Innovation Management                                                     

 

 

BJC remains observant of the ever-evolving and increasingly globalized world, which is particularly driven through the advancement of technology and innovation, transforming the market environment, and shifting customer/consumer needs and demands, changing the way in which business and customers/consumers interacts. Beyond this, these technological advancements also impact the economy, environment, and people, including their human rights such as data privacy, right to express opinions, right to access information and right to access products and services. For this reason, to keep up with changing customer/consumer needs, companies like BJC must actively adapt business operations through the use of technology and innovation to identify, develop and implement new innovations.

Doing so will also allow BJC to contributes towards the development of the nation above and beyond the expectations of stakeholders, which may be in the form of improved efficiency and productivity, reduce operating expenses and increase profits for retailers, identification of new business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, which can help to promote competition and innovation in the retailing industry, and enhance customer experience, leading to increased customer loyalty and higher revenues for retailers, and safeguard BJC operations from negative impacts such as, job displacement, as increased automation and artificial intelligence can replace certain tasks and employee groups, risking it ability to product, deliver and serve customer daily needs efficiently, should it fail to appropriately adapt operations with technology and innovation.

 

Technology & Innovation Management Approach

 

Through the process of BJC’s operations, BJC is directly at risk of impacts from poor technology and innovation management, throughout the value chain, including the manufacturing and retail supply chain, and its relationship with various business relations, as it requires continuous development in order to remain competitive with To mitigate this, BJC has integrated technology and innovation as part of the corporatewide mission to deliver quality goods and services through innovative solutions, solidifying BJC’s prioritization of technology and innovation, and fostering an innovation culture throughout the organization.

 

Innovation Integration in BJC’s Strategy

 

 

 

BJC has integrated innovation through cooperate strategy by focusing on implementation of innovative projects, digital transformation, data analytics, online platform, and automatic tools through the innovation management in business unit, with the emphasis on the packaging and engineering business. The responsible team for implementing innovative project is the Research and Development department of each facility. This strategy aims to increase business’s competitiveness and to accommodate the fast-changing, uncertain, and complex competitive environment together with human resource management and financial stabilization to serve personalized customers’ expectation. Moreover, it aims to minimize the amount of time spent on non-essential task, limit human error, and reduce operating cost in the production process.

 

Definition: Innovation

Innovation is the creation, development and implementation of new products, services or processes, with the aim of improving operational efficiency, and effectiveness, allowing for the creation and development of new business opportunities, resulting in competitive advantage. 

 

 

BJC Innovation Working Group

 

 

A technology and innovation oriented corporate culture, is fostered through the establishment of a BJC Innovation Working Group, headed by the Vice President of the quality and innovation in packaging and engineering business. The group was established in 2016 to conduct research on the innovation for the glass business operations. The group eventually expanded to become BJC innovation and technology center and conducts annual meeting to gather information and communicate initiative ideas across the organization and strengthen operational efficiency and effectiveness in business operations, as well as to increase business opportunity. As a result, additional technical skills, which is useful for product and process development, are provided to the relevant parties for further development. Beyond innovation representative from each business, accountable for the following responsibilities.

 

 

To improve integration of technology and innovation throughout the organization, to surpass above and beyond past performances and expectations, the working group established the Research and Development Department at each operating facility, with the responsibility to develop and implement innovative projects, which fosters competitive advantage for BJC, enabling the company to meet modern customer and consumer needs in the new market environment. Furthermore, the research and development departments also aim to develop projects which improves the effectiveness and efficiency of employees, including time spend on tasks, limit human errors and minimizes operating costs in production processes.

 

 

Technology and Innovation at BJC

 

In 2022, BJC developed a new corporate wide strategy for technology and innovation development, which aims to increases emphasis on the utilization of technologies and innovation to enhance the efficiency of all employees throughout the value chain, enabling them to work better and produces superior products and services. This includes the development of superior packaging solutions for customers and consumers, increase atomization throughout the operation and development of new technologies in new operations. All new technology and innovation are developed with an objective not to replace valued personals, but instead as a tool in which employees utilizes to increase operational efficiency, resulting in a more seamless operation.

 

Research & Development Culture 

 

In 2023, BJC will keep promoting active research and development throughout all business operations in order to further establish a culture that values technological advancement and innovation. This will be done in order to further incorporate technology and innovation considerations into all business decisions. To achieve this, new products and/or services are going to be developed with the intention of meeting and exceeding the expectations of customers and consumers. These cultivated innovation cultures are recognized by both internal and external stakeholders, as evidenced by the recognition that K. Surasak Wannaparhun, Vice President of Quality and Innovation, participated in the 44th edition of the ASEAN Innovation Business Platform (AIBP) Conference & Exhibition 2023 as a speaker for the topic of Industry 4.0 for Sustainability. In his presentation, he discussed the evolution of industries to meet the new and rapidly evolving business environment, by utilizing technology such as the Internet of Things (IOT), Automation, Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 

In addition, the leader discussed the contribution that BJC has made to the national policy on Thailand 4.0 and the BCG Model. He emphasized how the innovative efforts of the company are in line with the goal that the country has for the progress of technology.

