P&G recognizes its innovation partners
Referred to as the company's Connect + Develop partnerships, P&G executives chose from a long list of partners to recognize the businesses that lent the most help in the company's aims to get new and increasingly sophisticated products to market, faster.
“Our Connect+Develop partnerships are helping us deliver game-changing innovations and strengthen our productivity culture,” said P&G Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald. “We celebrate their work, and thank them for their partnership.”
Honoring partners for 'seamless collaboration'
The company chose to acknowledge a total of seven leading innovation partners as part of its annual C+D innovation, from a total of hundreds of innovation and collaboration partners the company continues to work with.
Those businesses are a diverse selection of firms, ranging from small privately owned operations tomajor global operations and academia, from all across the globe.
Laura Becker, general manager for P&G gobal business development, explained that the business partner it had recognized had provided seamless collaboration that 'focused on helping deliver a superior product for consumers'.
The seven honored partners:
2012 Connect+Develop Partner of the Year
- MonoSol of La Porte, Indiana
James N. Gamble Product Innovation Award
- Zobele Group of Trento, Italy
Innovation Capability Award, prize given to two companies
- Beanstalk of New York
- d&a Visual Insights of Israel
Trademark Licensee Partner of the Year
- Butler Home Products, Marlborough, MA
Public / Private Partnership, prize given to two companies
- University of Cincinnati Simulation Center of Cincinnati
- Center for Competitive Creative Design at Cranfield University of Cambridge, England
McDonald stresses increased focus on innovation
As P&G continues to battle against shrinking market share world-wide, CEO Bob McDonald earlier this week emphasized how his vision for increased innovation will help the company face up to its current challenges.
“Innovation is the key to improving quality of life for people in every part of the world,” said McDonald during a keynote address at the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) World Conference on Fabric and Home Care in Singapore.
“The heart of our business model is innovation. Innovation has been the primary driver of P&G’s growth over our 175 years,” said McDonald.
Four-point plan for innovation
During the presentation McDonald underlined a four-point plan, which he says has evolved in the course of the company's long standing history and will prove to help shape the business structure, especially during the challenging economic conditions it is facing up to presently.
The four points centered on the fact that innovation has to be balanced, it must communicate value, the fact that it concerns all of the company's employees and the fact that it has to be sparked by connecting with the consumer.
