ICT and e-Business in the Pulp, Paper and Paper ... - empirica

Pulp, paper and paper products
3.7 ICT and Innovation
The capability for innovation is considered quite important by European companies in
the P&P industry in order to face global competition and to keep their position in higher
market segments, which rely on differentiation and quality. It is largely recognised that
both product and process innovation (e.g. automation, flexible re-organisation) are key
instruments to support this strategy. This can only be achieved by a large-scale
deployment of leading-edge research results, a highly efficient process organisation and
chain management, and a highly qualified work-force.
This competitive scenario pushes companies towards the usage of technologies to
innovate products, to enhance quality and broaden applicability of materials. Process
innovation is centred on production processes, such as automated and computer-based
manufacturing systems, or processes aimed at manufacturing products that can combine
costs of mass production with differentiation of customised, optimisation of the value
chain.
In this context, e-Business W@tch asked companies whether they had launched any new
or substantially improved products or services during the 12 months prior to the interview,
and if they had introduced new or significantly improved internal processes in the same
period of time. Companies that indicated that they have introduced innovations were then
asked follow-up questions on the role of ICT for their innovation activity.
About 30% of enterprises in the P&P industry said that they had launched new (or
improved) products in 2005/06. About a third of these product innovations had been
directly related to or enabled by ICT (see Exhibit 3-35). Thus, the incidence of product
innovation is slightly higher than on average in the 10 sectors studied this year by e-
Business W@tch, but the share of ICT-enabled product innovations is relatively lower
(45-50% on average). This is plausible, as ICT is of course more important for products in
ICT-related sectors. However, even the share of about a third of all innovations being
ICT-enabled is considerable and demonstrates the important role of ICT for
manufacturing purposes.
A similar picture can be found for process innovations. While the overall propensity
towards innovation is above average in the P&P industry, survey findings indicate a
higher share of non-ICT related innovations in this industry than in many other sectors. In
total, companies representing about 45% of employment in the P&P industry said that
they had introduced process innovations in the 12 months prior to the interview. More
than half of these innovations are regarded as ICT-enabled. Among larger firms, the role
of ICT for process innovation increases; about two thirds of all process innovations
among medium-sized and large companies are ICT-enabled.
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