Hassan Rmaile, Avery Dennison’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, Europe, Middle East and North Africa & Global Innovation, Label and Graphic Materials, shares his perspective on why open innovation is essential to challenge the status quo in a developed region.
Europe has driven many innovations and advancements of the modern age. We’ve seen our civilisation leap forward off the back of European industry forging ahead, innovating and then mass producing. Yet it’s from this position of historical ambition and exploration that we now find ourselves lagging behind. European industry has reached a scale that is slower, less agile, uncomfortable with risk, uncertainty and the threat of failure, the latter being key to learning and progress.
When we look to emerging markets, we see a higher population per capita of start-ups and entrepreneurs, we see far more agility with industry operating in a leaner fashion. However, they often lack the infrastructure, operational excellence, the network and the deep-rooted tried and tested expertise of their developed world counterparts.
The best of both worlds
It’s important to acknowledge where our strengths and weaknesses lie in order to appropriately address them. What we have observed is that there’s a natural synergy between the mothership and new start-up enterprises. Where one has weaknesses, the other has strengths. While large corporations such as Avery Dennison have the financial expertise, the financial muscle, the established networks and the existing infrastructure, innovation has largely and historically focused on material science.
Creating a culture of open innovation by inviting collaboration between industry players allows us to benefit from each other’s strengths. What we are left with is a highly innovative and results-driven approach that brings better, more sustainable and more consumer-centric solutions to markets faster, cheaper and with less of an impact on the environment.
Achieving collaboration
Collaboration in our industry requires a relentless focus on external connectivity. We need to proactively open our doors for two way ideation flows. With digital technology opening more doors, we have a real opportunity to innovate beyond today’s capabilities but with future advancements in mind, sitting at the intersection of physical and digital.
While there are many routes to this, we have recently decided to launch an accelerator programme. We chose this direction as it allows us to partner equally without the need for equity. Additionally, by combining open innovation and commercial collaboration with the select startups, we have the space to experiment with them through pilots which is ultimately a faster way to accelerate growth and address sustainability goals than innovating everything internally.
In addition, start-up partners can benefit from established expertise, infrastructure and more financial resources without sacrificing their independence or future returns. Meanwhile we can benefit from their fearless approach to innovation and their willingness to challenge established views. Our internal innovators are inspired by new insights and together we generate far more radical ideas to drive the industry forward.
A changing landscape
The world around us is changing – and fast. Consumers are more informed and have the increasing ability to influence, demanding more transparency and sustainability. This pressure travels the length and breadth of the value chain which is where we, as solutions providers, need to be both highly responsive to customers pain points and proactive in identifying where potential pitfalls sit. At the same time, increasing legislation, such as the EU Green Deal, also demands a solutions-led approach.
Europe has a very strong corporate scale and when that scale encounters ambitious targets or when consumer pressure is applied, we need to respond with the corresponding speed. In leveraging the fast-moving nature of start-ups and the mothership, we can change the entrepreneurial landscape by giving the former a pathway to scale up and find commercial success while setting the framework for faster innovation and multiples of value creation.
