Innovation Process Management for a Specialty Chemicals Manufacturer

Ciba’s deployment of the Accolade system is core to a global initiative aimed at improving returns on innovation investments. The software is being used to enhance the company’s capacity to govern its innovation processes and focus resources on high-value product innovation projects. Accolade has been made available to more than 900 individuals on cross-functional teams responsible for product development at Ciba locations throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. Ciba’s pedigree as an industry innovator began to develop more than two-and-a-half centuries ago when, in 1758, the company was founded as a trader in chemicals and dyes. In the ensuing years, Ciba has been responsible for scientific breakthroughs in areas ranging from high performance pigments and antimicrobials to chemical agents that keep vehicle coatings from peeling after excessive exposure to sunlight. Today the company focuses on the development and production of specialty chemicals, serving customers in more than 120 countries. In 2006 Ciba set in motion an enterprise-wide effort called Operational Agenda. Its purpose is to strengthen the company’s growth and profitability. The program is supported by six strategic pillars, including an initiative dedicated to promoting innovation. A principal goal of that initiative is to reduce the overall number of projects in the new-product pipeline and ensure that R&D resources are focused on those opportunities that promise high business returns. It includes Ciba’s implementation of a comprehensive new framework for managing its innovation efforts. Sopheon’s Accolade solution will serve as the key software component for Ciba’s management of its new innovation system. The selection of Accolade was based on a mix of advantages, including the fact that it could be readily configured to Ciba’s specific requirements and, once in place, was easy to use. The software’s governing capabilities are expected to improve product development efficiency and quality of execution by prompting users to follow prescribed process steps, and by ensuring that they address the right business and technical questions at the right times to optimize the chances of success for projects in the pipeline. Project management will be enhanced by increased transparency as Accolade system managers are able to not only retrieve instant updates on the status of individual projects, but to access consolidated views that allow them to evaluate the cost, value and priority of all the projects in a particular portfolio. “The introduction of Sopheon’s Accolade system accompanied the rejuvenation of Ciba’s innovation infrastructure,” said Martin Riediker, Chief innovation officer for Ciba. “The solution has provided us with a state-of-the-art innovation management system. For the first time, we are able to monitor all aspects of our R&D initiatives and make truly well-informed decisions about which ones to support. As a result, we are in a position to significantly reduce the number of active projects in our development pipeline, and to back the most promising opportunities with more resources. Ultimately, Accolade will also allow us to track and assess the returns on our innovation investments. It gives us the foundation we need to achieve profitable growth from product innovation well into the future.” Dieter Jaeger, chief executive officer of Sopheon Vertriebs GmbH, said, “Innovation has played a critical role throughout Ciba’s history. The company’s current strategic initiative on innovation is a comprehensive, multi- faceted approach to innovation management. Sopheon’s software has been characterized by Ciba as ‘the glue that holds it all together.’ With the introduction of Accolade, Ciba is moving the oversight and management of its innovation efforts to a whole new level.”