Best Beef Quality Foods (BBQF) is a medium scale business specializing in the production of beef products. The company mainly focuses on the gourmet products which is a product of beef. The company operates exclusively locally, and none of the products are exported. The company is situated in Tarago Catchment an area with high rainfall and good soils and hence making it suitable for agriculture. The company has built a reputation over the years as the best beef-producing company in the region. Its products are of high quality, and it has invested in innovation and new product development to help the company grow over the next five years (Climate change: Beef farming brings on warming, 2015). Best beef has become the leading producer of gourmet in Australia and it’s aiming at doubling the production in the next five years through innovation. The environment of Tarago region has been conserved over the years and the effects of climate change have not been so profound in the region. The environment has been regulated by the government and also the public pressure and expectation to maintain the environment have contributed to the good climatic conditions in this area and hence favoring the production of high-quality beef. The activities of the company may have a significant effect on the environment of Tarago. The heightened activities of BBQF mean increase in demand for beef which will mean an increase in livestock kept. This will end up putting excess pressure on the environment and hence affecting the environment negatively. This report on innovation will focus on addressing the environmental challenges that may face BBQF and also the challenge of competition from similar enterprises. The paper also evaluates the cultural challenges at play as well as the performance and productivity challenge. The innovation opportunities available to the company that can be implemented to increase productivity are also reviewed.
This involves a search for innovation opportunities that the company may take advantage of to help achieve its innovation objectives. Opportunities can be sourced from different areas that are related to the core business of the company. Some of the sources of innovation are the investment in faster-growing breeds and production of beef breeds that have high productivity.
The stakeholders at BBQF include Customer base, Contracted farmers, employees of the company, shareholders of the company, the community, Melbourne water, the government through the Agricultural department.
Innovation is at the fulcrum of the company’s future growth. For innovation to happen in the company successfully, all stakeholders need to be involved in generating ideas and making suggestions that would be useful in designing the plan (Crocombe, 2006). The model of open collective Innovation is used to develop and implement the innovation plan since multiple stakeholders are involved in generating ideas. Through this model, the barriers to innovation are reduced. The company seeks to implement long-term strategies to help the company innovate while at the same time ensuring social, economic and environmental stability (Garnaut, 2011) The technique will lower the requirements for the project to make it easier for the company to get cheap labor which is very crucial for this company. Immigrant workers with passports to work in the country will be considered and offered job opportunities in the company. The local people are also given the priority regarding recruiting employees for the new positions. Knowledge and information on the industry are also very crucial in this exercise. The company needs to have excellent knowledge of the industry and understand new trends in the industry. This helps the company to innovate and adopt innovations by the other companies which will help it to move forward. The innovation plan identifies key partnerships and potential new investors who can help the company to achieve its objectives (Improving agricultural knowledge and innovation systems, 2012) The company can expand its scope and diversify to invest in other areas that are closely related to the current mandate of the company. The company can integrate backward or decide to acquire new enterprises to help expand the company. The search for innovation opportunities also involves identification of resources that can be of help to the company. The resources could be financial, physical or even human resources. This model will also be used to identify and come up with new methods of production that are more efficient than the existing ones.
This is the stage where the options that were identified using the open collective model are analyzed and reviewed. At this stage, the options are ranked to determine which ones are more realistic and more viable than the others. The process should involve different stakeholders of the company to ensure that the views of everyone are considered before decisions are made. One of the advantages of involving all stakeholders in this stage of the innovation plan development is that it will help to align the opportunities identified with the resources available in the organization. Bringing different ideas into the innovation plan will help to bring new knowledge and skills to the company. The selection process in the innovation plan of the company will need proper leadership and a great experience and understanding of the beef industry (Kubankova, Hajek and Votavova, 2016). The leader also needs to be focused on the attainment of the objectives within the timelines stated in the plan. The selection process involving all stakeholders will help to create a sense of ownership of the project by all the stakeholders involved including the local community. The selection process involving the stakeholders will additionally help every group of stakeholders to understand their role in implementing the innovation plan. This, therefore, ensures effectiveness in performance of tasks. For example, the local farmers will be an essential source of raw materials in the form of beef cattle that meets the quality and health standards of the company. Therefore, when this group of stakeholders is involved in the innovation process, the objectives of the company are easily achieved.
There are a variety of innovative models that can be used when developing the innovation plan for a company. The incremental model is used to develop the innovation plan for BBQF. The model is one of the oldest theories explaining innovation and technological inventions. The incremental, model works by implementing change little by little and step by step (Li and Zhao, 2009). It is popular because it reduces the risk for innovations and helps in making innovations more secure. They have different implications on the society in which the company is operating. This means they are not linear and hence some interference is expected on the path of achieving the desired outcome. This model emphasis on implementation of innovation or changes from one phase to another so that the projects can be managed more efficiently (World bank2012). BBQF puts into consideration the various social and environmental factors that may influence the innovation plan of the company. The strategies designed for innovation identifies the expected challenges and the potential solution to these challenges. One of the innovation options available for BBQF is to invest in breeding technology. The rate at which the company is growing, it means that it needs to manage its breed of bulls. In this industry, the input is significant since it has a tremendous impact on the final output. To have high-quality beef products, which are the best in the market. The company needs to open a research and development center (Meyers, 2012). The company will then be able to research and come up with a superior breed of animals which are good for the business. BBQF can also partner with major agricultural research institutions. These institutions will partner with the company and develop a high quality breed of bulls and supply the bulls to the company to meet the required demand for beef and achieve the innovation objectives of the company. The other innovation option that is available for BBQF is to encourage farmers to keep highly productive cattle breeds which will give them maximum returns. The company can facilitate this by partnering with other companies that have superior breeds to crossbreed the farmer’s cattle to improve the breed of the beef cattle and hence help the company attain its production target of doubling the production (Verbeke & Merchant, 2012).The company has to ensure that the farmers supply the company with the best beef cattle to ensure that the company can process beef products that are of high quality.
