Making innovation a managed business process : some Australian tooling industry technology opportunities

The context of this paper is global competitive manufacturing, generating innovative solutions and viewing innovation as a business process applicable to many types of innovation. A case example of the situation confronting the Australian tooling industry is given, and the responses of some leading firms briefly described. In broad terms, these firms all package technology with value adding activities to provide a service rather than just manufacture things. Our interest is in the workings of innovation within an individual enterprise, and we have used a systems engineering modeling approach to represent these workings as a broadly applicable business process, and also used this framework to identify key skills and competencies required. Application competencies that will meet the future product, service and technology needs of tool making firms are also discussed, drawing on inputs from studies by two Australian industry associations. It is observed that hard and soft technologies are both important in establishing a competitive position, as is the refinement of new applications for existing technology and the adoption of emergent technologies. It is noted that a firm's absorptive capacity may limit the extent and rate of learning it can accommodate, and some strategic responses are suggested.