A better way to use the knowledge that exists in the supply chain

The idea spun out of conversations with our friends at Packaging Arena in Sweden and a growing conviction there that the supply chain holds a wealth of knowledge which could underpin radical innovation. The problem is that it is fragmented across the  supply chain and never comes together in one place.

The team picked up the issues with a review of academic research carried out on supply chain innovation. Surprisingly, very little work has been done to identify the characteristics of innovative supply chains. This contrasts with the vast wealth of research into innovative single organisations.

The team were therefore contracted through Faraday by the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network to try to find out more, and a number of in-depth interviews were carried out across the supply chain.

It would seem that we have greatly differing views as to our organisations’ effectiveness in innovation depending on where we sit in the supply chain. However, this perception is not always supported by reality. If you plot perceived effectiveness along the supply chain, the shape of the curves broadly inverts when you look at actual innovations delivered by the organisation. Thus the retailers perceive themselves as highly innovative, while in practice they appear to deliver less innovation than the converters who have the worst impression of themselves.

What fascinating baggage we all bring to partnerships. It’s a strong pointer that when we look to collaborate, we must look beyond immediate technical complementarity and understand the perceptions and relative performance of the parties. If we could get this right, surely a much better outcome is possible.

Walter Lewis is managing director of packaging thinktank Faraday Packaging Partnership. Contact him on walter.lewis@faradayknowledge.com

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