Innovation Seminar #3 Inventium - Amantha Imber
Creative thinking in most workplaces is probably not a usual part of the day, excluding advertising, the arts, movies and TV or designing video games. Many corporations have policies and procedures in place to maximise productivity and basically stick to the rules. To even question the way a company operates may not always be a good idea for an enthusiastic employee. But for companies to grow and innovate, creative thinking is a key element that has been previously under-utilised in Australian business.
There are many ways to introduce creative thinking techniques into the workplace. Some are simple while others may take time to develop. By encouraging creative thinking in the workplace, employees and employers can benefit from many positive ideas. While not all ideas may be implemented, simply starting the creative thinking process at work can have immediate positive impacts on the business that would not have occurred previously.
Some techniques for creative thinking in the workplace include:
1. Open Mind
The famous quote from Lord Thomas Dewar 'Minds are like parachutes. They work best when open' can be applied to creative thinking in the workplace. By being curious and interested in their surroundings, an employee can look for ways to improve their work or suggest new ways of doing things. A supportive employer could encourage people having an open mind with small rewards or incentives for new ideas. Sometimes the motivation is simply the recognition that a person's new idea works and can be implemented for all to see.
2. Reading
By reading books, magazines, web sites, blogs and newspapers, a person can utilise the thoughts and learnings of many people in a short amount of time. Daily routines of reading one newspaper and one news website can provide links to numerous ideas that may apply in the workplace. Over time, reading news articles can lead to the formation of ideas that fit the workplace or identify opportunities that have worked elsewhere. Copying ideas from one industry and implementing them in another is one benefit that comes from extensive reading.
3. Think Tanks
The use of a Think Tank in the workplace provides a regular venue for the discussion of new ideas and innovations. For example, a Think Tank can be a meeting held every Tuesday afternoon between 5:00pm - 6:00pm where all team members present one idea/innovation to the group for consultation. There is no right or wrong judgement made - just a sharing of opinions and suggestions. Like a brainstorming session, a Think Tank can provide a wide range of views that may lead the organisation in a totally new direction. The success of the Think Tank is only limited by the input from individuals and their level of participation.
4. New Rules
Most large organisations have extensive policies and procedures to ensure compliance with current and old company rules. By deliberately questioning key organisational procedures or strategies, a whole new range of options may develop. Famous American inventor Thomas Edison once said, 'If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves'. By stepping outside the organisation and re-examining the current status quo, different ways of thinking can transform a workplace from the old ways to the new and innovative.
Companies like Inventium help stimulate creativity while major innovative companies like Apple, Google and Nokia are already using creative thinking with their people. In order for more Australian businesses to succeed locally and internationally, creative thinking will need a greater focus and support from management and the investment community. In the meantime, creative competitors keep on innovating and attracting the attention and dollars of satisfied customers.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Innovative Thinker Stage #2 Dale Stohr
Alan Tran - CentreCom Frankston
After meeting with Alan and discussing the CentreCom business, I began analysing the company for improvements or innovations. As a 'traditional bricks-and-mortar' retail chain of stores, CentreCom is a high-volume but low-margin business of 9 stores across Victoria and an on-line internet store based at Head Office in Sunshine, Melbourne. By reviewing some of the business from a customer's perspective, I hoped to identify opportunities that would lead to future positive benefits.
My review was divided into different aspects of the CentreCom business:
1. Store Operations
2. Customer Experience
3. Future Strategies
1. Store Operations:
The CentreCom retail store environment consists of:
- an average 50m2 - 100m2 floorspace
- display cases, shelving and floorstack displays
- one long counter with 3 or more checkout/PC registers
- two or more sales staff and a Store Manager/Director
- numerous LCD monitors and PCs showing screenshots, movie trailers or music
Behind the counter are back-of-house offices, a warehouse and a tech area for repairs and customer product orders. With 2 or more I.T. technicians employed, the store is mainly managed as two seperate departments (sales and tech) with employees sometimes working in both depending on customers waiting to be served or technical repairs/builds outstanding. The store Directors oversee both departments across six days a week.
