Innovation and Commercialisation Report: Strategies for M&S Success

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of innovation and commercialisation strategies, specifically focusing on Marks & Spencer (M&S). The introduction defines innovation and its significance, emphasizing the role of innovation managers. Task 1 explores the importance of innovation for M&S, including responding to competition and trends, continuous improvement, and establishing a unique selling proposition, and contrasts innovation with invention. Task 2 delves into the 4Ps of innovation (Product, Position, Process, Paradigm) and the innovation funnel, alongside an examination of frugal innovation and its application for M&S, highlighting cost reduction and market expansion. Task 3 discusses the commercial funnel, and the application of NPD for the commercialisation of innovation, including the importance of attracting and converting customers and the innovative business case. Finally, Task 4 addresses tools for protecting and retaining intellectual property. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and provides a list of references.

INNOVATION AND
COMMERCIALISATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................4
P1 Innovation and its importance for Marks & Spencer.............................................................4
P2 Role of Vision, Leadership, Culture and Teamwork of Marks & Spencer in shaping
innovation ...................................................................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P3 4P's of innovation and innovation funnel...............................................................................7
P4 Development in frugal innovation and its utilization for Marks & Spencer..........................8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Importance of commercial funnel and the application of NPD for the commercialisation of
innovation....................................................................................................................................8
Innovative business case for an organisation............................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
Tools organisations can use to protect and retain intellectual property....................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Organisations always try to enhance their growth and success of business. For this, the
marketers make changes in their products and services by observing the current situation and
demand in order to fulfil the requirement of existing market and these changes are termed as
innovation. In order to modify the products and services the features and functions of the offered
products and services also gets updated in this process (Hassan and Batool, 2019). For this, the
innovation manager plays an important role in order to generate innovative ideas regarding the
develop the products. Apart form this, the innovative manager is responsible of the
commercialisation of the products and services. Commercialisation is a process which is used in
order to introduce or launch the new product in the market in order to provide new products
easily to them and they can purchase it. For this, the effectiveness and efficiency of the new
product development innovation and commercialisation gas been illustrated by the Marks &
Spencer which is a British multinational retailer and headquarter in Westminster, London.
Company is specialised in selling the high quality clothing, home and food products. The
importance of product development includes various strategies and models which need to be
deliver and to upgrade their products offerings also highlighted the importance of enlisting the
performance of the existing competitors.
TASK 1
P1 Innovation and its importance for Marks & Spencer
Innovation is defined as conversion of new ideas or processes into finished goods or
services. Developing products which are fresh and adding value to company and for the
customers, for which they want to pay is the main motive of innovation (Chen and
Vanhaverbeke, 2019). It is a phenomena which is beneficial when it mix up with creativity.
Innovation involves high range of risk with it but if works properly it can bring competitive edge
towards company.
Invention on the other hand is development of entirely new product which do not have
any existence in marketplace and nobody ever thought of it. Invention takes place when any
fresh idea an individual had is changed into finished good or service and introduced to
consumers for the first time. Invention involves lot of research and development cost and a very
long process.

Importance of Innovation for Marks & Spencer
Innovation is a very important element and plays vital role for organisations, it opens new
doors for companies to explore and enables them to penetrate in market faster along with
developing effective connections (Giones and Brem, 2019). For innovating a company should
have some features like risk taking attitude, accepting challenges and being proactive.
Importance of innovation is described below in context of Marks & Spencer:
1. Responding to competition and trends- The main objective behind innovation is keeping
the pace up with the current changing trends and for fighting competition. Therefore,
Marks & Spencer have to be very innovative as it deals in fashion industry where trends
change everyday. Company's professionals have to be creative introducing new designs
of clothes and accessories and attracting more and more public.
2. Continuous improvement- Another, importance of innovation is it helps organisations to
improve continuously and effectively for betterment (Hameed, von Staden and Kwon,
2019). This regular changes are compulsory to take place in Marks & Spencer as
competition is increasing aggressively and for facing it entity has to change it ways and
processes.
3. Having unique selling point- Competition is on its peak in the current economy, many
substitutes are available in marketplace. To resolve this issue companies has to be
innovative. Marks & Spencer is a fashion brand which has to be unique from its
competitors to be and for that they have regularly innovate until they achieve their aim of
being unique from others in market.
Difference between innovation and invention
Basis Innovation Invention
Aim Innovation takes place for adding
more value to the existing products
and services.
On the other hand, aim behind
invention is to provide consumers
something entirely new and fresh.
Occurs Innovation occurs when company
feels that they are lacking behind
from others.
Invention takes place automatically
when a fresh idea pops in mind of
professionals and they develop it
into a new finish product for

