Innovation in Business

The report aims at undertaking a review of the different prospects of Woolworths in introducing drones in the supply chain networks in order to avoid situation of delivery delays. The different strategies that might be undertaken by the organization while introducing the technological innovation in the supply chain networks.

Running head: INNOVATION IN BUSINESS
INNOVATION IN BUSINESS
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Executive summary
The report aims at undertaking a review of the different prospects of Woolworths in introducing
drones in the supply chain networks in order to avoid situation of delivery delays. The different
strategies that might be undertaken by the organization while introducing the technological
innovation in the supply chain networks. On the other hand, the assessment also includes
different issues that might be faced by the organization and thereby frames strategies for
mitigating the same. The purpose of undertaking the research is based on the understating of the
feasibility of the application of drones in the supply chain networks of the organization.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Trends that are shaping the operations of Woolworths in Australia...........................................3
3. Creative thinking techniques for fostering individual and team innovations and issues.............4
4. Requirements for promoting sustainable approach and people involved....................................5
5. Devising appropriate means of knowledge transfer....................................................................6
6. Potential barriers and risks to innovation and strategies to mitigate the same............................7
6.1 Potential barriers that might be faced by the organization....................................................7
6.2 Strategies to mitigate the issues that might be faced by the organization.............................8
7. Communication with the stakeholders.......................................................................................10
8. Resources required for the innovation.......................................................................................10
9. Reflection on the innovation strategies......................................................................................10
10. Conclusion...............................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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1. Introduction
The different innovative practices that are undertaken by the organizations are based on
the criteria of improving the performance of the same through the smooth functioning of the
processes, which will help the businesses in achieving a competitive advantage. The key changes
that are undertaken by the organization are based on the assessment of the trends that are shaping
the demand of the customers in the specific markets. The identification of the trends helps
businesses in improving the processes as per the expectations of the customers. The discussion
will be undertaking the evaluation of the current practices that are undertaken by Woolworths
and the manner in which the supply chain operations of the business might be improved through
the introduction of drones in the processes. On the other hand, the different aspects of
innovations is being discussed as a part of the report in order to identify the feasibility of
implementing the innovation in the current practices of the business as per the assessment of the
trends in the industry.
2. Trends that are shaping the operations of Woolworths in Australia
The Australian customers expect a premium experience for the value that is invested by
the same for certain products and services. In order to cope up with the expectations of the
Australian customers, the businesses have undertaken different innovative practices in order to
enhance the competitive edge of the same while operating in diverse regions in the economy.
The growth of affordability of the customers through enhanced employability of the same has
resulted to enhanced expectations of the same. Paul Graham, the supply chain manager of
Woolworths, held the view that the major trend that is shaping the organizational operations in
Australian markets is the presence of omni-channel, which has helped in enhancing the

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shopping experience of the customers (Boons et al. 2013). The retail organizations in the nation
has thereby taken steps to bring forth changes in the distribution channels and networks through
the utilization of drones over the primitive home delivery options in different regions of the
nation (Paraschiv et al. 2012). The induction of the strategic innovation will be helping
Woolworths in enhancing the operations of the same while operating in diverse markets. Most of
the customers expect on time deliveries which were affected through the utilization of different
road based transportation and shipping. It affected the shopping experience of the buyers
resulting to a degradation in the brand name of Woolworths in Australia. Therefore, Woolworths
is planning to utilize drones instead of other means in order to adhere to the ‘on time delivery’
expectations of the customers. The growth of the e-commerce businesses in the different regions
of Australia has induced high competition in the markets. Lee, Hwang and Choi (2012) stated
in a research that around 67% of the customers expect the organizations to provide on time
delivery of the commodities. Moreover, the customers are also of the notion that personalization
of the commodities and the manner in which they are delivered helps in enhancing their
shopping experience. Therefore, the major change trends that are faced by Woolworths are based
on the expectations of the customers.
3. Creative thinking techniques for fostering individual and team innovations and issues
The different techniques that might be considered by Woolworths are Brainstorming and
Creative Problem Solving (CPS). The different issues that are faced by the organization are
related to the untimed deliveries that have affected the reputation of the organization while
operating in the Australian markets. In a survey it has been found that more than 78% of the
customers holds the notion that untimed deliveries has affected their interests and their shopping
experience from Woolworths (Chen, Chiang and Storey 2012). Therefore, the organization