Recommendation:
My first recommendation involves the implementation of a product Category Management I.T. system to automate product pricing, profit management, sales history and category contribution as well as other reporting measures. This would involve the scanning of all product bar-codes (rather than manual pricing/keying) and the creation of a database to record all transactions. This would lead to greater detail of the financials of the business and a better understanding of the trends in consumer/business purchasing behaviour by tracking the sales history of every single product in the CentreCom range. This will lead to increased sales (by having the right product in the store for customers) and increased profits (by reducing human errors in product pricing).
2. Customer Experience:
The current customer store experience involves a person walking in, selecting a product, purchasing it and leaving. Apart from some database records for regular clients or purchasers of laptops or PCs, there is no I.T. system in place to easily record and analyse a customer's personal/business details, product requests, purchasing history, trade discount status or any other information that could be used to help this customer or communicate with them in the future.
Recommendation:
My recommendation is the establishment of a CentreCom V.I.P. Client database to record all current and future clients and using website, email, Twitter and other social networks to keep in regular contact. The creation of a 'CentreCom V.I.P. Club' using Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) will lead to a direct relationship between the client and CentreCom. This database would promote exclusive discounts, new product pre-orders, special product requests, special event invitations and exclusive competitions as well as regular updates/newsletters, surveys, customer feedback including product reviews and ratings. By rewarding customers and receiving their feedback, CentreCom could improve internal processes while meeting the needs of the market and growing sales and profits.
3. Future Strategy:
The I.T and Retail industries are continually changing and evolving to meet the needs of consumers, businesses and organisations. Technology is constantly improving and driving down costs and competition between retailers is fierce resulting in lower prices and tight profit margins. Australian retailers have had to change to meet customer demands and branch out in other areas previously considered too small or in a totally different market. JB Hi-Fi began selling music CDs and car stereos before building bigger stores and carrying a larger range of goods such as DVDs, TVs, video games and more recently, mobile phones and GPS navigation devices. But services may be the next market for Australian retailers to enter rather than just selling products in boxes (eg. home theatre installations or computer repairs from Gizmo.com.au). In order to stay competitive, CentreCom will need to review its range of products and services and expand into markets where they do not have a presence.
Recommendation:
My recommendation is for CentreCom to continue their current marketing strategy as a 'discount I.T. retailer' but follow JB Hi-Fi's lead to increase product range while improving internal processes and expanding the number of store sites. Increasing the number of store locations will also increase the inventory level of the company but by selecting the best sites, CentreCom can rapidly increase sales and market share. A professional, co-ordinated strategy to grow the business over the short-term (5 years) in the right locations with a new branding campaign into TV, radio and through social networking will lift the profile of CentreCom for home consumers and corporate businesses and government agencies. Increasing product range will draw customers away from the major national retailers like Harvey Norman, Myer and JB Hi-Fi and result in better support from manufacturers in the form of rebates and financial incentives to off-set price discounts. The sooner CentreCom develops a detailed 5-year strategy, the sooner the business can grow in customers and sales.
I will further discuss these suggestions with Alan Tran over the coming months to decide on the final selection of one innnovation/change within CentreCom.
Oct 21 2009 - Meeting with Alan Tran for follow-up
Nov 13 2009 - Meeting with Alan Tran to discuss CentreCom's future
Dec 15 2009 - Meeting with Alan Tran to discuss options
Jan 19 2010 - Meeting with Alan Tran for additional feedback and guidance
Feb 16 2010 - Meeting with Alan Tran to decide best strategy to develop
After meeting with Alan and discussing the CentreCom business, I began analysing the company for improvements or innovations. As a 'traditional bricks-and-mortar' retail chain of stores, CentreCom is a high-volume but low-margin business of 9 stores across Victoria and an on-line internet store based at Head Office in Sunshine, Melbourne. By reviewing some of the business from a customer's perspective, I hoped to identify opportunities that would lead to future positive benefits.
My review was divided into different aspects of the CentreCom business:
1. Store Operations
2. Customer Experience
3. Future Strategies
1. Store Operations:
The CentreCom retail store environment consists of:
- an average 50m2 - 100m2 floorspace
- display cases, shelving and floorstack displays
- one long counter with 3 or more checkout/PC registers
- two or more sales staff and a Store Manager/Director
- numerous LCD monitors and PCs showing screenshots, movie trailers or music
Behind the counter are back-of-house offices, a warehouse and a tech area for repairs and customer product orders. With 2 or more I.T. technicians employed, the store is mainly managed as two seperate departments (sales and tech) with employees sometimes working in both depending on customers waiting to be served or technical repairs/builds outstanding. The store Directors oversee both departments across six days a week.