satisfying needs of customers.
P2 Role of Vision, Leadership, Culture and Teamwork of Marks & Spencer in shaping
innovation
Innovation is a factor by which company can achieve goals and be more productive.
Several internal components are there which can help entity to be more innovative in nature and
become efficient earning better profits (Hohenberg and Homburg, 2019). These factors of Marks
& Spencer are discussed as follows:
Vision statement of firm reflects the ultimate goals and the processes or ideas on which
company is established. Therefore, it plays crucial role in shaping innovation as vision statement
is a guide for members working in Marks & Spencer. They will follow vision statement and if it
reflects innovative feature then employees and other parties automatically be very innovative and
creative.
Leadership is the style or manner in which manager of company lead the staff and the
leadership styles Marks & Spencer leaders adopts can shape innovation (Kadir and Shamsudin,
2019). Marks & Spencer leaders should themselves be very innovative while performing their
duties. Also, they should invite new ideas and opinions of their subordinates in decision making.
This will motivate them to speak out loud their ideas which are new and can be beneficial for
Marks & Spencer.
Culture refers to the way company works and the atmosphere it created for the
personnels. Culture defines the attitude and manner by which entity works Marks & Spencer
culture should be flexible promoting innovative ways of performing tasks. Then it will enable
organisation to be very innovative bringing new products and attaining competitive edge along
with increased market share.
Teamwork is a phenomena which promotes the environment in which individuals work
together as one for obtaining common goals (Latif and et. al., 2019). It is always better to involve
more smart expertise minds in one idea to be effective and to attain objectives before time. This
way innovation can take place in Marks & Spencer on a very fast rate providing more benefits to
company.

TASK 2
P3 4P's of innovation and innovation funnel
Innovation mix or 4P's of innovation model is given by John Bessant and Joe Tidd. This
technique enables organisations to identify what value innovation can bring to it. It has four
elements which are explained in context of Marks & Spencer as follows:
Product factor relates to asking questions to production and designing departments about
how they can make improvement in their products (Chen and Vanhaverbeke, 2019). Marks &
Spencer design and development teams can suggest various ways for betterment and innovation
which can add value in customer satisfaction.
Position refers to the target market, here company can revise its target market according
to the company's offerings (Li and et., al., 2019). Marks & Spencer can develop strategies to
shift their target market or innovate in their positioning plan by which they can attract more
customers.
Process is the manner in which company operates and that can be modified, innovation
can take place in processes as well. Marks & Spencer can innovate a new process which is more
effective and less time consuming, saving lots and lot of costs and resources.
Paradigm refers to the business style of company, innovative methods of conducting
business activity can bring more customers and these changes can be in business model.
Innovation Funnel
Funnel innovation is a process of developing and distributing products or services which
are innovative in nature. Its a mechanism by which Marks & Spencer can provide appropriate
innovative goods to its customers. It has three parts which are as follows:
The mouth of the funnel- At this stage company take all possible suggestions and ideas
from internal and external sources. This is done to increase the knowledge and sources of data to
have n number of ideas by which innovation can take place (Liu and Lyu, 2019).
Narrowing the funnel- This is the next stage where company sort all the collected data
according to them and in relation with the business operations.
Narrowed part of funnel- This is the last stage where all selected ideas are analysed and
evaluated to see if they match with the aims and objectives of company.