The incremental model will help the company to deal with the environmental challenges that are expected to face the project in its later stages of implementation. The land around the Tarago reservoir is used for many different purposes such as for agriculture and residential building. The use of land around the reservoir has a huge effect on the water from this source. Pollution of the water through the chemicals and soil erosion will result to dangerous chemicals which can be poisonous to people, animals and plants (Poppe & Termeer, 2009). The company has to come up with innovative ways to help deal with the environmental issues experienced over the years. The expansion of production of beef by more than 100% means that these increased economic activities will have an increased effect on the environment of the region. BBQF will roll out conservation efforts and increase the vegetation cover at the Tarago catchment to increase the supply of water to the reservoir and help sustain the farming of beef cattle which is expected to be doubled. The major company will also roll out programs to encourage the farmers to harvest and conserve water to be relied upon in case water supply from the catchment reduces (Vogeler, Vibart and Cichota, 2017). BBQF will build water tanks with high storage capacity as part of these programs.This strategies will be very important in solving the water challenge expected when the implementation of this project begins.
Governance is a very important component of the innovation plan. This is because the governance of the innovation strategy determines the implementation of the strategy from the beginning to the end. The project to double production of beef by BBQF requires proper governance so that the project becomes successful. The key elements of the innovation governance include the drawing of the vision of the innovation plan. (Technology and innovation report, 2010) The vision of this strategy is to ensure that their production of beef doubles in the next five years. The head of governance in the innovation strategy plan is the CEO of the company. The CEO will provide the necessary leadership to help the company move forward and implement the identified strategies within the five years. The strategies involve a variety of fields that the company needs to invest in. The company needs to put a lot of input into implementing the innovation plan. The governance of the innovation strategy plan will ensure that all resources required to make the plan successful are available on time and in the right quantities. A special committee will be formed by the company to oversee the implementation of the plan. Risk management is also important in the governance of this strategic plan. There are very many risks prevalent in this innovation strategy and hence it is very important to identify the important the risk and rank them depending on the probability of the risk events occurring. (Larsen, Kim &Theus, 2009) The risks can also be measured depending on the expected loss or damage. The risk management is important in this strategic plan to ensure that all measures are taken to prevent potential risk situations and hence prevent any occurrences or events that may distract the company from achieving its innovation strategy objectives. The committee will carry monthly assessments to determine the progress of the plan. The committee will also oversee the procurement of materials required for innovation. Another key element of innovation governance is developing of capabilities. The team in charge of governing the innovation strategy ensures that it develops the capabilities of all team members and all employees to ensure maximum productivity from all the people involved (Simons, 2017). Communication within the company is very important to implement the innovation strategy successfully. The communication strategies that will be used include holding monthly official meetings to access the progress of the plan. The company will also communicate to the various stakeholders by writing memos and communicating to them through emails. This ensures that they are kept in touch with what happens in the organization and the changes that may occur in the course of implementing the strategic plan.
The innovation team is at the core of the innovation strategy for BBQF. This is because the innovation team plays a very important role in generating innovative ideas for the organization. One of the roles of innovation team at Best Beef is to generate ideas on the best agricultural practices that will be applied to help the company increase production of beef. For this to be achieved, the company has to come up with new ideas that will help farmers in Tarago catchment to increase the number of beef cattle they keep ( Radjou, Prabhu &Ahuja,2012). Some of the ideas that this team is expected to generate include the breeding of the cattle to improve the breed of cattle kept to increase production. The innovation team has to come up with innovative ideas on how to ensure environmental sustainability as the production is doubled over the next five years and beyond. The other innovation team also ensures that any necessary changes are made to the initial plan depending on changes in the external environment such as technology which may affect production.
