline processes, reduce waste, and increase efficiency, freeing up resources for innovation. Apply Lean Thinking to simplify production processes, shorten lead times, and improve quality.

The savings generated from lean initiatives can be reinvested into R&D, helping to finance the development of new products and technologies.

Learn more about Lean Thinking Lean Manufacturing

Data & Analytics

Using Data & Analytics to gather consumer insights and Market Intelligence can guide innovation strategies. Big Data can reveal patterns in Consumer Behavior, predict trends, and inform product development.

Invest in analytical capabilities to process and interpret data, enabling data-driven decision-making. This can lead to more successful product launches and targeted innovation efforts.

Learn more about Big Data Data & Analytics Consumer Behavior Market Intelligence

Did you know?
The average daily rate of a McKinsey consultant is $6,625 (not including expenses). The average price of a Flevy document is $65.


How did Marcus do? Let us know. This tool is still in beta. We would appreciate any feedback you could provide us: support@flevy.com.

If you have any other questions, you can ask Marcus again here.




Trusted by over 10,000+ Client Organizations
Since 2012, we have provided best practices to over 10,000 businesses and organizations of all sizes, from startups and small businesses to the Fortune 100, in over 130 countries.
AT&T GE Cisco Intel IBM Coke Dell Toyota HP Nike Samsung Microsoft Astrazeneca JP Morgan KPMG Walgreens Walmart 3M Kaiser Oracle SAP Google E&Y Volvo Bosch Merck Fedex Shell Amgen Eli Lilly Roche AIG Abbott Amazon PwC T-Mobile Broadcom Bayer Pearson Titleist ConEd Pfizer NTT Data Schwab




Additional Marcus Insights