P4 Development in frugal innovation and its utilization for Marks & Spencer
A process of frugal innovation promotes the idea of redesigning and providing cheaper
goods to those who faces affordability issues and gives functional solutions. Procedure of frugal
innovation includes identifying and developing business structure which is new, accordingly
assembling value chain of redesigned products for serving to larger market in affordable price.
This innovation technique used for targeting bottom or lower level of population and then moves
upwards offering and benefiting to higher levels (Ratten, 2019). Main aim of this process is
lowering trhe production cost through redesigning operations for covering wider range of
customers. The concept of frugal innovation is based on the idea that the good manufactured by
through this process are giving similar benefits to the customers with low cost.
Usefulness of frugal innovation for Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer is dealing in fashion industry which is changing and becoming expensive
every day on a very fast scale, people now wants goods which are cheap and fashionable. Marks
& Spencer can make use of frugal innovation technique to design and sell products which are of
cheaper rates. By doing this they can target lower market segments, attracting them and
increasing their customer base (Hassan and Batool, 2019). Also, market presence of Marks &
Spencer will increase, earning huge profits and gaining productivity. Providing affordable goods
to people will enhance the reputation of Marks & Spencer in global market increasing the market
share of the company. Marks & Spencer position will also enhance and it will gain better
reputation in minds of people as they are providing them affordable goods which are trendy and
fashionable.
TASK 3
Importance of commercial funnel and the application of NPD for the commercialisation of
innovation
Commercial funnel is also termed as the sales funnel and it is a process which helps the
companies in order to generate more modification and involve customers in the company. There
are many factors which should be consider by the company in order to exaggerate their
customers as it is important for their business to achieve success and growth.
Attract: It is a process which helps in maintaining the proper source which helps in
attracting new customers and investors. Here, it include many factors such as investing,

reviewing and paying proper attention to the feedback of their customers. The products of the
company can be developed by analysing these factors and it helps in attracting more customers
for their future purpose. In the context of Marks & Spencer, they can share their success story on
its website or social media which is useful in order to disclose their unique strategy as it helps in
dragging the attention of their customers.
Convert: It is a process which helps in converting the strangers to the known customers.
For instance, customers seek offer on the clothes and for this, Marks & Spencer can provide
discount in order to attract more and more customers which helps in increasing their sales and
gaining number of customers at the time of launching new product in the market.
Close: It include those activities which should be measured by the company. As it helps
in providing the information about the desire of the customer as they want to continue the
relation with company or not.
Delight: It is a process which helps in providing the satisfaction level to the customers.
By providing the excellent services to the customers, Marks & Spencer can provide proper
satisfaction level to their respective customers. As a clothing and retail fashion industry,
company should maintain this process in order to update its offerings which helps in satisfying
the needs and demand of their customers.
New product development process
NPD is a process which helps in identifying the various methods as it is important in
launching the new product or service in the market. This process is developed in order to
increase the sales of the company and building the new customer base of their new product. The
various stages of the new product development are described as under:
Idea generation: In order to produce new product in the market it require an innovation
which is based on the need and requirement of their respective customers. This step focuses on
the present requirement of the generation and in the context of Marks & Spencer they produce
products on the basis of the demand of the youth and their respective customers.
Concept definition: In this step company tries to specify their new product to its
respective customers. Marks & Spencer use this step in order to showcase their new product in
front of their customers. Product differentiation can be adopted by the company and as a result
they can show themselves for their unique product.