Recommendation:
My first recommendation involves the implementation of a product Category Management I.T. system to automate product pricing, profit management, sales history and category contribution as well as other reporting measures. This would involve the scanning of all product bar-codes (rather than manual pricing/keying) and the creation of a database to record all transactions. This would lead to greater detail of the financials of the business and a better understanding of the trends in consumer/business purchasing behaviour by tracking the sales history of every single product in the CentreCom range. This will lead to increased sales (by having the right product in the store for customers) and increased profits (by reducing human errors in product pricing).
2. Customer Experience:
The current customer store experience involves a person walking in, selecting a product, purchasing it and leaving. Apart from some database records for regular clients or purchasers of laptops or PCs, there is no I.T. system in place to easily record and analyse a customer's personal/business details, product requests, purchasing history, trade discount status or any other information that could be used to help this customer or communicate with them in the future.
Recommendation:
My recommendation is the establishment of a CentreCom V.I.P. Client database to record all current and future clients and using website, email, Twitter and other social networks to keep in regular contact. The creation of a 'CentreCom V.I.P. Club' using Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) will lead to a direct relationship between the client and CentreCom. This database would promote exclusive discounts, new product pre-orders, special product requests, special event invitations and exclusive competitions as well as regular updates/newsletters, surveys, customer feedback including product reviews and ratings. By rewarding customers and receiving their feedback, CentreCom could improve internal processes while meeting the needs of the market and growing sales and profits.
3. Future Strategy:
The I.T and Retail industries are continually changing and evolving to meet the needs of consumers, businesses and organisations. Technology is constantly improving and driving down costs and competition between retailers is fierce resulting in lower prices and tight profit margins. Australian retailers have had to change to meet customer demands and branch out in other areas previously considered too small or in a totally different market. JB Hi-Fi began selling music CDs and car stereos before building bigger stores and carrying a larger range of goods such as DVDs, TVs, video games and more recently, mobile phones and GPS navigation devices. But services may be the next market for Australian retailers to enter rather than just selling products in boxes (eg. home theatre installations or computer repairs from Gizmo.com.au). In order to stay competitive, CentreCom will need to review its range of products and services and expand into markets where they do not have a presence.
Recommendation:
My recommendation is for CentreCom to continue their current marketing strategy as a 'discount I.T. retailer' but follow JB Hi-Fi's lead to increase product range while improving internal processes and expanding the number of store sites. Increasing the number of store locations will also increase the inventory level of the company but by selecting the best sites, CentreCom can rapidly increase sales and market share. A professional, co-ordinated strategy to grow the business over the short-term (5 years) in the right locations with a new branding campaign into TV, radio and through social networking will lift the profile of CentreCom for home consumers and corporate businesses and government agencies. Increasing product range will draw customers away from the major national retailers like Harvey Norman, Myer and JB Hi-Fi and result in better support from manufacturers in the form of rebates and financial incentives to off-set price discounts. The sooner CentreCom develops a detailed 5-year strategy, the sooner the business can grow in customers and sales.
I will further discuss these suggestions with Alan Tran over the coming months to decide on the final selection of one innnovation/change within CentreCom.
Oct 21 2009 - Meeting with Alan Tran for follow-up
Nov 13 2009 - Meeting with Alan Tran to discuss CentreCom's future
Dec 15 2009 - Meeting with Alan Tran to discuss options
Jan 19 2010 - Meeting with Alan Tran for additional feedback and guidance
Feb 16 2010 - Meeting with Alan Tran to decide best strategy to develop
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Dale Stohr Innovation #2 Business Shaper 2009
'What impact is sustainability likely to have on how organisations behave?'
People have become more interested in the human impact on the environment since the 1960's when over-population became a concern. Over the next 40 years, numerous topics and incidents such as nuclear energy, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the ozone layer, the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, peak oil and climate change have forced governments and corporations to re-assess the way the environment is managed. Legislation for more national and marine parks, better environment protection laws, advances in technology and consumer recycling have all had an effect on protecting humans, animals, trees and the environment.
