https://www.mdu.se/

The process industries span multiple industrial sectors and constitute a substantial part of the entire manufacturing industry. In a review of the extant literature related to process-industrial production and innovation characteristics, the process industries construct has been analysed and redefined. Since the process industries are a large part of the LMT industries and of significant importance for late-industrialising countries and also constitute a considerable part of the most R&D investment-intensive companies worldwide, it is advocated that studying innovation in this cluster of industries in a cross-sectoral approach is an interesting avenue to follow. It was concluded that operations and innovation management in this family of industries will benefit from methods, tools and best practices more adapted to the process industry-specific context. As a consequence of these findings, a framework aiming at guiding and invigorating further process-industrial research was introduced together with policy implications.

In this study, the use of platform-based product family design of assembled products has been reconceptualised into a framework of platform-based design of non-assembled products for the process industries. As a point of departure, platform-based design is defined as shared logic in a company's activities, and a "function-based" leveraging strategy is employed to identify non-assembled products with similar characteristics and commonalities among product families, related production processes and raw materials. It is proposed that a production platform philosophy and platform-based design of non-assembled products should rely on Product platforms, Process platforms and Raw-material platforms that are well-integrated into common Production platforms, in an end-to-end perspective. However, platform-based design of non-assembled products may differ depending on whether company production relies solely on a captive raw material base or on purchased raw materials on the open market, or on both. The congruence of the development of Production platforms with the QFD methodology and House of Quality was noted in this study, as well as the simplicity of using the methodology on homogeneous products compared to multi-level hierarchical assembled products. It is argued that the proposed conceptual framework can be used in internal company discussions and reviews whether and how such an approach in product innovation can be a fruitful avenue to explore and adapt.

The quality function deployment (QFD) methodology has been in use for over 40 years and is still going strong as an important methodology for product innovation, and it is consequently of interest to account for what outcomes a company can expect. Departing from the construct of potential and realised absorptive capacity, the framework included the concepts of organisational learning, transactional memory systems and tacit and explicit knowledge transformation. The conclusion is that the QFD methodology is an important instrument for “knowledge creation and utilisation” in product innovation. The scientific evidence indicates that this often unrecognised capability can be a ‘hidden gem’ in methodology use. The matrix named the “House of Quality” emerged in an era when the QFD methodology foremost was regarded as a quality tool, but in the light of the findings, one could suggest that this matrix today could more properly be renamed as the “House of Knowledge”.

The "family" of process industries spans multiple industrial sectors and thus constitutes a substantial part of all manufacturing industries, including petrochemicals and chemicals, food and beverage, mining and metals, mineral and materials, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, steel, and utilities. This article begins by reviewing methods and tools used in the process industries for effectiveness improvements, such as technology road-mapping, R&D strategy development, and portfolio balancing. Next, more efficiency-related areas of R&D like work processes and methodologies like quality function deployment, and collaboration in an open innovation approach are introduced. Both areas relate to product and process innovation from idea generation to implementation. Starting from this platform of current knowledge, future perspectives on the need for new approaches and tools for improved Management of Innovation & Technology in the process industries are reviewed and discussed.

This book puts management of product innovation in a corporate strategic perspective and argues that a company's competitive position is strongly related to an underlying unique and continually renewed product innovation work process, which drives innovation and delivery of new or improved products in the marketplace. The book will take the reader through a systematic examination of the necessary consecutive steps for companies' successful development of non-assembled products in the cluster of process industries. For readers in search of a seamless, easy-to-use, effective formal product innovation work process, from customer understanding to product launch, this book provides a guiding framework and "hands-on" advice for work process design. A novel five-phase structural process model of the product innovation work process is initially introduced in order to orchestrate a more dynamic interaction between product and process innovation and the integration of sustainability and product eco-design in product design. The reader will learn first about the importance of aligning new product ideas with the corporate business model and product innovation strategy during the contextualization phase and then how to transform product ideas into well-defined complementary product and process concepts. In the movement of product ideas from the conceptualization phase to industrialization, the use of pilot-planting and production trials for scale-up of product and process concepts is further explored. To secure a design for processability, a novel industrialization sub-process is introduced, and the integration of complementary development of product and service offerings is further examined. The deployment of application development throughout and after product launch is highlighted for an enhancement of product commercialization and a reduction of "time to break even" for new products.

Previous empirical research on the industrial use and usability of methodologies and tools for product innovation is often based on national samples, and generally focuses on a few select industry sectors and typically lacks a perspective on methodologies as supportive instruments for the product innovation work process. Moreover, even if some studies recognise the problems with low company methodology awareness and use, the underlying causes remain unexplained. In a survey mode of inquiry involving informants in 19 global manufacturing companies in six sectors of the process industries, this study explores use and usability of methodologies in the development of non-assembled products in the process industries. While the findings demonstrate a rather scarce use of innovation methodologies, when they are used case-company informants not only report a high degree of usability but also recommend that all introduced methodologies should be included in an enhanced product innovation work process. The discussion advocates that an overarching strategy for methodology use should be institutionalised by company R&D management, including a "methodology tool-box"of select methodologies, and further facilitated by trained methodology experts as "ambassadors".

