Innovation at 3M corporation

Background
Founded in 1902 at Minnesota.
Five businessman set out to mine a
mineral deposit for grinding-wheel
abrasive.
Deposits proved to be of little
value
New 3M company focus on
sandpaper products.
1910s
New investor were attracted to 3M,
such as Lucius Ordway, who moved
the 3M company to St. Paul.
Early technical and marketing
innovations began to produce
successes. The company paid its first
dividend of 6 cents a share in 1916.
1920s
The worlds first waterproof
sandpaper, which reduced
airborne dusts during
automobile manufacturing was
developed.
Masking Tape was invented- an
innovative step toward
diversification and the first of
many Pressure-Sensitive Tapes.
Technical progress resulted in
Cellophane Tape for box sealing
and soon hundreds of practical
uses were discovered.
1940s
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.
1950s
Thermo-Fax copying
process, Fabric Protector,
Cleaning Pads and several
new electro-mechanical
products ware introduced.
1960s
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.
1970s
Markets further expended into
pharmaceuticals, radiology and energy
control.
1980s
Post-it Note was introduced, which created a
whole new category in the marketplace and
changed peoples communication and
organization behavior forever.
1990s
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.
Nowadays
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.
Traditional innovation way at 3M(1)
Product team comprise technical individuals
involve process engineers
ensure the particular product under development could be
efficiently made
provided feedback about 3Ms manufacturing capabilities
Allowed for technical employees to take matters
in their own hands.
Marketing input traditionally came from current
customers and sales representatives.
Product developer focus on finding new angles or
twists on the early trends.
Tools to identify market needs and trend by
product developers of 3M
Data from sales representative with daily contact with
physicians or registered nurses.
Gather some 30 nurses biannually from across the nation
in a room to obtain reactions to proposed products.
Customer evaluation of currently marketed products.
Site visits to observe physicians and nurse at work, with
the intent to identify unforeseen needs.
Data on risk factors for diseases.
Traditional innovation way at 3M(2)
Disadvantage
Hiring out for market research created too many
interfaces between development teams and customers
Information obtained was not necessarily proprietary
anyone could open up a medical textbook to find key risk factor
for diseases.
Understanding customer and market needs would not
suffice
customers were somewhere blind about their own needs, and
thus could not provide clues about developing revolutionary
products.
Traditional innovation way at 3M(3)
SHOULD BE INNOVATED!!
Why 3M want to use Lead User
Method
They want to product a breakthrough
products.
Want to find new ways
Identify leading-edge customer needs
Develop concepts for breakthrough products and
services
Customer-focused product development process
Lead User Method(1)
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:
richer and more reliable information
better products and service concepts
acceleration of the product and service development
process
Necessary Elements:
supportive management
a cross-disciplinary team of high skilled people
a understanding of the principles of Lead User research
Compose:
4-6 people from marketing and technical department
12-15 hours per week spent on the project
project typically takes 5-6 months
Lead User Method(2)
Lead User process
Project Planning
Stage 1
Trends/Needs Identification
Stage 2
Preliminary Concept Generation
Stage 3
Final Concept Generation
Stage 4
Stage 1- Project Planning
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
Stage 2-Trends/Needs
Identification
5-6 weeks
Select a specific need-related trends
Digest the information from stage 1

Find top experts

Development a good understanding of
major trends
Questionnaire Telephone
Networking Scan literature
Consulting in-house colleague

Stage 3-Preliminary Concept
Generation
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
the product or service being conceptualized.
Interview lead user experts for technical
knowledge that pertains to concept generation.
Meet with key managers to confirm that
needs and concepts fit well with
business interests.
Stage 4-Final concept Generation
and learn from lead user
5-6 weeks
The team takes the preliminary concept
developed toward completion.
Seek to ensure that all possible solutions have
been explored.
Lead user workshop
brainstorming to arrive at consensus
on the concepts(1-2 days)
Evaluates the concepts in terms of technical
feasibility, market appeal, and management
priorities.
3M wanted to find a breakthrough
infection control product.
Surgical drapes
Probe the team with questions
What do you know about this market?
How important is the skin itself
as a source of infection?
Build up an invaluable database of
information
Know the need for good surgical drapes
Example of Lead User Process:
3M Corporation and Infection Control
Stage 1
Make sense of all the information gathered in
stage 1
Prove more effective the current products
easy to apply and remove.
Talk to a wide range of experts
veterinary science to medics from MASH.
Turn up other experts
Theater make-up business to veterinary sciences
to oceanographers.
Stage 2
Example of Lead User Process:
3M Corporation and Infection Control
Example of Lead User Process:
3M Corporation and Infection Control
Identify important trends in infection control
Travel to extreme situation: surgical
environments in developing countries
Send product developers to visit potential
customers.
Identify lead users
Veterinary hospitals, make-up artists in
Hollywood
How to pool the combined knowledge and
talent to develop product concepts?
Stage 3
Hold a workshop
11 3M personnel and 11 outside experts
Focus on efficacy and cost
Four challenges
Lack of structure in many corporate meeting
Introverted and extroverted participants
Artists idea VS. surgeons squash
Find ways to marry very creative ideas with technical
feasibility.
Lie in navigating a sea of facts
Interplay of Q&A from diverse range keep the process afloat.
Stage 4
Example of Lead User Process:
3M Corporation and Infection Control
Rank the product development concepts
Customer preference for the new products
Creation of new growth for division, with the
goal of double-digit annual growth.
Boosted global presence of the division.
Higher growth for the rest of 3M through
incorporation of proprietary 3M technology
with patient protection.
Example of Lead User Process:
3M Corporation and Infection Control
Economic line
One size fit all
timesaving
Low cost material
apply anti-microbial substances to skin
Skin Doctor line
Hand-held vacuum mode -mop up surface liquids
Original laying mode
Antimicrobial armor product line
Consistent with current strategy of reactive infection
control
Open the door to new business opportunities(2 billion)
Example of Lead User Process:
3M Corporation and Infection Control
Recommendation
Conclusion
Focus on qualitative probing of the right
questions
Traditional method focus on quantifiable
question and research
Evolution or revolution?
Combining technologies from more than one
core areas is evolution.
Lead users method is a revolution
Think about challenging the entire business strategy.
Think that we gather and use information differently
than before
Provide emotional support