However, Western society and the growing Third World have continued to use Earth's finite resources beyond reasonable need and without consideration for the long-term effects on the planet. In order to reduce the consumption of resources and minimise waste, sustainability has become a driver for governments and corporations to review their business practices. The definition of 'sustainable business' is 'business that contributes to an equitable and ecologically sustainable economy'1. These businesses '... offer products and services that fulfill society's needs while contributing to the well-being of all Earth's inhabitants...'2. Such practices include renewable energy generation, resource-efficient industrial processes, transportation, agriculture and recycled products. These 'green' practices reduce negative environmental impacts but also lead to the creation of new industries, products, services as well as profits.
Sustainable businesses must balance the needs of '... people, planet and profit...'3 in order to achieve the 'triple bottom line'. The true purpose of any business is '... to create a customer...'4 and, through marketing and innovation, 5 meet the needs of the customer. Unlike the past 200 years of industry, future organisations will need to serve the customer and the planet as well as the shareholder to achieve success or simply survive - 'adapt or die'.
The old adage 'what is good for business if good for the country' used to apply to expansion and production policies leading to better living standards for citizens. But these growth policies, including globalisation, sometimes led to increased waste, environmental damage, cultural invasion and low or illegal working conditions. The benefits of business (eg reduced costs, reduced wages, over-the-horizon production, etc) were not always in the best interest of all stakeholders and through the media and activist groups and social networking, these negative impacts have been exposed. From a small meetings to global attention, groups like the Pachamama Alliance and Greenpeace have managed to highlight the errors and damage done to the planet. Their actions over time have led to changes in law and changes in mindset like the emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and new international standards like ISO 14000, AA1000 and SA8000 across all countries and businesses.
The implementation of these new rules has not been without resistance and many governments and businesses brand themselves to support protecting the environment while adding to the problem at the same time (eg. increased coal exports and China's environmental and human health issues due to factory production). Consumers, as individuals, continue to add to the issue through their purchasing and supporting of corporate products and services. The dilemma is to meet the needs of all citizens around the world in the long-term without shutting down the economy. This issue is still very hard for many people to comprehend let alone try to resolve (eg the current Global Financial Crisis and excessive debts). Corporations rely on increasing profits and governments rely on increasing tax revenue - finding solutions that don't make millions of people unemployed or make society unstable will not be easy. Many companies have begun the journey of sustainability but many more have yet to see the long-term benefits.
The future for sustainability may lie in new technologies and a new understanding of how individuals live their lives. Choices made by consumers can influence companies to change their products just as legislation by government can force corporations to change their business practices. It may be more effective that future generations of school children will grow up with sustainability and their influence on future employers, corporations and governments will have the most impact. Therefore, organisations will need to truly listen and act according to what is best for their stakeholders and the environment. Different measures of lifestyle, success, accountability and profit may exist in the future compared to those we have today. Better technologies must deliver better innovations that meet consumer needs but do it with less impact from product design to production to delivery to usage.
The evolution of the corporation to embrace sustainability will have many positive benefits for the planet but it is the choices of the individual and the collective power of many individuals that will deliver the changes necessary. Failure to influence key decision-makers to prioritise issues that affect everyone will result in a status quo that only appears to promote sustainability. The way organisations behave in the future and the key decisons they make will be more important than ever before.
References:
1 www.sustainablebusiness.com
2 www.sustainablebusiness.com
3 www.wikipedia.org
4 www.yourbusinesscoach.net
5 www.yourbusinesscoach.net
People have become more interested in the human impact on the environment since the 1960's when over-population became a concern. Over the next 40 years, numerous topics and incidents such as nuclear energy, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the ozone layer, the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, peak oil and climate change have forced governments and corporations to re-assess the way the environment is managed. Legislation for more national and marine parks, better environment protection laws, advances in technology and consumer recycling have all had an effect on protecting humans, animals, trees and the environment.
However, Western society and the growing Third World have continued to use Earth's finite resources beyond reasonable need and without consideration for the long-term effects on the planet. In order to reduce the consumption of resources and minimise waste, sustainability has become a driver for governments and corporations to review their business practices. The definition of 'sustainable business' is 'business that contributes to an equitable and ecologically sustainable economy'1. These businesses '... offer products and services that fulfill society's needs while contributing to the well-being of all Earth's inhabitants...'2. Such practices include renewable energy generation, resource-efficient industrial processes, transportation, agriculture and recycled products. These 'green' practices reduce negative environmental impacts but also lead to the creation of new industries, products, services as well as profits.