In a review and theoretical analysis, Quality Function Deployment, Design Thinking and complementary methodologies have been assessed as supporting instruments in the development of non-assembled products. The findings demonstrate that QFD and DT characteristics substantially differ and that DT lacks many aspects of importance for process-industrial application. However, the results show that the methodologies are complementary in use; thus, an indepth knowledge of both methodologies could create a company competitive advantage in product innovation. Companies in the process industries are thus advised to use the results as a guiding framework for methodology selection and use in the different parts of the product innovation work process.

Introducing existing, improved or radically new process technology in the process industries is not finished until it is operating well at the firm’s premises; a fact of growing importance in the perspective of digital transformation. However, since it is uncommon for firms in the process industries to develop own process technology, they are dependent on suppliers for the acquisition of new equipment. Relying on the development of an organisational framework, the authors’ industrial experiences, and a literature review, success factors for inter-firm process technology transfer were initially developed. To facilitate the company use, and as an illustrative case, the success factors were afterwards included in a survey to informants in the petrochemical industries. The findings indicate that companies would benefit from the development of an internal guide for inter-firm process technology transfer. The success factors could not only be used as components in such a manual, but also serve as a “check-list” for internal improvement programs for process technology transfer.

Using a survey mode of inquiry, involving informants from 19<FOR VERIFICATION>global manufacturing companies in six sectors of the process industries, this study explores the intrinsic nature of product innovation of non-Assembled products. Results show that the characteristics of the "transformation-based"production system in the process industries should not only govern the design of the total product innovation work process and the selection and use of related experimental environment but will also influence the design of the forthcoming production system. It is noted that pilot-planting and full-scale production trials are important instruments not only during the product development phase, but also afterward in solving B2B customers' post-launch production problems. It is concluded that the experimental output from the product development phase of the product innovation work process for non-Assembled products is both a new product design and a new foundation for the production process design.

Using a newly developed conceptual framework on “platform-based design of non-assembled products,” the process-industrial applicability of the framework in production and product design was investigated. In a survey of Nordic process industries the research instrument included a comprehensive questionnaire designed to stimulate respondents to act as “multiple informants”. The results indicate that the presented framework challenged company paradigms and working practices, but acknowledged the applicability of many components in the new framework. Moreover, the new findings suggest that the framework additionally can be deployed as an instrument in an assessment of corporate strategic production capabilities. The framework can already serve as a “theoretical coat hanger” for analyzing current company practices, but moreover as a point of departure for company introduction of platform-based production philosophy and a platform-based design of non-assembled products. Apart from the framework used in this study, publications in this area are scarce. The findings fulfill the criteria for a theoretical contribution since the results have both originality and high utility for academics as well as practitioners. 

Purpose: In the process industries, it is essential to have a well-articulated manufacturing strategy within companies. However, to facilitate manufacturing strategy development, it is important to start with a good characterisation of the material transformation system and company production capabilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: A grounded theory approach, with inspiration from configuration modelling, attempted to characterize the material transformation system as a set of variables. The variable development was based on a literature review and the knowledge base of five industry experts. Two exploratory mini-case studies were carried out, primarily to illustrate the use of the model, but additionally to test its industrial usability. Findings: A set of 31 variables was developed, and related measures and scales were tentatively defined. Two mini-cases supported the usability of the model. The model, focussing on company generic process capabilities, is a conceptual taxonomy and the study’s theoretical contribution. Research limitations/implications: The lucidity of the definitions and scales for the variables are open to further refinement, and the limited discussions of variable relationships in this study are addressed in an agenda for further research. Practical implications: The model can be deployed as a facilitative instrument in the analysis of company material transformation systems and may serve as a platform in further discussions on companies’ strategy development. Originality/value: The model is a new instrument for analysing company generic process capabilities and an effort to build new theory rather than to test an existing one.

This paper explores company design of a formal work process for non-assembled products, using a survey mode of inquiry with a follow-up questionnaire in an interactive dialogue with selected case-companies. The preliminary findings suggest that in the development or reconfiguration of company product innovation work processes in the process industries, it is advisable to design a work process that is adapted to inherent and contextual process-industrial conditions. It is further indicated that such a product innovation work process requires greater product and process integration from ideation to product launch and increased focus on the industrialization phase. The proposed novel five-phase structural model presented in a Stage-Gate format, can be deployed as a guiding template in company development or reconfiguration of an enhanced product innovation work process for the development of non-assembled products. 

