Research and Development Prototype Creation
4 So, what is the indirect solution? Oh, fertilizing is
not only chemical, but also need microbe Liwang, 2015”
The research in group P3 and P4 needs more time to get results; it cannot finish just in a year. But the research is still important because it
can solve the fundamental problems in the industry.
5
There is also a less urgent aspect, for example, how to make the plant more efficient? It needs a long time
sir. The research needs years from beginning until get the result Liwang, 2015
The research priority is used as a base for the RD department to conduct their research. Which problems need to be solved in the short term
and which ones for the long term.? What kind of resources is needed for the research, do they already have it? Or do they need to make
collaboration with other parties to solve the problems? Thus, matrix priority is very important for the company to optimize their resources.
Furthermore, research in the palm oil industry has moved from the first generation of innovation, technology push, into the third generation of
innovation, the coupling model. Based on Rothwell 2003, the coupling model is a combination of technological capabilities and market needs. It
can be showed from their strategy that divides the period of research based on urgent and less urgent. Urgent research is usually based on the problem
in the market both internal and external, while less urgent research is a combination both the market problems and providing new technologies.
Furthermore, the coupling model has a gate in every stage of activities. It is used to determine the output already meets the requirements or not. If
the result is already satisfactory, it will be brought to the next stage. If the result does not pass the requirements, the stage must be repeated. The
strategy helps the company to minimize big failure in the last stage because a failure in the beginning stage is better rather than in the last
stage.
Furthermore, dividing the research into two groups based on period, short and long period, is a good strategy for conducting the research. It
will produce innovation that solves both the urgent and less urgent problems. Finally, If we compare the strategy described above with theory
from Rothwel 1994, The strategy to develop innovation in the company is similar with the third generation of Innovation. They do not only
conduct research to solve the problems from the market but also produce new technology to improve the quality of products.