Sustainable businesses must balance the needs of '... people, planet and profit...'3 in order to achieve the 'triple bottom line'. The true purpose of any business is '... to create a customer...'4 and, through marketing and innovation, 5 meet the needs of the customer. Unlike the past 200 years of industry, future organisations will need to serve the customer and the planet as well as the shareholder to achieve success or simply survive - 'adapt or die'.
The old adage 'what is good for business if good for the country' used to apply to expansion and production policies leading to better living standards for citizens. But these growth policies, including globalisation, sometimes led to increased waste, environmental damage, cultural invasion and low or illegal working conditions. The benefits of business (eg reduced costs, reduced wages, over-the-horizon production, etc) were not always in the best interest of all stakeholders and through the media and activist groups and social networking, these negative impacts have been exposed. From a small meetings to global attention, groups like the Pachamama Alliance and Greenpeace have managed to highlight the errors and damage done to the planet. Their actions over time have led to changes in law and changes in mindset like the emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and new international standards like ISO 14000, AA1000 and SA8000 across all countries and businesses.
The implementation of these new rules has not been without resistance and many governments and businesses brand themselves to support protecting the environment while adding to the problem at the same time (eg. increased coal exports and China's environmental and human health issues due to factory production). Consumers, as individuals, continue to add to the issue through their purchasing and supporting of corporate products and services. The dilemma is to meet the needs of all citizens around the world in the long-term without shutting down the economy. This issue is still very hard for many people to comprehend let alone try to resolve (eg the current Global Financial Crisis and excessive debts). Corporations rely on increasing profits and governments rely on increasing tax revenue - finding solutions that don't make millions of people unemployed or make society unstable will not be easy. Many companies have begun the journey of sustainability but many more have yet to see the long-term benefits.
The future for sustainability may lie in new technologies and a new understanding of how individuals live their lives. Choices made by consumers can influence companies to change their products just as legislation by government can force corporations to change their business practices. It may be more effective that future generations of school children will grow up with sustainability and their influence on future employers, corporations and governments will have the most impact. Therefore, organisations will need to truly listen and act according to what is best for their stakeholders and the environment. Different measures of lifestyle, success, accountability and profit may exist in the future compared to those we have today. Better technologies must deliver better innovations that meet consumer needs but do it with less impact from product design to production to delivery to usage.
The evolution of the corporation to embrace sustainability will have many positive benefits for the planet but it is the choices of the individual and the collective power of many individuals that will deliver the changes necessary. Failure to influence key decision-makers to prioritise issues that affect everyone will result in a status quo that only appears to promote sustainability. The way organisations behave in the future and the key decisons they make will be more important than ever before.
References:
1 www.sustainablebusiness.com
2 www.sustainablebusiness.com
3 www.wikipedia.org
4 www.yourbusinesscoach.net
5 www.yourbusinesscoach.net
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Book Review - Greentailing and other Revolutions in Retail
Innovation Book Review: "Greentailing and other Revolutions in Retail"
By Neil Z. Stern & Willard N. Ander 2008
Wiley 241 pages $49.95
The authors of 'Greentailing' ('green retailing') have many years of U.S. retailing experience through their consultancies, seminar work and clients such as McDonalds, Proctor & Gamble, BP and many others. By helping retail businesses with improvement strategies, Stern and Ander have a broad knowledge of successful and not-so-successful examples to draw on in this book. Companies from traditional 'bricks & mortar' stores, on-line retailers, product suppliers, shopping centre owners, direct and multi-channel retailers and consumer groups are presented in this large collection of green innovative strategies to meet the needs of today's environmentally-aware consumer.