Market analysis: This step depicts that before launching any product in the market,
company need to analyse and identify the market and its condition. For this they need to do
proper research which should be identified in order to eliminate the risk factor. In the context of
Marks & Spencer, they also need to identify the target market for them which is depend on the
demand of their customers.
Product development: This step is done after analysing the market and its condition and
depends on the research as it is helpful in order to design the product. Development of product is
done on that basis by which they can easily attract more and more customers.
Testing Product: This step include the testing of product and it is done on the basis of
sampling and taking feedbacks of customers.
Commercialisation: It includes the exhibition and representing the product in the market.
It is done after testing, here product is launched in the market in order to increase its sales and
growth of the company.
Innovative business case for an organisation
Executive summary: Marks & Spencer is a British multinational retailer whose
headquarter in the Westminster, London. Company deals in high quality clothing, home products
and food products. It is founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. Company
currently has approximately 959 stores in UK which include approximately 615 in the food
products.
Vision and mission: For their new product, their vision is to provide hike to the industry
which helps in the accomplishing the various objectives such as provide a tough competition to
their competitors, inspire the emotions of customers and many more. Their mission is to acquire
the more and more market segment which helps in developing their brand image and reputation.
Problem: Marks & Spencer is currently facing lot of competition in the industry despite
of providing wide range of products to its respective customers. Its offerings are of very good
quality which is the fabric spray who has good quality fabric and features as it unique in the
market but still facing lot of problems because of its cost as it is very expensive to launch in the
market. In order to survive in the market, they need to make proper plans and policies by
considering various dimensions.
New product launch: Marks & Spencer is currently launching the spray fabric which is
inspired by the Aerosol technology and it is designed by the British designer Manel Torres'. It is

a product which is sprayed by other person on a light cloth and it is re-wearable and recyclable.
This product which they launch is new and innovative for them as there are many clothes in the
market but it is different as it is a spray fabric. Its features are as follows:
4. The most important feature of this product is that it is re-useable and recyclable and
unique in the clothing industry as Marks & Spencer is currently using product
differentiation strategy.
5. This product is good and worthy in summers as it is made up of aerosol technology who
are the solid particles of liquid droplets which helps in keeping cool and its fabric is good
for the skin.
Sources of funding: Marks & Spencer need various sources of funding in order to launch
its product in the market which helps in acquiring the new market. Their requirement of funding
is fulfilled by the various sources such as bank loans or crowd funding and many more which are
discussed as under:
Bank loan: It is most common way of funding which is used by the businesses or large
companies. Banks provide medium and long term finance which helps in growing the business.
Banks decide the rate of interest, repayment timing, amount to be repaid and period of loan after
discussion with the client.
Crowd funding: It is basically, using small amount of funds from large number of population to
finance business activities and specially new businesses. Some restrictions are their like whom
are allowed to fund new business and how much they can invest.
TASK 4
Tools organisations can use to protect and retain intellectual property
There are many tools which are present in market for protecting, retaining and developing
intellectual property, these methods are very helpful for Marks & Spencer to be safe and to
reduce threat of imitation. Patents: These are used by companies to keep their new technology, invention, idea or
any innovative goods protected from imitation. Marks & Spencer can use patents to make
their new designs of clothes or any fresh product safe from other as its very easy
nowadays to imitate goods. Patents will give Marks & Spencer sole rights to use that
design of their clothes for particular period for which patent is issued. Marks & Spencer

can also renew its patent after it expires but they have to be attentive and informed about
its time period. Copyrights: Most organisation take copyrights for their goods, Marks & Spencer can
also use it for keeping their attractive promotional ideas and images safe. Copyrights are
used to keep the images, words and ideas of packing, webpages and the label of products
safe. These are not very expensive to get your products copyrighted, companies just need
to go to registrar and in some time goods get the copyright. Marks & Spencer can also
charge fee if any other competitor or business copy their products packing or any
copyrighted good.
 Trademarks: Marks & Spencer do not have this much time to waste on performing
duplicating tasks and for that they can get their brand trademarked. It is a tool which
protects the brand, because the name of products is its sole identity by which people
recognize it. If that name is used by some other company it will hinder the reputation of
Marks & Spencer products. Consumers gets confused with same names and can not see
any difference in them, causing huge harm to company and its goodwill. Therefore,
Marks & Spencer can use trademarks to keep their product name intact, by which only
their products are described and identified in market.
CONCLUSION
From the above information it is concluded that innovation is important in order to
achieve success in the business environment and helps in bringing uniqueness in the existed
offerings. This report depicts that the determination of innovation and its importance in the
business environment and also the comparison is done between the innovation and invention. It
also explains the organisational vision, leadership culture and teamwork in order shape the
product. Moreover, the developments are taken for the frugal innovation and NPD is made for
the processing of the commercialisation of innovation. A business case is also made in order to
access funding also use different tools which is used in order to develop, retain and protect the
knowledge of intellectual property.