SAMPAN GROUP

Innovation - in thoughts, processes, approaches and strategies has become an important critical factor for Sampan companies as they conduct their business in a world without boundaries. The objective is to develop new and relevant products and services and Sampan sees innovation as the means to achieve this

The Sampan group has adopted a three-pronged strategy to encourage and enhance innovation across business sectors and companies. The three key drivers are better communication and recognition of innovative ideas and efforts, facilities and initiatives that enable learning from other companies, and support for collaborative research and partnerships with academia.

Sampan Group Innovation Forum
Managed by Sampan Quality Management Services, Sampan Group Innovation Forum is a vibrant network connecting Sampan companies all over the world, stimulating innovative thinking and fostering collaboration and research. The forum organises a number of events and workshops and facilitates interaction between Sampan managers, innovation experts and academicians.

SGIF regularly invites academics and other experts in the field to conduct workshops and seminars which introduce new innovation concepts and tools and stimulate innovative thinking among Sampan managers. The experts include Clayton Christensen; Prof Henry Chesbrough of the University of California, Berkeley; Dr James Canton; Prof Julian Birkinshaw of the London Business School; Langdon Morris; and David Wittenberg.

The group has set up several platforms for collaboration on technology and innovation both within the Sampan ecosystem and with external organisations such as DuPont. The Sampan group invests in building outstanding research facilities and forging partnerships with academic and research organisations in order to encourage creative thinking and find innovative solutions that improve quality of life.

Bringing together technologists and researchers from different Sampan companies, SGIF undertook a technology mapping exercise, so that companies could gain by sharing their research and technology roadmaps, infrastructure, skills and competencies. Key innovation projects were identified where many companies could contribute. Subsequently, clusters have been formed, which are successfully working on several collaborative projects.