Having a career in the Australian retail industry, I was drawn to this book to learn how climate change will impact on businesses and consumer behaviour and what the best companies are doing to improve their green credentials while reducing their own carbon footprint. Many Australians have changed their habits through recycling, reducing water consumption and using alternative energy like solar power. However, this U.S. based book was an eye-opener to me on the cultural differences between our country and the States regarding climate change. From a range of consumer and business surveys, Stern and Ander deliver a snapshot of U.S. attitudes towards the environment that shows 40% of Americans are not interested in the environment at all with low prices being the main driver of consumer behaviour. Many U.S. companies also see 'greentailing' as a consumer trend rather than an important environmental and economic change to business and society. The concept of climate change itself is not really supported, I feel, by the authors in this book as they move from sitting-on-the-fence about the environment to promoting the various excellent green innovations in U.S. retailing to their core reader audience - American retail business management.
The book 'Greentailing' is, therefore, not about improving U.S. retail companies just for the benefit of the environment but to show businesses how to promote their company/brand as green, attract new customers and grow profits without cutting prices or doing further damage to the environment. The authors do acknowledge the dilema faced by retailers to serve their shareholders first (increase sales and profits) while trying to do what is right in a world that is growing more concerned about the impact of consumerism. So Stern and Ander try to juggle both responsibilities by giving some very good examples of 'greentailing' by big and small U.S. businesses (eg. Wal-Mart's '21st Century Leadership', Office Depot's 'The Green Book', Whole Foods' 'Reduce, Re-use, Recycle' motto since 1980). Other strategies include store internal efficiencies (L.E.E.D.), the rise of ethical purchasing (Nike), recycling (Interface Flooring), various environmentally-friendly products and initiatives and local produce sourcing. There are many positive points in this book that can be easily picked up by a retailer/business looking to benefit from 'greentailing' through reducing energy costs or re-designing stores while attracting customers with new innovative products that use less harmful chemicals or promoting better corporate social responsibility policies at home and around the world.
Apart from greentailing strategies, the book also provides information on the changing demographics of the U.S. consumer and how companies can meet their needs in the future. Such retailing trends include the change from 'do-it-yourself' to 'do-it-for-me' services, selling services rather than just products (home theatre installations not just TV sales), the creation of the medical super-store (a doctor, chemist, optomatrist and X-ray under one roof), the merging of financial banking, insurance, pension/superannuation and wealth management and the rise of brands creating their own retailers (Apple and Sony). The Internet and non-store retailing is another innovation that continues to grow globally to over $300 billion sales annually. Once seen as a bolt-on strategy, the Internet will continue to change the way people purchase, communicate and live while helping businesses to gather information on consumers and competitors, improving business efficiencies and grow sales.
Overall, 'Greentailing and other Revolutions in Retail' is a good account of the current state of U.S. retailing, the future trends in consumer behaviour and the growing impact of the environment in the minds of customers, retailers, government and society in general. I found many examples of innovations and initiatives that may not yet exist in Australia so I would recommend this book to small and large businesses looking to improve their own green credentials and advantage over competitors in the short-to-medium term. I hope the next book from Stern and Ander offers more information to retailers/suppliers of the longer-term impacts on business in ignoring climate change rather than trying to financially benefit from it.
Dale Stohr
Chisholm Cranbourne.
By Neil Z. Stern & Willard N. Ander 2008
Wiley 241 pages $49.95
The authors of 'Greentailing' ('green retailing') have many years of U.S. retailing experience through their consultancies, seminar work and clients such as McDonalds, Proctor & Gamble, BP and many others. By helping retail businesses with improvement strategies, Stern and Ander have a broad knowledge of successful and not-so-successful examples to draw on in this book. Companies from traditional 'bricks & mortar' stores, on-line retailers, product suppliers, shopping centre owners, direct and multi-channel retailers and consumer groups are presented in this large collection of green innovative strategies to meet the needs of today's environmentally-aware consumer.
Having a career in the Australian retail industry, I was drawn to this book to learn how climate change will impact on businesses and consumer behaviour and what the best companies are doing to improve their green credentials while reducing their own carbon footprint. Many Australians have changed their habits through recycling, reducing water consumption and using alternative energy like solar power. However, this U.S. based book was an eye-opener to me on the cultural differences between our country and the States regarding climate change. From a range of consumer and business surveys, Stern and Ander deliver a snapshot of U.S. attitudes towards the environment that shows 40% of Americans are not interested in the environment at all with low prices being the main driver of consumer behaviour. Many U.S. companies also see 'greentailing' as a consumer trend rather than an important environmental and economic change to business and society. The concept of climate change itself is not really supported, I feel, by the authors in this book as they move from sitting-on-the-fence about the environment to promoting the various excellent green innovations in U.S. retailing to their core reader audience - American retail business management.
