Innovating within your own company is hard enough: balancing the need for structured approaches, disciplined documentation and rigid protection of confidential information – all while trying to be unique, creative and an “outside of the box” thinker. It becomes easy to be distracted by novel technologies or raw materials; lost in “what ifs” and “why nots,” and losing track of the fact that business needs dictate a certain turnaround time for new technologies and an ever-evolving product line. Not only keeping up with the Joneses, but staying ahead of them.

All of a sudden, there comes an email from an old supplier friend or someone pitching new raw materials, and the question surfaces:  “Can we help you?” or “What if we work together?”

These questions are both frightening and refreshing. The thought of additional resources and talent expanding your capabilities, or the thought of joint development agreements, non-confidentiality agreements or the ultimate in frustration – litigation resulting from a split in the previously amiable arrangement.

In most industries, developing in a vacuum is simply not a good idea. Too many suppliers are involved in the end application for our customers. It is impossible to be naïve to the notion that we need help in making our products succeed. Sure, navigating the waters of cooperation can be difficult, but there’s just too much power in a properly executed collaborative project. If done right, innovation is not only win-win for both companies – it’s a win-win for your industry.

Collaboration within Flexographic Printing
In the printing world, the need for interaction among suppliers has never been more apparent. Just ask a printer undergoing some level of print performance issues. These issues can vary widely: dirty print, poor ink transfer, plate damage, registration issues, etc. Too often, as suppliers are brought in to help resolve “their” issue, it becomes a game of fingerpointing to absolve one’s material from the issue. It’s a plate problem. It’s an ink problem. No, wait, you aren’t cleaning your anilox roll often enough. While sometimes correct, it’s nevertheless frustrating to sit there and watch the game play out from the printer’s point of view.

Conversely, there are times where printers can bring in various suppliers who actually – wait for it – work TOGETHER to help resolve an issue. This is what should elevate our capacity as an industry. We all serve a common goal: to enable our customers to print better and ultimately grow the industry we serve. Although in-fighting is ugly and will not go away any time soon, this notion of successful supplier collaboration should be what we all strive for.

How do we at least start to foster this unicorn into reality? What are the key elements to make this happen? 

1. Define the target. A glossy term like “improve print capability” isn’t enough. For instance, successful collaborations MacDermid has been involved with centered on specific events, such as a seminar with a specific topic in mind, or a product development need. A reference point is new plate development for white ink print applications, and the methods used to optimize that print method and new plate utilization.

2. Define your test field. Every key development has its “alpha” and “beta” partners that allow one to extract real data that cements the laboratory experiments into reality. While smaller, more academic tests are critical, nothing beats a solid test location that can put your idea through its paces.

3. Establish the breadth of collaboration. This goes beyond “who does what,” though that is certainly an element of it. Besides a well-defined and documented understanding of who is bringing what capability and resources to the combined table, it is often worth discussing any additional resource needs up front. This may include an agreed upon test location (lab or alpha/beta), in addition to other common suppliers that may further the capability to reach the end goal of the project. Never be so focused on the nature of partnership to preclude additional help.

4. Foster the culture of collaboration. There are books on this subject, yes, but the point is being more of the day-to-day interaction with your collaborative partner, and the encouragement you provide your own employees to support the project. Keep your messages consistent, and keep the lines of communication transparent. Other internal projects always compete and should be kept as confidential as necessary, but never let the question of trust interfere with a successful collaboration.

5. Present a unified front.  The previous element is always difficult to completely pull off, but it is imperative for the sake of the project that the outward collaboration results be fully realized as collaborative. Share the credit. Agree upon the necessary marketing presentations or press releases. Do not let political strife, disagreements on the end targets, or any other potential areas of difference be made apparent to your test partners or the end customer(s). It only serves to undermine the hard work already completed.

The end results
Within MacDermid, we see collaborative partnerships as standing on equal ground with our internal initiatives as we seek to not only grow our own sales, but to grow the market we serve. Our partners can include customers, ink suppliers, press manufacturers, tape suppliers; in addition to, suppliers of doctor blades, anilox rolls, and other industry consumables or services. These types of collaborative project scopes can vary as discussed earlier, but the general categories we most commonly work with include the following:

• New market/application development: This area can encompass improvements in current processes, such as the “white plate” project, but also can expand to other print applications. For example, we maintain a high interest in the field of Printed Electronics and routinely work with co-suppliers and academic institutions to further “the cause.”

• Marketing/ promotional pieces: While this one seems simple on the outside - each party showcasing their capabilities, it does allow for the building of technical relationships to occur on a “non-critical” element, which can be a platform to greater things. We have succeeded in small pieces with industry co-supplier and customers alike, ranging from simple handouts to more elaborate pieces involving nearly a half-dozen partners for industry events like Labelexpo.  

• Technological evaluations: One of the advantages of building tight relationships with co-suppliers is the ability to test new technologies, or test new products in combination with their products. In some cases, we seek to push the envelope of known capabilities even further, or develop projects based on these technical evaluations.

• Seminars/Roadshows/Open Houses: Very recently, we completed several joint events with industry co-suppliers: equipment manufacturers, press manufacturers, and plate/consumable distributors. All of which resulted in priceless communication time with these co-suppliers and our customer base. In our case, the key to success aside from solid communication with our partner(s), was the selection of a focused theme that was customer-centric (such as productivity), as opposed to a series of commercial sales presentations. These types of events also force the evaluation of where your innovations are headed and what your message is or should be.

The bottom line is there are many reasons for collaborative innovation to occur, and many ways in which it can occur. For example; while marketing pieces may not be seen as an innovation, it can lead to innovative ways to produce them, or merely lead to more defined projects within the collaborative companies. To fully maximize the potential for collaborative projects to be successful, outside of the recommendations discussed earlier, the key thing is to remain open-minded and flexible to ideas and new opportunities that may arise during any collaborative effort.

Going Forward…. Together
The recipe for collaborative success is nothing earth-shattering. Elements such as communication, planning, etc. can be located in any bookstore or online class. The true key lies in attitude and execution, which are bound together. Anyone can put together a PowerPoint presentation or outline steps to a successful event, but to put together a successful collaborative project is altogether different. One must transcend the usual internal politics and personality conflicts, and blend different cultures and sometimes different languages, all with an easy “escape hatch” that is the simple fact that you don’t have to work in the same building with these teammates every day. It’s easy to get complacent and lose focus - that’s what makes collaborative innovation difficult to do well.

Collaborative efforts bring with them many advantages and difficulties, but capitalizing on shared resources, different viewpoints and experiences, all with a focused end goal, can be an extremely powerful innovation tool. Despite the disciplined tools that are required for successful internal projects, collaborative projects require an open mind and flexible mindset to allow for one to take advantage of the differences rather than fighting against them. In the end, a successful collaborator has to be easy to work with, yet committed and resolved in their approach. One should never under-estimate the “easy to work with” part.



Ryan Vest is Global Director of Innovation for MacDermid Graphic Solutions.