Coming out of COVID-19, companies want—and need—to innovate. But too few are ready to rise to the challenge. A tour of this year’s 50 most innovative companies underscores the power of commitment and readiness. Start with Pfizer (number 10), the innovation story of the year, along with Moderna (number 42) Apparel and fashion companies such as Adidas (number 34) adopted fully digital design processes to shorten time to market and support effective collaboration in a year of mostly remote work. Target (number 18) and Walmart (number 23) benefited from deep investments in e-commerce and omni-channel capabilities to handle spiking demand. Amazon (number 3) rode consumers’ desire for safe online shopping and fast home delivery to new heights. Tmall (number 14), JD and Pinduoduo, China’s largest eCommerce platforms continue to set the benchmark for present and future global retailing: Driven by its mobile-first consumer behaviour, innovative social commerce model, and a trusted digital payments infrastructure. eCommerce is the clear growth story.
COVID-19 concentrated UTG’s management’s attention on a number of critical issues. First and foremost was costs, but then we quickly looked at broader needs affecting our company’s future, such as digital and omni-channel transformation and customer relevance. We recognize that that innovation’s power to drive advantage is more important than ever.
Source: BCG Global Innovation Survey 2020 and 2021.