The book 'Greentailing' is, therefore, not about improving U.S. retail companies just for the benefit of the environment but to show businesses how to promote their company/brand as green, attract new customers and grow profits without cutting prices or doing further damage to the environment. The authors do acknowledge the dilema faced by retailers to serve their shareholders first (increase sales and profits) while trying to do what is right in a world that is growing more concerned about the impact of consumerism. So Stern and Ander try to juggle both responsibilities by giving some very good examples of 'greentailing' by big and small U.S. businesses (eg. Wal-Mart's '21st Century Leadership', Office Depot's 'The Green Book', Whole Foods' 'Reduce, Re-use, Recycle' motto since 1980). Other strategies include store internal efficiencies (L.E.E.D.), the rise of ethical purchasing (Nike), recycling (Interface Flooring), various environmentally-friendly products and initiatives and local produce sourcing. There are many positive points in this book that can be easily picked up by a retailer/business looking to benefit from 'greentailing' through reducing energy costs or re-designing stores while attracting customers with new innovative products that use less harmful chemicals or promoting better corporate social responsibility policies at home and around the world.
Apart from greentailing strategies, the book also provides information on the changing demographics of the U.S. consumer and how companies can meet their needs in the future. Such retailing trends include the change from 'do-it-yourself' to 'do-it-for-me' services, selling services rather than just products (home theatre installations not just TV sales), the creation of the medical super-store (a doctor, chemist, optomatrist and X-ray under one roof), the merging of financial banking, insurance, pension/superannuation and wealth management and the rise of brands creating their own retailers (Apple and Sony). The Internet and non-store retailing is another innovation that continues to grow globally to over $300 billion sales annually. Once seen as a bolt-on strategy, the Internet will continue to change the way people purchase, communicate and live while helping businesses to gather information on consumers and competitors, improving business efficiencies and grow sales.
Overall, 'Greentailing and other Revolutions in Retail' is a good account of the current state of U.S. retailing, the future trends in consumer behaviour and the growing impact of the environment in the minds of customers, retailers, government and society in general. I found many examples of innovations and initiatives that may not yet exist in Australia so I would recommend this book to small and large businesses looking to improve their own green credentials and advantage over competitors in the short-to-medium term. I hope the next book from Stern and Ander offers more information to retailers/suppliers of the longer-term impacts on business in ignoring climate change rather than trying to financially benefit from it.
Dale Stohr
Chisholm Cranbourne.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Innovative Thinker Stage #1 Dale Stohr
Stage #1:
Who: Alan Tran
What they do: Director of CentreCom (a chain of retail I.T. stores around Melbourne) and opened the Frankston store in 2004. Over 10 years experience with CentreCom including customer service, sales, buying and warehousing.
Why: Having worked the past twelve months at CentreCom Frankston, I found Alan to be very open to new ideas to improve his business. His strong work ethic and focus on giving his clients the best I.T. solutions to meet their needs is impressive. He is always up-to-date on the latest I.T products via his relationships with suppliers that allows him to predict where the market is heading in each product category. With some I.T products having a very short shelf-life, this ability is very valuable and balancing inventory against future customer needs.
What I will learn: I am hoping to learn more about the CentreCom operations in order to create a new innovation that will be trialled within the business. Each I.T. retailer serves customers but the back-of-house operations can vary greatly from staff training to business systems to brand marketing. The Australian I.T. market is worth over $120 billion with CentreCom having a share of the Victorian consumer market with room to grow further. I have a few ideas to improve the store that I will present to Alan over the coming weeks.
Dale Stohr
Who: Alan Tran
What they do: Director of CentreCom (a chain of retail I.T. stores around Melbourne) and opened the Frankston store in 2004. Over 10 years experience with CentreCom including customer service, sales, buying and warehousing.
Why: Having worked the past twelve months at CentreCom Frankston, I found Alan to be very open to new ideas to improve his business. His strong work ethic and focus on giving his clients the best I.T. solutions to meet their needs is impressive. He is always up-to-date on the latest I.T products via his relationships with suppliers that allows him to predict where the market is heading in each product category. With some I.T products having a very short shelf-life, this ability is very valuable and balancing inventory against future customer needs.