 The family of process industries embodies multiple industrial sectors and make up an important part of the entire manufacturing industries of particular importance for late-industrializing countries. In a review of the extant literature on product innovation work processes and best practice innovation of non-assembled products, an integrated conceptual framework has been developed. The novel framework is proposed to guide and invigorate company development and design of individualized product innovation work processes more adapted to process-industrial contextual and innovation conditions. Due to the coupling between products and the production systems in the process industries, it is concluded that development of new products must be better integrated with the development of necessary production capabilities in an end-to-end work process perspective. Research on fuzzy front-end of process-industrial product innovation has been amalgamated but it is demonstrated that more attention should be paid to industrialization and market launch; here denominated the bumpy back-end.

In an exploratory inquiry, involving informants in 19 global manufacturing companies in six sectors of the process industries, ideation, and concept integration during the pre-development of non-assembled products was studied. New and previously deployed constructs and concepts related to innovation in a process-industrial context have initially been developed, refined, and empirically tested. The findings demonstrate the importance of an early integration of constructs and concepts for raw material innovation, innovation-related process technology, and product innovation, as a prerequisite for successful ideation of new or improved products in the process industries. Companies in different sectors of the process industries can implement and use the novel “integrated framework” for contextualization and conceptualization of new product ideas in their development or reconfiguration of an enhanced work process for non-assembled products.

In a survey mode of inquiry with informants in 19 global manufacturing companies in six sectors of the process industries, integration of product-service offerings (PSO) in the product innovation work process for non-assembled products has been examined. The results reveal that the case-companies have already come far on what one could characterise as a service infusion journey. The findings further indicate that it is advisable not only to articulate and institutionalise a PSO strategy during the contextualisation phase of a work process but also to include service development early in conceptualisation during pre-product development. A novel three-phase PSO sub-process has been developed and is proposed to be integrated in the product innovation work process. Apart from the confirmation of a need to deploy proper product launch strategies, a more general process-industrial dilemma has been identified related to the extremely long ‘time-to-break-even’ for product introductions during the post-launch phase.

In the process industries, it is rather uncommon for companies to develop new process technology or even to manufacture new process equipment. As a result, they are highly dependent upon various kinds of equipment suppliers in their effort to acquire new process equipment in order to improve their operating performance. Two previously presented theoretical frameworks for collaboration during the innovation and operations stages have been merged for use as a research instrument in a single case study on the collaboration between a mineral producing company and a supplier of technology and equipment. The evidence from this study shows that it is beneficial for collaborating partners to engage in upfront discussions of pros and cons before entering collaborations. Collaboration during the "innovation stage" was determined to be an interesting avenue to follow for both parties. The need for collaboration during the production stage seemed to be most important during the "start-up" and "optimisation and upgrading" phases. The combined frameworks have proven to be a powerful research instrument for studying the selected kind of collaboration.

Purpose - A robust description of the material transformation system is fundamental for understanding its capabilities and thus for communicating, prioritising and changing the system. Deploying a previously developed configuration model the purpose of this paper is to test the industrial usability of the model as an instrument to gain a better understanding of the material transformation system through externalising the generic production capabilities of the system.

Design/methodology/approach - In a multiple case study approach and using a prior conceptual configuration model of the material transformation system in the process industries as a research instrument, company-generic production capabilities were investigated in three companies representing the mineral, food and steel industries.

Findings - The empirical results supported the utility of the model as an instrument in providing a coherent set of elements that define operations and thus serve as a platform to model company-generic production capabilities and serve as input to strategizing though implicating needed change to the material transformation system. The theoretical contribution was mainly the empirical validation of the previously developed conceptual model as a tool in knowledge formation of the capabilities of the system and to outline the concept of "production capabilities configuration".

Research limitations/implications - Three sectors of the process industries were studied but it is recommended that the results should be replicated in complementary case studies or a survey of larger samples from the process industries. Those studies should not only be limited to increase the empirical knowledge base, but possibly to identify additional new variables, further refine the set of variables in the present model and investigate their relationships.

Practical implications - It is argued that the model can already be used as a tool to support both horizontal and vertical communication on production capabilities, thus facilitating, e.g. manufacturing strategy development.

Originality/value - The validated conceptual model supported by the empirical evidence is new knowledge to be used in the analysis of company-generic production capabilities in the process industries.

In the process industries a substantial part of a supplying company's R&D lies in helping its customers' more effectively use the products it supplies, here denoted Application Development. Companies primarily carry out application development with near downstream customers in the supply/value chains. Almost all companies in this study also carried out application development with both customers' customers and customers' equipment suppliers. The results also indicate that application development resources are largely allocated to application areas and to customers of low to medium newness. A related matrix based on the dimensions of newness of the application area to the company, and newness of the customer to the company, proved to be an interesting tool in portfolio balancing. Because application development in the process industries has received little research attention so far, the findings from this study provide new insight into supplier-customer collaborative behaviour for the specific sub-topic of application development.