How can a company survive the gloomy economy and make a better achievement?And when the company is shortage of fund,how can the money be spent reasonably.
" As for our company,spend reasonably means to make innovation."said of Ding Zhizhong,the chairman of the ANTA Sport Products Limited.In 2009,ANTA company has spent 0.1 billion yuan on reserach and development.The figure has risen over 10 times,compared with 5 years ago,which has brought abundant profit to the company:in the early two quaters of 2009,the order in the company has grew 30% or more.
"A company without any innovation will be a compay without any soul.A company without any good quality products is poor and will be a spineless one without any core technology. "which has pointed out the importance of the innovation in a speech delieved by Dong Mingzhu in July,the president of Zhuhai Gree Electric Appliances Co.,Ltd. As the biggest home air-conditioner manufacturer in the world,Gree Group owns 2000 research engineers and foreing experts and spends 15 million dollars in reserch and development every year.During the crisis period,Gree Group didn't reduce the fund on innovation and its yield has increased by 30% by virtue of the leading technology.
Innovation Compete Downturn
In the process of interviewing and assessing the most innovative companies of 2009,The Manager found out that China's businese leaders and excellent entrepreneurs have reached a common view that more focus should be paied on innovation when the economy is in the downturn. On one hand, Some star enterprises managed to cut cost by taping new resources and economizing on expense, and on the other,they invest more to investigate customers and markets aiming to attract their attention by the products and services most close to them.
This is the third year for the evaluating of the most innovative company by The Manager.With the economy crisis swepting over the global,the awarding possesses particular sense.
All the top30 companies were selected meticulously by us over the half past year. They braved the adversity by their innovations and grew up quickly and become the leaders and outstandings in their own industries.During 2008-2009,they have overcome many unfavourable factors and make innovations to push the enterprises forward ….,which set an typical and good example in China's busines community in the aspects of product,technology,culture,system,stratergy,bussiness pattern,organization sturcture and cooperation(espectially in product,technology and culture). The innovation culture has became their DNA.It is a group spirit and a working atmosphere,seeping into every level of the management of the enterprise and runing through the process of manufacturing,which make them produce the proud innovations though facing with the bad enviroment.Besides,they are the good enterprise citizens concerning with the enviromental protection and the enterprises' social responsibility.
In 2008,Shenzhen Huawei Technology Co.,Ltd.,ranking first in the application list of PCT(global Patent Cooperation Treaty),has submitted 1737 items applying for international patent,overtaking Japan's Panasonic and Philip.In the same year,by virtue of its proud core technology,Huwei's global sales volume reached 183.29 billion dollars,up 42.7% over last year,and its net profit is 1.15 billion dollars,20% higher than the previous year.In 2009,Huwei predict its sales volume will increase 30% to 30 billion dollars ,which is a bad year in its rival's eyes.
BYD,who claimed to break the traditional pattern with innovation,stick to the sales philosophy of Technology-oriented,Innovation First.It not only make a material progress in the area of new-energy automible by launching the first dual-mode electric car (F3DM)independent of recharge station in the world,but also obtain the powerful cost controling ability by vertical integration,rewriting the bottom price of the automible industry.In 2008,BYD's annual sales increased 180 thousand cars,up 80% over the previous year,making it a black horse in China's auto industry.
They resisted the depressed situation with innovation,and the innovation make them the heroes in the adversity.
In this evaluation,The Manager focued on the The Top 30 Innovative Corprations of 2009 as well as the Top 10 Innovative Transnational Corporation In China.The purpose of this evaluation is to make the Chinese financial enterperises that develope steady and fast under the financial crisis through the philosophy and strategy of innovation become stars.
The focus of innovative in the turbulent times
The financial crisis rarely occurs once in a century.It teaches a lesson to Chinese enterprises,big or small.The entrepreneurs have a deep and thorough understand over the value of the innovation.
It is disputable that under the circumstance of dramatic shrinking global demand,those exporting enterprises who depend on oem production and take the advantange of lower price and without any core technology were on the bottom of the value chain and struggled to survive.Some even go bankrupt.On the contratry, those attach more importance on the development of new product and technology as well as the building of brand escaped from the crisis quickly or suffer little influence who held tightly the initiative over the market by using the core technology to occupy the market and pay more attention on the customer demand.
