Moving from continuous to discontinuous innovation in FMCG: a re‐engineering perspective

Is innovation still a mystery as far as many organizations are concerned? Or is it simply poorly understood and inadequately controlled and managed? Although there is a massive database on innovation, and ample reading sources on the subject, there is indication that organizations in the 1990s are still wrestling with new product development, quality, speed, timeliness and that consumer impact on the whole is still very elusive. The problem is that what is desired by most organizations is major discontinuities on a more frequent basis, but in reality what is focused on is still the product and not the process (i.e. the means by which innovation is delivered). Addresses the issue by distinguishing between various types of innovations and by presenting models of re‐engineering which can provide organizations with the opportunity to generate discontinuities on a more frequent basis. Provides some useful guidelines based on examples of best practice in fast moving consumer goods.