Development in Supply Chain Management :
Featured article on Best Practice - Titan Industries Ltd.
Author - Nicole Gaiziunas
Excerpts for the article:
Do you know what the ring is made of that you are wearing on your finger? It is probably gold (at least in layers). What is considered no big deal in Europe, America and Russia in certain income brackets ; is a status symbol in India. You won't get anywhere unless you glisten with gold, showing as much possible in the most fashionable design.
Titan Industries Limited, part of the well-known TATA group, is one of the jewellery makers in the midst of this paradoxical hybrid of mass and luxury market. Titan's ambition is as simple as bold - "To be the most desired brand of jewellery for Indian women". That is pretty ambitious, especially if you consider the competition.
Titan decided many years ago to make tenacious innovation its strategic competitive advantage. Their assumption was that leading in innovation will keep the margins high. Thrilled customers breathless with excitement buy the most, the most often, the most expensive, and the most loyally. The only catch is ; A company cannot be innovative per se. In other words, companies cannot be innovative. Only the employees and managers of a company can. Now here's the crux of the matter ; How can I make my employees so creative and innovative that the company will become an innovation leader and permanently shake off the competition?
Titan's answer is called Innovation Incubation Process - an interesting metaphor. The Indian view their innovation process as an incubator of ideas. If you take a closer look at the phases and organisation of the Titan Innovation Incubator, you will notice the following characteristic ; Best Practice is like a centipede. It won't rely on just one leg.
They do not depend on any single tool or process - definitely not when it comes to Innovation. They do not just put up a suggestion box, and then forget about it. They introduce a suggestion making process, and a brainstorming process, and, and, and...