"When we are in the economic crisis,the problem facing us is not whether we should make innovation or not,but how to,which will be the best chance to widern the gap between us and our rivals."said of Andrew J,Razeghi,the professor of Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
Then,what should the innovation focus on in the economic downturn?
Pay attention on the improvement and enhancement of the core competitiveness.The historic experience shows that the global economic crisis always result in the great technological innovation and even technological revolution.It is the best chance for the innovative enterprises to win the market share. when confronted with the big international automible companies,Qirui,the flagship of the our national automobile industry,has either reduced their investment or went bankrupt even closed down,but it still plunge 13% of its sales income into the reserch and development.Its newly produced high-end automatic transmission has made an unprecedented innovation in China's own-brand cars.The automatic transmission can not noly provide the cars with better power performance and fuel economy performance but also reduce the pollution emission of the engine.
Stress on the change of the consuming demand. Many enterprises focus on the product innovation.During the crisis times,the innovative companies are prone to read the market.With less money in their pocket,the consumer tend to cut their spending and pursue the function of the merchandise first.Many electronics industries are cherishing the simplicity.So the simple but functional Netbook are popular over the world.ASUS,HP all earn much from it.
"If the product is not so original to combat other rivals,it can't attract any customers no matter how cheap it is."guided by the philosophy of its chairman Xu Hang,Shenzhen Mairui Biological Medical Electronic Co., Ltd. has been awarded first in many areas which was occupied by the foreign giants .
Aim to the internal management and cut the cost to increase the profit.The white goods giant Midea Group introduced the most advanced manufacturing management system in the world.It advocated the lean manufacturing system and rooted it in every department and employees by publicizing it.In addition,the sales efficiency has been improved when the profit allocation and the internal loss has been coordinated among every department and the dispute between the cost and the price has been reduced. During the first half of year,only the cost of stocks has decreased over 50%.
Pay more attention on the service.The economy crisis also offer an good chance for the enterprise to consolidate the relationship with the customer,which can enhance the cutomer's fidelity."under the financial crisis,the customer also feel anxiety.If you keep close contact with them and help them to get what they want,they will remember you forever and continue to buy your products."said of Andrew J,Razeghi, the professor of Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
The attitude that you face with the terminal customer and the enterprise should be the same.ZTE corporation concerns the customer's demand not only on their current demand but also their future demand.They concern about the customer's appearing demand and analyze deeply and know the customer's potential demand.It,along with its customer, has achieved the durable win-win situation since it work with the active service strategy and high quality service flow.Over the first half of this year,its sales earning has increased 35% compared with the last year.
Cooperate for innovate.In the depressed times,this idea has been displayed fully in Chinese industries.The small- and medium-sized enterprises has reached mutual benefit and win-win situation.The leading industry was working hard to build a strategic industrial chains with the upper and the lower industries.Baogang Co.,Ltd. the mega corporation of the iron and steel industry,has cooperated with Hair,Shanggang Group and China Ship Company in succession to fight crisis and strengthen the enterprises's competitiveness.
The New thoughts of the CEO
It's indisputable that the innovation in any enterprises will face more difficulties under the coutinuous despressing,such as capital problem.Even so,the CEO never give up their persistant pursuit of the innovation.
The fund on the reserch can’t be retrenched." The fund investing on the research can’t be retrenched and the training time can’t be reduced no matter how hard or how busy it is.“This is the philosophy of Yi Tongyao, the chairman of Qirui Automible Co.,Ltd.Some small- and medium-sized enterprises also hold the same view.Zhou Lin,the CEO of a manufacturing company in Dongguan, Guangdong province,said to The Manager,"If you don't control the core techonlogy,your company will always at the mercy of others.Only when a company adopt the self-research and produce their self-owned brand can they hold the initiative in the competition.The company is facing with the problem of fund shortage,but Zhou Lin still decide to obtain the capital by introducing the strategic partnership and invest them in the innovation.
