27 Jun 2009

ASSA ABLOY honoured as a top innovator

It's official: ASSA ABLOY Sicherheitstechnik GmbH is one of the 100 most innovative small and medium-sized companies in Germany. So say the results of this year's "Top 100" corporate benchmarking competition - a cross-sectoral business initiative covering the entire country. One key element of the firm's success in this, the 17th year of the renowned contest, was its finely-tuned innovations management.

Lothar Späth, former state premier of Baden-Württemberg, presented the prestigious "Top 100" seal of approval to the south-west German firm at an official ceremony in Königswinter's "Gästehaus Petersberg".
As patron of the SME initiative, he recognises ASSA ABLOY's achievements in the five key categories of "Innovation-friendly Senior Management", "Climate of Innovation", "Innovative Processes and Organisation", "Innovations Marketing" and "Successful Innovations".

The "Top 100" judges were particularly impressed by the structured and all-embracing innovations management system which centres around the gateway process that defines the six phases in the development of a new product.

A preliminary study in which the project's scope and market strategy are presented and approved is followed by the product specification phase. This focuses on documenting customer requirements for the product and its functionality. Customers are often involved at this stage.

It is the turn of the development department in the third phase, when it draws up the final specification that includes technical feasibility tests and the requirements derived from the product specification list.

The fourth phase is the product design stage in which the actual development and design take place. In the subsequent industrialisation and market launch phase, the new product has to pass field tests before getting the green light for production preparation. At the same time, preparations for the market launch are started, such as compiling documentation, running technical and sales training courses and providing customers with information. Analysis forms the final stage of the innovation process.

To qualify for the award, ASSA ABLOY had to undergo a stringent, two-stage process devised by the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. "Our results show that the 100 top innovators generally tackle challenges head on and are thus well-equipped to deal with the current economic situation, for example. Innovation is a matter of priority at management level for most of these companies" commented Professor Nikolaus Franke, head of the research team, on the analysis.

In the past three years, these award-winners generated two thirds of their revenue from innovations and innovative improvements, compared with 30 per cent in a sample of similarly-structured German SMEs. In addition, Top 100 firms were able to shave some 12 per cent off their costs through process innovations, compared with a paltry 4 per cent on the part of "average SMEs". As a result, this year's "Top 100" contains 54 German market leaders, 22 of which are global leaders in their field.

Managing Director Stefan Fischbach is jubilant about the firm's success: "We are now officially classed among the most formidable innovators in the German SME sector. This is a great boost to our credibility and will inspire our employees, partners and, of course, customers with confidence. We could scarcely have hoped for better news in these times of crisis." Overall, 319 companies entered the "Top 100" competition this year.