Innovation can be products or processes, ranging from novelty newness to improved ones. In this article, I highlight product and process innovation and how they work. 

Product innovation

Product innovation is the development of a new or improved product (Trott, 2017)⁸ and includes product performance and system. The product performance addresses the value, features, benefits and quality of the company’s offering and includes new, enhanced, and extended products. Product innovation comprises attributes like simplification (e.g., easy to use), sustainability ( e.g., environment friendly), customisation to suit individual customers, low price, or disruptive (i.e.,  new and enables new customers or new uses). Product innovation can be judged for significance on many variables like superior offerings, unique value propositions, and market-niche focusing (Keeley, 2013)⁹. While the product system is rooted in how individual products connect to create a robust system that is judged on how these multiple products are distinctive and well connected (Keeley, 2013)¹⁰. Product innovation is a bundle of changes that an organisation offers like, incremental Windows Vista replacing XP or radical Toyota Prius bringing a new concept of hybrid engines (Joe and John, 2009)¹¹.

Process innovation

This type of innovation is the development of a new or improved process. It involves value-added activities (or processes) to produce and distribute enterprise offerings. Process innovation is an activity to capitalise on core capabilities, increase efficiency, act with agility, apply lean production, convert to process standardisation, improve procedures, develop patents, and possess proprietary. The process innovations can be judged on many factors like skills development, cost reduction, ownership of patents and technology know-how (Trott, 2017)¹². Moreover, process innovations bring improvements that enable firms to perform efficiently and cut costs. For example, increment process innovation is when upgraded equipment to reduce costs, and radical process innovation is when investing in the Toyota Production System and other ‘lean’ approaches to increase efficiency.

How do product and process innovations work?

Product innovation can come up as a breakthrough technology, products, services, application, and platforms, whilst process innovation may include operational excellence enabling innovators to make innovative products, reduce waste, reduce costs, and cut the lead time of orders to the market, along with increasing efficiency. By this definition, product innovation results in satisfying customers, but process innovation results in satisfying firms. While both innovations opt to lead the market, increase market share, and improve profitability. The path to innovative products is similar to the approach to innovative processes as observing, depicting challenges, understanding, ideating, solution and prototyping, experimenting and implementing. However, they both differ in the result of the end-process innovation.  

• This post is sourced from my new book- Your Guide To Reach Innovation. 
• For more information about the book: https://growenterprise.co.uk/your-guide-to-reach-innovation/
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Final note: the book- Your Guide To Reach Innovation, is an actionable guide to innovation from beginning to end. Enjoy reading the book, and I look forward to your reviews.

Author: Munther Al Dawood

www.growenterprise.co.uk

maldawood@growenterprise.co.uk

References:

1. Trott, P., 2017. Innovation management and new product development, 6th edition, Pearson, United Kingdom.
2. Keeley, L. 2013. Ten types of innovation, Willey, USA. 
3. Keeley, L. 2013. Ten types of innovation, Willey, USA .
4. Joe Tidd and John Bessant, 2009. MANAGING INNOVATION, Fourth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, UK.
5. Trott, P., 2017. Innovation management and new product development, 6th edition, Pearson, United Kingdom.