Innovation has always been considered the engine of progress for society as a whole, yet in the sphere of logistics, it was long undervalued. A change in the approach to this topic was triggered by growing customer needs, as well as new business models in industry and trade.
– Creating modern services to meet customer requirements will be the most important goal set for innovation, and the importance of these services will continue to grow – says Hans-Christian Pfohl.
Low price and high reliability are no longer the only selection criteria; their significance has evolved into prerequisites. Consequently, actions aimed at creating modern services, rather than reducing costs, will play an increasingly important role. However, innovation management itself is not limited to creating new services.
– One must properly balance and prepare the strategy, processes, and resources of the entire enterprise – explains H.-Ch. Pfohl. – To optimize the allocation of enterprise resources, it is necessary to implement a structured process for selecting innovation initiatives and strategic planning.
Among other recommendations, the professor mentioned the need to align innovation projects with strategic goals, conduct market intelligence, engage external partners, implement rigorous project management for innovation-related activities, etc.
The article is based on a lecture by Professor Hans-Christian Pfohl titled “Innovation in Logistics”.