 

BJC Big C Intelligence Network

 

BJC Big C established the Intelligence Network (B2IN) to maintain competitiveness in the new market environment. The network, established by the Innovation working group in 2020, is a platform for all employees to share knowledge and innovative ideas with the potential to be developed into new processes, products or services, to meet customer expectations and demands. Shared knowledge and innovation ideas are communicated across the organization through the network, creating an open source innovation format. The platform fosters employees’ creativity to build initiative projects and to enhance competitiveness by learning and addressing the needs of customers in line with the value chain process. Innovation will facilitate market competitiveness and enhance profitability. The network focuses on the innovation process, transforming valid innovative ideas into applicable innovations as a showcase on innovation.bjc.co.th. From the establishment of B2IN, BJC could ensure a rapid and sustainable innovation source for future development. In 2020, innovative ideas have been submitted and are under assessment and review, which would be implemented in 2023.

 

 

 

In-house Research & Development

 

Following the integration of technology and innovation throughout the value chain, each respective supply chains continuously seeks to identify, develop, and implement appropriate technology and innovation to improve their respective products and services, one of which is the establishment and improvement of in-house research and development capabilities.

 

Rubia In-house Research & Development

The in-house research and development department at the Rubia Industries Limited (RIL) has longed been committed to continuously identify, and develop new products that meet the needs to consumers, offering consumers quality products, at a cost-effective price, which are delivered in a timely manner. Furthermore, RIL products are developed in accordance with both applicable domestic laws, regulations, and standards such as Cosmetic Products Under the Cosmetics Act, Candy and Chocolate Products under the Food Act, Hazardous substance Products under the Hazardous Substance Act, in addition to the product destination country and international standards such as GMP, HACCP, ISO9001, ISO14001, FSSC22000 and HALAL.

 

Innovative Tissues

Berli Jucker Cellox Co., Ltd (CPC) has longed been committed to develop the best tissue products to serve the needs of everyday customers. Through a combination of in-house research and development and use of existing technologies, CPC has continuously been able to develop and offer customers with superior tissue products above and beyond the normal expectations of customers and to surpasses products currently available in the market to meet their daily needs.

- Cellox: Softer product with more absorbent ability

- Zilk: superior softness

- Maxmo: More durable compared to other paper towel on the market

 

Technology and Innovation at Big C

In 2022, Big C developed a new corporate wide strategy for technology and innovation development which aims to integrates and utilizes technology as a means to connect all operations, enabling a more coherent operations to better serve all customers. This will allow Big C to keep up with the need and demand of modernized customers.

 

Big C Application

In order to optimize services to modernized customers, in 2021, Big C appointed Dr. Piyawan Piyapong as the first executive vice president of the Big C digital platform to over the newly established Big C Digital Business Unit, comprised of tech teams to develop its digital platform. In 2022, the team launched the “Big C PLUS” application to facilitates and enhance its online shopping services in Thailand, targeting to reach 5 million downloads in 2023, an increase from the 2.4 million current users. The new application is more efficient, convenient with improved speed for online and in-person shopping experience, in addition to improve loyalty program, enhancing Big C’s omnichannel commerce to meet customer needs.

 

The NEXT Hackathon 2023

Following the success of the NEXT Hackathon in 2021, in 2022, the NEXT Hackathon was continued and organized under the theme “Process to Innovation”. The company strives to develop and maintain competent workforce, Sustainable and Hackathon campaigns are created to provide employees with opportunities to show their abilities and pitch an idea to develop the Company’s products and services, to improve process for cost reduction and revenue increase.

As part of the "Big's SEED Talent Camp" 2023 project, BJC are not simply hacking into the organization's internal systems as we have previously done in the past. On the opposing hand, we make available space for young people to come and demonstrate their possible abilities. Under the topic of "How to deliver an environmentally friendly living experience with Big C?", the students got the opportunity to discover themself and gain expertise in the business world from our senior executives who have direct and uninterrupted industry experience.

More than 120 teams submitted a multitude of concepts for the competition. Out of these, a total of 30 teams have been chosen to participate in a competition for a prize exceeding 200,000 baht. The ultimate champion will be selected from this group of teams.

This extracurricular activity is specifically tailored for young people. We are prepared to demonstrate our complete capacity and abilities to all people. Participants enthusiastically participated in emotionally charged activities, deriving immense satisfaction from gaining new knowledge.

 

2023 "BEST BRAND PERFORMANCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA"

For two consecutive years, the company achieved the top ranking in the Hypermarket & Supermarket group. Recognizing the leader of a fully integrated retail department store that effectively engages consumers in the digital age, as demonstrated by their achievement at the 11^th Thailand Social Awards.

Big C consistently offers customers a satisfactory shopping experience by providing affordable prices and simple access to a wide range of products. We have implemented numerous social media platforms to cater to the clients' requirements and deliver the highest quality service. Simultaneously, it utilizes many platforms. Online, an echo enables us to listen to our customers' voices and enhance them. Establish service channels in order to facilitate current operations. Big C is a comprehensive retail mall that offers a wide range of shopping options.

 

Highlight Activities