ResearChina

1
AmCham Shanghai Science and Technology Committee
Event
Best Practice Co-funded Corporate-Government
RD centers
Dr Ya Cai Director Unilever Research
China ya.cai_at_unilever.com
ResearChina ? ? ? ? ?
2
Unilever (????)
- Home Personal Care and Foods - Sales 48.3
billion - 70th (Fortune 2004) - 400 brands - 150
countries
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Unilever Global RD Network - RD is an
integrated part of Global Business - Annual
budget - 2.5 of NPS, totaling 1.25 billion
(2004) - 6,500 staff - 6 Global RD Labs (UK
x2, USA, NL, India, China) - Global / Regional
Technology Centres (category based) - Local
Product Development Centres (category based)
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RD Roles and Business Impact
Global R D Laboratories
Global Technology Centre
Regional Technology Centre
Local Development
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Unilever in China
1923 - Soap factory in Shanghai 1986 -
Returned 1st JV 1996 - 14 JVs 1999 - 3
Acquisitions 2001 - 4 Business units, 100
owned 2005 - Reorganised
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3 Stages of RD Evolution in China
Stage 1 - Basic formulation skills - Support
manufacturing Stage 2 - Product Development -
Gain competitiveness Stage 3 - RD
Capabilities - Drive new business opportunities
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We Must Succeed in China
- One of the largest consumer markets -
Economy is growing fast - Market size is
enlarging rapidly - Purchasing power is
rising - 2nd largest economy by 2015
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We Must Grow Faster
Bigger Volume Higher Margin
Brand differentiated
Product differentiated
Benefit differentiated
Technology differentiated
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Successful Business Model in China
Outstanding Branding
Breakthrough Innovation
Fast Sustainable Growth


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700 Multinational Companies Have Set up RD in
China An Incomplete List of Multinational
Companies ABB, Accenture, Ajinomoto, Amway,
Alcatel, AVL List GmbH, BASF, BEA Systems,
Bearingpoint Inc, Calsonic Kansei, Cisco,
Coca-cole, Danone, Degussa, Dell, Delphi Corp,
Dow International, DSM, DuPont, eBay, Ericsson,
Firmenich, France Telecom, GE, GlaxoSmithKline,
Hitachi, Honda, Honeywell, HP, Hyundai, IBM,
Intel, Kao, Keihin Corporation, Kodak, LG,
LOreal, Lucent, Matsushita, Microsoft, Motorola,
NEC, Nestle, Nifco Inc, Nissan Motor, Nissin
Kogyo, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Novo Nordisk,
Novozymes, Oracle, Panasonic, Pepsi, Philips,
Procter Gamble, Roche, Rohm and Haas, Samsung,
SAP, Schindler, Shell, Siemens, Sony, Synopsys,
Teling Manufacturing, Tetrapak, Toray, Toyo Ink,
Trelleborg AB, Unilever, Valeo Group, Volkswagen
GE - A global lab of 2,000 FTEs opened in
Shanghai Philips - A global RD Campus planned
in Shanghai
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Do World Class RD in China
We Must - Most competitive market - Fast changing
life style - Unique culture and social value -
Huge variations across the country - A
technology - oriented society - Competitors
apply the best innovations
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We Can - Good tradition of education / Esteem of
science - Governments strong support and
commitment - Abundant RD resources - 590
universities - 300 institutes - 3 million
undergraduates - 0.5 million postgraduates -
150k overseas well-trained scientists - Well
established academia - Leading capabilities in a
wide range of science fields - Excellent
infrastructure - Strong manufacturing and
supplying
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Our Vision
- Best Materials Research Lab in the World -
Traditional Medicine and Natural Actives -
Nano Technologies - Synthetic Materials - Most
Competitive Innovation Centre - Develop and
deliver big, bold innovations with quality, speed
and cost efficiency
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4 Keys to Successful Innovations
- Governmental support - People - Organization
- External Resources
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Key 1 - Governmental support
- Commitment - Policies -
Incentives - Joint RD Efforts
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Key 2 - People
- Selection - Appraisal - Career path -
Development - Retention
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Our Goal - The World Class Team
- Young and enthusiastic - Persistent -
Diligent and dedicated - Entrepreneurial -
Confident and proactive - Creative - Genuine
teaming spirit - Internationalised - Open,
trusted partner
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Selection
- Comptency and skills - A wide range of
sources - General and specific targets -
Comprehensive assessment - Overseas experience
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Appraisal
- Personal target - SAMRT - 3600 feedback -
Overall ranking - Bottom tier move-out
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Career Path
- Career most important - Managerial vs.
expert - Define as early as possible - Wider
range of experience - Create larger space -
Regularly review promotion
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Development - Focus on competency
- Training course - On-job training - Overseas
secondment - Coaching
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Retention
Not a problem !
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Key 3 - Organization
- A culture of delivery - A highly motivating
environment - Harmonised teams - Open and
transparent - Fair, just and trusted - Diverse
and individual value - Proactive engagement -
Risk taking - Feel like at home
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An Efficient Innovation Process
- Professional project management - Integrated
project team of multi-functions - Highly
flexible and pragmatic - Action-oriented -
Simple - Capability-driven vs. Project-driven
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Key 4 - External Resources
- Right partners - IPR Management - Keep on
track - Joint RD fund
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Three Steps towards Success
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We will be most competitive
- Noveler - Better - Speedier - Cheaper
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Thank You
Dr Ya Cai ya.cai_at_unilever.com