Innovation at 3M Corporation

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE STUDY Author: Stefan Thomke
Masaya Dimitri Wira Rio
Innovative technology for a changing world Set up by 5 investor and Founded in 1902 at Minnesota. 3M stand for Minnesota Mining and Material Change from mining corundum material to sandpaper business
Survive from crisis , then headquartered in St.Paul, Minnesota Early technical and marketing innovations began to produce successes. The company paid its first dividend of 6 cents a share in 1916
The worlds first waterproof sandpaper, which reduced airborne dusts during automobile manufacturing was developed in early 1920s. Invent Masking Tape, which was innovative step toward diversification and the first of many Pressure-Sensitive Tapes. Invent Scotch tape , is an adhesive tape that will stick with application pressure, without the need for solvent, heat, or water for activation. It can be used in the home, office, industry, and institutions for a wide variety of purposes.
3M was diverted into defense materials for WWII, which was followed by new ventures, such as Reflective Sheeting for highway markings, Filament Adhesive Tape and the start of 3Ms involvement in the graphic arts filed with offset printing plates.
Thermo-Fax copying process, Fabric Protector, Cleaning Pads and several new electro-mechanical products ware introduced
Dry-Silver microfilm was introduced along with photographic products, carbonless papers, overhead projection systems, and a rapidly growing health care business of medical and dental products.
Markets further expended into pharmaceuticals, radiology and energy control.
Post-it Note was introduced, which created a whole new category in the marketplace and changed peoples communication and organization behavior forever.
Sales reached the $15 billion mark. 3M continued to develop an array of innovation products, including immune response modifier pharmaceuticals; brightness enhancement films for electronic display; and flexible circuits used in inkjet printers, cell phones and other electronic devices. Product catogories dedicated to preserving sterility included razors and clipers, presurgical soaps, sterile surgical gloves and mask, drapes, handwashes, antibiotics, lavages for washing away blood, sponges, antiseptic solutions, and dressing In 2004, sales topped $20 billion for the first time, with innovative new products contributing significantly to growth. Recent innovations include Post-it Super Sticky Note, Transparent Duct Tape, optical films for LCD televisions and a new family of Cleaning Products that give consumers the right scrubbing power for a host of cleaning jobs.
Allow staff to spend 15% of their time to explore new ideas outside of assigned responsibilities Dual ladder approach that allowed senior, technically inclined individuals with attractive career opportunities to advance, without having switch to management Held internal showcases for products and ideas to help encourage inter departemental cross-pollination.
Traditional market research had been disappointing

Abundant data, little useful information (along with strategic planning) Leaving no room
for innovation Stagnating since the surgical drapes boom
The need too understand leading-edge customer needs
Definition
Method : An accurately forecasting market opportunity by
taping the expertise base of lead users. Lead User

The people whose experience are ahead of the market segment. They may lead in either target or analogous market. They may be involved with just one or more attributes of the problems users met.
Purpose
unearth product development opportunities.
Advantage:
process
richer and more reliable information better products and service concepts acceleration of the product and service development supportive management a cross-disciplinary team of high skilled people a understanding of the principles of Lead User research 4-6 people from marketing and technical department 12-15 hours per week spent on the project project typically takes 5-6 months
Necessary Elements: Compose:
4-6 weeks Identify the types of market, new products of interest, and the innovation level Identify key business constraints Interviewing industry experts to help focus in key market trends
5-6 weeks Select a specific need-related trends Digest the information from stage 1 Find top experts
Questionnaire Networking Telephone Scan literature
Consulting in-house colleague
Development a good understanding of major trends
5-6 weeks The group acquires a more precise understanding of the needs it has selected as the area focus.
Seek to informally assess business potential for
Meet with key managers to confirm that needs and concepts fit well with business interests.
the product or service being conceptualized. Interview lead user experts for technical knowledge that pertains to concept generation.
5-6 weeks Lead user teams take preliminary concepts developed in the last stage toward completion The teams also seek to ensure that all possible solutions have been considered A workshop with invited lead users
Held a workshop by consisting of inside personnel and outside experts Focused on product efficiency and cost The workshop started with the introductory session to discuss how their backgrounds might pertain to the task After that, the participants were divided into smaller groups of 3 to 5 to work on the task.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Lack of structure Introverted and extroverted participants Finding a way to match creative ideas with technical feasibility Navigating a sea of facts
Interplay of Q&A between experts from a diverse range of interrelated disciplines
Rank the product development concepts by

Customer preference for the new products Creation of new growth for the division, with the
goal of double digit annual growth Boosted global presence of division Higher growth for the rest of 3M through incorporation of proprietary 3M technology with patent protection
Economy line Skin doctor line Armor line
Evolution or Revolution
Aware of a gaping hole in medical knowledge : infection containment Upstream containment adept at a new set of skills and knowledge 3M Medical-Surgical division need to combine technologies with diagnostics
Maurice Kuypers: If the team proceeds too quickly, it may pull the plug on everything Mark Johnson: We should seriously question our units business strategy Susan Hiestand: Here we are with our breakthrough, not a product but a service John Pournoor: Lets focus on the first three recommendations
1.
2.
3.
Do you think the "Lead User Research" method really brings a break-through on 3M product innovation? If so, what kind of break-through? Has the Medical-Surgical team applied the Lead User Research process successfully? Why or why not? Finally, what final recommendations do you think should be made by the team for senior management?

Innovation at 3M Corporation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Innovation at 3M Corporation

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Innovation at 3M Corporation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE STUDY Author: Stefan Thomke

Masaya Dimitri Wira Rio

Markets further expended into pharmaceuticals, radiology and energy control.

Traditional market research had been disappointing

for innovation Stagnating since the surgical drapes boom

The need too understand leading-edge customer needs

taping the expertise base of lead users. Lead User

Necessary Elements: Compose:

Consulting in-house colleague

Development a good understanding of major trends

Interplay of Q&A between experts from a diverse range of interrelated disciplines

Rank the product development concepts by

Economy line Skin doctor line Armor line

You might also like