BBQF exclusively depends on the cattle supplied by the farmers living in Tarago catchment and its environs. The innovation activities of the company, therefore, revolve around trying to increase the production by each farmer to meet the demand of the company in future. This must be done with the consideration of the environment being given utmost concern (.Galanakis, 2016) Most of the farmers in Tarago catchment practice small-scale part-time rating of beef animals. Most farmers keep between three and twelve cattle. The land that is used is limited since more than two third of the land is forested and hence only 40,000ha are available for agricultural use. This section highlights the scheduled activities and the cost that the activities are expected to incur on the company;
|
Activity/Item |
Estimated budget($) |
|
New technologies |
3,400 |
|
Breeding of animals |
1,700 |
|
Feed safety and occupational health |
900 |
|
Value addition of products |
4,200 |
|
Environmental conservation |
800 |
|
Consultancy and advising farmers |
1,100 |
|
Veterinary services and medicines for cattle animals |
800 |
|
Quality assurance |
1,300 |
|
Supply chain management |
1,700 |
|
Marketing and advertising |
2,100 |
|
Agreement with forest authorities for grazing land |
1,800 |
|
Total |
19,800 |
If the innovation strategies are implemented successfully, the company stands to benefit to a great deal. One of the ways in which the company will benefit from the innovation project is that the production volumes will increase. The increase in production volumes/output will result in an increase in the revenue for the company, and the profit margins will rise. The brand name of the company will grow with the implementation of these strategies since the company will produce high-quality products and compete throughout the country. The company may become the best brand in the country and start exporting these products to other countries and hence increasing the value of the company (Botten, 2009). The community will benefit directly from the implementation of these strategies since it will result in farmers’ incomes increasing after they stock more animals. The company is also going to support the farmers in getting high quality feeds at fair prices and in improving their breeds as well as in veterinary services. The strategies will also contribute to social and economic development in the region.
To realize the benefits of the society have been achieved, indicators such as improvement of living standards of beef farmers in the society, increase in their disposable income hence resulting in changing in lifestyle. The benefits of the company can be measured by reviewing the financial reports of the company to establish whether or not the revenues and profits of the company have improved (Angwin, Cummings& Smith, 2011). Innovation can be maintained through making the community own the project through involving them in decision making and ensuring environmental sustainability of the project.
The following are the recommendations for BBQF regarding the innovation strategies;
The company should sign partnership agreements with farmers to help encourage farmers to stock more animals since they are the main source of raw material for the company.
BBQF should drill boreholes and increase vegetation in the forest to increase water supply at the Tarago catchment and hence ensure sustainability of the project.
Source for more suppliers outside the Tarago catchment locality
Adoption of latest technology in farming of beef cattle to help increase efficiency in the firm and hence maintain low prices for the companies` products.
Increase factory capacity to ensure that processing goes on smoothly.
Ensure safety and health of products by encouraging farmers to use organic fertilizers on the animal feeds to ensure that the output is of high health standards.
Conclusion
The innovation strategy plan provides the company with a framework and a path to follow to help the company meet its performance objective of doubling the output of the company within the next five years. BBQF will agree with the farmers in the community. The company will offer support services such as veterinary services, breeding and provide high quality feeds to farmers. The company will also buy some animals from outside the Tarago area to address any shortage that may arise on the way. The paper discusses the innovation options available and the selection process of the options evaluated. The report also discusses the model to be used in implement the strategies. Additionally, the report examines the timeline of activities and the budget required to carry out these activities. The final section of the report evaluates the expected benefits of the strategies and gives recommendations to the company.
References
Angwin, D, Cummings, S., &Smith, C. (2011). The strategy pathfinder: Core concepts and live cases. Chichester, wiley.
Bennett, D. and Jennings, R. (n.d.). Successful agricultural innovation in emerging economies.
Botten, N. (2009). E3 – enterprise strategy: Strategic level. Oxford, U.K, cima publishing/elsevier.
Climate change: Beef farming brings on warming. (2015). Nature, 524(7565), pp.269-269.
Crocombe, A. (2006). Dairy and beef farming. Port Melbourne, Vic.: Echidna Books.
Galanakis, C. M. (2016). Innovation strategies in the food industry: Tools for implementation. Http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?Direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&an=1144788.
Garnaut, R. (2011). The Garnaut Review 2011. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Improving agricultural knowledge and innovation systems. (2012). Paris: OECD.
Kubankova, M., Hajek, M. and Votavova, A. (2016). Environmental and social value of agriculture innovation. Agricultural Economics (Zem?d?lská ekonomika), 62(No. 3), pp.101-112.
Larsen, K., kim, R., &Theus, F. (2009). Agribusiness and innovation systems in Africa. Washington dc, world bank.
Li, D. and Zhao, C. (2009). Computer and computing technologies in agriculture II. New York: Springer.
Meyers, R. (2012). Encyclopedia of sustainability science and technology. New York: Springer.
Poppe, K. J., &Termeer, C. J. A. M. (2009). Transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food chains in peri-urban areas. Wageningen, wageningen academic publishers.
Radjou, N., Prabhu, J. C., &Ahuja, S (2012). Jugaad innovation: Think frugal, be flexible, generate breakthrough growth. San francisco, ca, jossey-bass.
Simons, l. (2017). Changing the food game: Market transformation strategies for sustainable agriculture.
Technology and innovation report. (2010). New York: United Nations.
Verbeke, A., &Merchant, H. (2012). Handbook of research on international strategic management. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar.
Vogeler, I., Vibart, R. and Cichota, R. (2017). Potential benefits of diverse pasture swards for sheep and beef farming. Agricultural Systems, 154, pp.78-89.
World bank. (2012). Agricultural innovation systems: An investment sourcebook. Washington, d.c., world bank.
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