What I will learn: I am hoping to learn more about the CentreCom operations in order to create a new innovation that will be trialled within the business. Each I.T. retailer serves customers but the back-of-house operations can vary greatly from staff training to business systems to brand marketing. The Australian I.T. market is worth over $120 billion with CentreCom having a share of the Victorian consumer market with room to grow further. I have a few ideas to improve the store that I will present to Alan over the coming weeks.
Dale Stohr
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dale Stohr Innovation #1 HAUL 2009
Innovation Seminar #1 – HAUL Dale Stohr
A) What are innovation and creativity?
Innovation is a term for the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, process or method. There are different types of innovation including:
- Product innovation (eg. Apple’s iTunes)
- Process innovation (eg. PayPal payment system)
- Organisational innovation (eg. Paid parental leave)
- Marketing innovation (eg. Facebook social networking) (1)
Innovation leads to better products and services as well as new ways of living and working.
Creativity is the mental process of generating new ideas or concepts of originality. (2) Creativity is also the act of making something new, doing something that has never been done before or a process-of-elimination of many ideas to find the one right idea.
Creativity is the new idea while innovation is the application of that idea in business, design, science, education, marketing and other industries.
B) What conditions need to exist for innovation to occur?
Innovation can be brought about through a variety of conditions/situations such as:
- Needing to increase profits (3) (eg. Cadbury chocolate reducing milk content)
- Responding to customer needs (eg. New Toyota Hybrid car)
- Increasing market share (eg. ANZ to increase Business Banking share)
- Cost impacts (eg. Commodity price rises)
- Market changes (eg. Real Insurance ‘Pay As You Drive’ product)
- New technology (eg. Boeing 787 Dreamliner design technology)
- Government policy changes (eg. LPG car gas rebates)
- Globalisation (eg. China Construction Bank in
- Brand/organisation re-launch (eg.
‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ is an old adage that still applies today. So as a need arises, or is forced, then innovation is required to help deal with the situation. Lack of innovation can lead to business failure while some old products/services can continue to grow without innovation (eg. a simple hammer).
C) How is HAUL innovative?
HAUL is an innovative company for manufacturing consumer goods from recycled waste products and creating pieces of contemporary art. The product range at HAUL includes bags, wallets, laptop sleeves, backpacks and more that make HAUL customers feel special and exclusive. By using one-off vinyl advertising billboards to make limited runs of products, HAUL manufacturers goods that can not be replaced – each messenger bag is individual and rare. Other businesses have recycled waste to produce cardboard boxes, road materials, plastic pots, insulation and even cat litter. (4) But not many recycled products have become as street-credible as HAUL products. The reduction in landfill waste and ‘green’ credentials are a positive by-product of HAUL’s innovation. HAUL also use this method to innovate in other markets such as ‘Riveting’ for corporate clients and grow the business the further.
D) What did you learn from Scott Kilmartin’s approach to business that you can apply in your workplace? Why?
Scott’s ability to continue looking for ways to grow his business (recycling waste vinyl billboard and number plates) or meet the needs of his customers (urban designers, Mac fans, etc) is a real attribute that can be used in other businesses. Scott said he kept thinking about the business and the way it worked so that he could make it a better operation. The use of social media to communicate to his customers and receive feedback is another aspect of Scott’s approach that can be implemented elsewhere with some proper research – not all Facebook or Twitter users are the same. HAUL has a credibility that is seen in its product as well as its people that is not always easy to emulate. CentreCom (a Melbourne-based retail I.T. chain of stores) could certainly benefit from learning about HAUL and Scott’s experience in building the business and the tenacity required to grow a successful brand.
E) What will you do differently in your workplace, if anything? Give an example or explain why implementation cannot occur.
The successful marketing of HAUL through social media (like Twitter and Facebook) and the on-line retail presence of HAUL.com.au has the potential to be successful for other retailers in
References:
(1) ‘Innovation in Australian Business’
(2) ‘Creativity’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity
(3) ‘Innovation in Australian Business’
(4) ‘Environmental purchasing checklist’
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