An innovation strategy provides a means whereby organisations can find new sources of competitive advantage. Each organisation’s innovation strategy will of course vary according to its business positioning and may tend to encompass one or more of the following areas:

• Process and supply chain improvements;

• Customer services and solutions; and/or

• Leading edge products and disruptive technologies.

It has been forecast by Deloittes (2004) that manufacturing companies by 2007 will derive some 34 percent of their sales revenue from innovative new products. The time to develop and launch these new products continues to shrink with 12.8 months being predicted as the average time needed to develop and market new products by 2007. For this reason having good innovation strategies in place will be important for ensuring that organisations continue to remain afloat.

The general categories referred to as ‘sustaining’ or ‘disruptive’ innovation are used to describe the two main streams of innovation strategy dominating today’s organisations. ‘Sustaining innovations’ aim at improving current product and services in ways that enhance their attractiveness to consumers. ‘Disruptive innovations’ are used to open up new fields which can necessitate the re-tooling of plants along with the development of new distribution and supply chains. Balancing the tensions between the need for both ‘sustaining’ and ‘disruptive’ innovation will increasingly occupy the time and energies of the leaders in today’s organisations.

There are of course various roads which may be taken towards the development of a successful innovation strategy. Businesses having successful innovation strategies tend to focus on visibility (i.e. excellent communication), collaboration, flexibility, and technology. The innovation checklist contained in this management brief may assist organisations to rate how well they are using and developing their own innovation practices.

Some basic ideas have been provided within this management brief which outline how innovation strategies may be measured and assessed. The case study and survey data underscore recently reported practices and the issues currently being faced by organisations

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