The innovation made in the hard times are more valuable.The slack economy force the consumer shrink their wallets.The once popular products have to be saled in a discount,but consumers have never change their purchasing will and their value on innovative products,which is the main reason why so many CEO put into their energy in developing innovative products."The innovation process in the economy crisis are more easily to manage and has better cost-benefit."said of Pan Xiaopin,the manager of Sunshun International Co.,Ltd.
Innovation is a effective way to build up your body when a enterprise runs in a hard times,said of Zhu Jianghong,the chairman of Gree Electronic Appliance Group.During the hard times,Gree Group still persevere in struggling to keep on management innovation. Only by doing so can it grow in a contrarian trend.In addition,Gree Group has never be stingy about the investment capital on research.As a appliance enterprise in China which invest the biggest sum on reserch, it adhere to the principle of investing how much is needed.
Innovation is a complex system.Edward Bevan,the vice-president of the innovation and market department of IBM,hold that innovation is a complex system which integrate techonlogy and businese pattern with working process.None can complish it independantly.Actually,for a single enterprise,innovation is a systematic project based on product,technology,working process,culture,service and every level of the enterprise management.. The investment in innovation hold the same philosophy.Any innovation achievement outweighing the rivals can push the enterprise into a express-way of development.
Innovation is the core responsibility of the CEO.When exchanging thoughts with the CEOs of the TOP30 innovative companies,The Manager find that none of them never regard innovation as a part of their responsibilities.They attach great importance on the innovation of the product and the techonlogy.Meanwhile,they scan every kind of innovation in their compaines with a broader vision and orientate themselve as the learder of the innovation.
Moreover,the CEOS of these companies all have a common sense that only if the innovation activity has been accepted by all stuff from the top to the grass-root and to the outside cooperative partners can the enterprise make innovation thoroughly.If the innovation activity is accepted by the top rank and without the employees’s participating or the cooperative partners’ identity,the innovation will meet many chanlenges or the enterprises will be caught into the dilemma.Then the large sum of investment wil go up in smoke.The only way to seek the agreement is to communicate.By the public and transparent communication, all the employees know the reason and expection of making innovation,so we can build a great executive force inside and a harmonious supporting force outside.
appendix:
The explaination for the evaluates
This is the third year to evaluate the most innovative companies by The Manager.
The evaluate started from March in 2009. According to the Nothern American classification, we choosed with utmost care from thousands of enterprises of every industry through a set of rigious assessment system.The final 30 selected companies have took lead of other enterpries with higher mark in the innovation activity.
The 30 enterprises have a common features in innovation that they all take lead in their own industries.In the financial crisis,they have never cut their investment in innovation and grow reversely by virtue of the pushment of the innovation.In 2009,they have made some extrodanary innovation activities.The excellent enterprise culturel make their innovation continued and became the cornerstone of the enterprise to support the fast sustainable development in the future.They, concerning enviromental protection and social responsibility of the enterprise,are the excellent enterprise citizens
The Manager evaluated the enterprise’s innovation ability from 8 dimensions,including product technology,service,innovation culture,strategy,system,business pattern,orgnization sturcture and cooperation and integration.Each dimension has been given a different score in every industry.Guided by the international value,our assessment place extra emphasis on the product and the technological innovation.That means the weight of produc tand technology are the highest,both accounting as high as 45%.
We set a complicated function by combining the global competitiveness of every industry in China with their actural innovation ability to caculate the final score of every enterprise in the aspect o innovation.In order to make the comparability among different industries effective and to assess accurately their innovation ability,The Manager set the innovation ability of the foreign counterpar as the benchmark. We divided the total innovation ability score by the number of companies and a coefficient was taken.Then obtained an innovation ability index .The Top30 companies with the higest innovation ability index were choosen as the most innovative companies of 2009.
The 30 companies are mainly manufacture enterprises.Besides main board,The Manager launched a secondary board with the financial and the Chinese transnational corporations as the objets. The innovation ability of the enterprises in the secondary board can’t compare to those in the main board.Their innovative index are regarding as the reference.
《