TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 979/2010
By Guillaume Goujon
Background
The term high value manufacturing (HVM) has recently emerged in the UK and is mainly used by stakeholders from the public sector (eg Technology Strategy Board) and academia (eg Institute for Manufacturing of Cambridge University). High value manufacturing is claimed by those stakeholders as the way forward for manufacturers based in developed countries if they are to live up to pressing economic challenges due to the rise of global competition.
Most TWI Members are manufacturers with plants located in developed countries, hence it would be valuable for them to understand the consequences of the emergence of the HVM trend and the steps they need to take if they wish to follow it.
When investigating the concept further, one realises that HVM relies on innovation. In this report the adopted definition of innovation is from the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS): 'The successful exploitation of new ideas that enables businesses to compete effectively in the global environment'. This non-technological focused definition is judged appropriate in the HVM context as manufacturers need to understand that the traditional focus of innovation efforts on new product or process development is too restrictive as many other types of innovations exist and can deliver outstanding benefits, such as business model innovation.
However different those types of innovation can be, they all share a common characteristic: it is really challenging to successfully manage innovation. TWI is in a good position to support its Members with regard to understanding current best practice in innovation management in manufacturing enterprises. Indeed, in addition to its long track record of successful innovation exploitation (Wiesner, 2006), TWI also has access to a rich pool of up to date industry information via its access to more than 2000 member manufacturers.
This research aims to assist member companies from every industry sector supported by TWI.
Objectives
- Define HVM, its potential benefits to manufacturers and the high level requirements for those wishing to follow this approach.
- Define the innovation landscape as it stands today and its consequences for manufacturers.
- Draw out innovation management tools relevant to TWI Industrial Members and present case studies demonstrating the feasibility of implementation and delivered benefits.