OCTOBER 2019 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
25
Although many vendors are well equipped to
deliver on the client’s ambitions, they often lack
the full range of engineering capabilities or the
commercial motivation to make it happen. And
by contrast, specialist engineering consultancies
usually have the necessary creative talents to
recommend improvements to existing process
equipment or to propose new approaches, but
can rarely progress these beyond conceptual
design or proof-of-principle, whatever they
might claim otherwise.
However, an eff ective collaboration between
the brand owner, its equipment vendor and an
engineering consultancy can deliver exceptional
and unexpected outcomes but these projects are
not without their own unique challenges.
Choose your partners wisely…
Collaborations can be destined for failure
if deliberate steps are not taken to ensure
commercial, technical and cultural alignment
between the both consultancy and the
equipment vendor.
Specifi cally, an equipment vendor is likely
to want to supply equipment as close to
iStock.com/Mauricio Graiki
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
they are the acknowledged
experts within the fi eld.
To avoid this happening, try
to select a consultancy with
the right team personality and
practical engineering credibility
to establish empathy with the
vendor’s engineers, and explore
their track record in working
in a collaborative manner
rather than risk tensions due
to perceived arrogance or
technical superiority.
Consultancies often
challenge the status quo by
putting forward new ideas to
challenge ‘this is the way it has
always been done’: sometimes
for valid reasons or as a method
of exploring the boundaries for
potential solutions. If this is not
handled sensitively then the
approach will simply alienate
the equipment vendor’s team
and build barriers rather than
existing product as possible
and to take the lowest risk
approach at all stages of
development. On the other
hand, the consultancy’s default
position might be to create the
most innovative new solution
to demonstrate their creativity
and innovative prowess.
It is essential to recognise
such potential mis-alignments
ahead of starting any project,
taking particular care with
partner selection, and bringing
the diff erent teams together
early to clarify their roles and
expected contributions.
… and don’t assume
alignment on day one
In addition, equipment
suppliers may feel threatened by
the involvement of an external
team, or overly defensive since
they feel, often justifi ably, that
Collaborative R&D projects can deliver
signifi cant results with everyone
working towards a common goal
/Mauricio
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk