How IT infrastructure supports innovation processes : process and product innovation potential at a global player that runs SAP to support production, supply chain and innovation processes

Abstract

The paper/thesis is structured in a theoretical and in a practical/applied part and both parts follows the same principles. Keywords described in the theoretical part of this paper are based on scientific background information while the applied/practical part discusses how these keywords are transferred, designed and lived in a real industrial enterprise. For most of the industrial companies innovation is a very important and critical success potential for their competitiveness, growth and survival in the market place. Ongoing new product development (NPD) and particularly continuous innovation effort of processes generate success for their products which is essential to the company in order to react to changes inside and outside the enterprise prior to competition. Realizing, collecting and utilizing market/field information for setting up business processes according to the market demand should be accelerated by the responsible company's decision makers and the employees and enabled by information technology (IT). IT is the right tools for enabling and managing innovation. SAP, as an efficient tool for project management, process planning, reengineering as well as resource planning, is able to support the innovation process based on well motivated thinking employees. SAP in combination with a WEB based innovation platform covers the need of a product innovation process and is also able to differentiate NPD processes in the early stages from different and more advanced requirements in the later stages. Senior management must support the necessary innovation process by setting up the plausible and appropriate criteria's for establishing company's innovation culture. Understanding and the "new" cultural mindsets of all employees is a premise that innovation will root in the company on an ongoing basis. On behalf of Agrana, as a global company acting and operating in the food industry, process and product innovations as well as reengineering process approaches of each organizational division are critically highlighted, proposals for improvements are given and future economical potentials are discussed.