R&D is core to any and all nutraceutical ingredient manufacturers that strive to launch innovative, applications-suitable and scientifically substantiated products in the nutrition market. R&D works cross-functionally with a variety of departments – marketing, logistics, quality – to support, guide, and provide market-relevant ingredients to supplement, functional food, and beverage manufacturers.
Strategic growth and development drive internal R&D. Teamwork, collaboration, and a unified goal to successfully launch new, innovative ingredients are critical in bringing R&D in-house.
R&D is resource-intensive, and the size and aspirations of a company determine whether it should be in-house or external. Many organizations decide to outsource R&D based on a number of factors. However, we would like to focus on how to bring the R&D in-house, once the decision to do so has been made, whether as an entirely new function or a transfer from an existing externally sourced program.
There are numerous reasons to bring R&D in-house:
-
Greater control over proprietary knowledge that would be generated from the research and a reduced risk of information leak
-
Protection of existing know-how and a greater degree of freedom to convert the know-how to
-
Benefit of cross-functional interface with R&D and resulting insights drawn from collaborative effort
-
Knowledge management is less complex without the need for information protection protocols, such as external NDAs and knowledge transfer agreements
If you believe there is a need to bring R&D in-house, detailed and careful planning is critical to establishing an internal R&D function. Several crucial steps should be considered.
If you are transferring, start with the following two activities:
- Develop and execute a well-defined knowledge transfer with clear definitions of ownership when shifting from an external partner to internal R&D
- Understand the factors which made the external partner successful, such as systems and practices, and carry them in-house
Once you’ve decided to start, the following steps are important:
- Determine deliverables expected from R&D and develop strategy to achieve these goals
- Identify resources required to achieve set deliverables, including personnel, expertise, systems and procedures, and infrastructure
- Establish clear, realistic timelines associated with each step in the process and initiate and follow a monitoring system to ensure that unforeseen issues are resolved efficiently and the process moves along as planned
- Integrate R&D into organization with clear direction and market understanding
The benefits of cross-functional innovation are countless. Building in-house R&D is as complicated to execute as it is lucrative. Establishing this in-house team must be strategic and carefully planned before you start this transition. True success will lie in the team’s expertise combined with clear direction and understanding of market needs.