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might brainstorm an idea through the identification of the problem and choosing from among a
series of ideas. The problem that was faced by the concerned organization was related to the
inefficiency of the supply chain to deliver the products to the customers on the right time.
Therefore, the organization has chosen to utilize drones in order to support their issues and avoid
situations of delivery delays.
On the other hand, the organization might also undertake the Creative Problem Solving
model in order to identify the issue and thereby apply different recommended steps in order to
eradicate the issue that is faced by the same. The innovation that will be undertaken by the
concerned organization is to deliver the products to the concerned destinations through the
utilization of drones. It will be helping the organization in minimizing the costs of distribution
and operational costs that are incurred by the same (McKinnon and Onorato 2016). The
organization encouraged the involvement of the stakeholders in the innovation process that is
being planned by the same in order to enhance the chances of success. The involvement of the
stakeholders in the innovative process that is planned by the concerned business will be helping
the same in enhancing the operations of the business as per the expectations of the customers.
However, the organization might face an issue while undertaking the creative thinking methods
relating to the controversies ion the feasibility of the idea. The issue will be affecting the
organizational capability of undertaking a decision for implementing the change in the logistics
processes.
4. Requirements for promoting sustainable approach and people involved
The organization is required to facilitate a sustainable approach in order to maintain the
efficacy of the operations as per the expectations of the customers. Rao, Gopi and Maione

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(2016) stated that the sustainable approach of organizations helps the same in designing the
processes in a manner, which will suit the interests of the customers. The implementation of
drones in the supply chains of the organization will be helping the same in enhancing the
operations while operating in diverse international markets. The sustainable approach of the
organization will be helping the enterprise in maintaining the efficacy of the operations while
adhering to the needs of the consumers. Vergouw et al. (2016) stated that the sustainable
approach of the organization will be helping the same in enhancing the operations of the same
through assessment of the market trends. On the other hand, the sustainable approach of the
concerned business will help the same in enhancing the chances of achieving a competitive
advantage over the competitors. The different stakeholders that will be involved during the
change will be the management itself, the distributors and logistics manager, the investors and
the customers. Park, Zhang and Chakraborty (2016) stated that the active involvement of the
stakeholders off the business in the change processes will be helping the same in enhancing the
operations of the same. Therefore, the change that is being planned by the organization is based
on bringing forth modification in the supply chain operations through the introduction of drones.
5. Devising appropriate means of knowledge transfer
The organization must take steps to make the stakeholders aware of the operations of the
same while the business rephrases the logistic processes through the introduction of drones.
Harrington (2015) stated that knowledge transfer in organization helps organizations in
maintaining the efficacy of the processes through induction of thorough knowledge of the
business processes. The organization will be taking steps to initiate different training and
induction sessions with the employees in order to make them aware of the functioning of the
drones. The training that will be provided by the organization will be helping the same in

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empowering the activities of the employees as per the sustainable objectives of the enterprise.
Hugos (2018) stated that the development of the organizations depends solely on the
development of the workforce to work on the objectives of the business. The key changes in the
operations of the business will be focusing on the development of an interface and modification
in the supply chain operations of the business. Therefore, training the employees will be helping
the organization in introducing the same to the changes in the supply chain networks and
logistics to facilitate the smooth functioning of the workforce.
6. Potential barriers and risks to innovation and strategies to mitigate the same
6.1 Potential barriers that might be faced by the organization
The organization might face different challenges while introducing the drones in the
supply chain networks and logistics of the same. The section will be focusing on the
identification of the different issues that might be faced by the business.
Resistance from the workforce due to job cuts- The organization might face resistance from the
side of the employees relating to the job cuts that will be undertaken by the same through the
implementation of drones in the supply chain networks of the business. The introduction of
drones in the supply chain networks of the business will make various posts invalid. Therefore,
the workforce might fear that their jobs and interests are at stake for the interests and profitability
of the business. The stiff resistance from the workforce might hamper the smooth functioning of
the different departments, particularly the ongoing supply chain networks. On the other hand, the
different distributors with whom the organization collaborated for undertaking the distribution of
the products might also resist to the change in the supply chain, which will affect the ongoing
functions of the business (Wright, Sturdy and Wylie 2012).

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Resistance to the training that will be provided by the organization- The training that will be
provided by the organization might seem to be useless and waste of time and resource to the
employees resulting to their resistance to the induction process. It might affect the smooth
functioning of the business as per the objectives of the same.
Costs incurred by the organization while shifting their supply chain to drones- The
organization might encounter a hike in the innovation costs or the research and development
(R&D) expenses. The initiating costs that might be faced by the organization might be affected
through the lack of financial capabilities of the business.
Resistance from the investors- The investors invests with the proper understanding of the
profitability of the idea as per the business model. However, the lack of proper understanding of
the profitability of the business might result to resistances from the side of the investors. It will
be affecting the smooth functioning of the business processes as per the objectives of the same
in bringing forth innovation in supply chain networks.
Implementation failure- The organization is planning to introduce drones for bringing forth
changes in the supply chain networks. However, technological failures due to battery backup or
the incapability of the drone to lift the load will be resulting to an implementation failure, which
is one of the major uncertainties that are faced by the business (Goodchild and Toy 2018).
6.2 Strategies to mitigate the issues that might be faced by the organization
The section will be focusing on the different strategies that might be implemented by the
organization in order to mitigate the potential issues that might be faced by the same while
introducing the drones in the supply chain networks.

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Assessment of the capabilities of the organization- The organization might frame strategies in
order to assess the financial capabilities of the same while planning to introduce the drones in the
supply chain networks of the same. The developments in the organization will be based on the
assessment of the financial capabilities, as it will be helping the enterprise in facilitating the
smooth functioning of the project.
Negotiation with the stakeholders- The organization might take negotiation with the employees
and the investors in order to make them aware of the needs of the organization to bring forth the
modification in the processes (Nicholas and Carswell 2014). On the other hand, negotiation
with the employees will be helping the organization in undertaking the smooth functioning of the
processes.
Designing suitable training and framing alternative posts for the employees facing job cuts-
The organization might take steps to design suitable training and induction materials in order to
transmit knowledge of the new process of logistics that will be undertaken by the organization.
It will again support the sustainable approach of the business through the uninterrupted
functioning of the workforce (Jones et al. 2015). On the other hand, the organization might
create new job positions for the employees who will be facing the job cut situation in order to
retain the experienced workforce in the business and avoid situation of workforce resistance to
change.
Testing the technology before implementing- The organization might consider the testing phase
before implementing the drones on the supply chain networks. It will be helping the organization
in avoiding the situations of project failures and heavy financial loss.

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7. Communication with the stakeholders
The organization will be undertaking open meetings with the selected stakeholders in
order to make them aware of the different changes that are planned by the business. The
meetings will be helping the organization in encouraging the active participation of the
stakeholders in the business processes (Tavana et al. 2017). On the other hand, the enterprise
might also issue newsletters and send emails to the different relevant stakeholders in order to
make the same aware of the different modification that are planned by the business.
8. Resources required for the innovation
The innovation that will be undertaken by the organization will require a handsome
amount of resources for initiating the process and implementing the drones in the supply chains
and logistics units (Sundqvist 2015). The resources that might be required by the organization
are segregated into two definite divisions- Human resource and financial resource to boost the
physical buying activity of the drones. The human resource of the organization will be helping
the same in undertaking the smooth functioning of the processes as per the sustainable objectives
of the business (Bamburry 2015). On the other hand, the financial resources of the organization
will be helping the organization in boosting the capabilities of the same to afford the drones for
introducing the same in the business model.
9. Reflection on the innovation strategies
The innovation strategy that was considered by the organization will be helping the same
in introducing the sustainable approach through the smooth functioning of the supply chain
networks and logistics units. On the other hand, the strategy of introducing drones in the supply

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chain networks will be helping the concerned organization in avoiding the product delays, which
is one of the major concerns of the target customers of the enterprise.
10. Conclusion
Therefore, from the above assessment it can be concluded that Woolworths is planning to
introduce drones in the supply chain networks in order to avoid delivery delays and thereby
undertake a sustainable approach. The report focuses on the identification of the different
resources that might be required by the organization in order to bring forth the change in the
logistics department. On the other hand, the report also enumerates the different trends that are
faced by the concerned organization, which has resulted to the change that is planned by the
organization. The report also focuses on discussing the different issues that might be faced by the
same and the mitigation strategies that might be applied by the same in order to facilitate the safe
implementation of the project, considering the needs of Woolworths.

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