Driving Innovation: T&T’s Path to Global Competitiveness

In light of the unprecedented challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with exporTT and the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA), launched the Export Booster Initiative. This initiative is designed to accelerate internationalisation and promote exports. To achieve these two aims in increasingly highly competitive and dynamic global markets, local firms must continuously innovate and produce novel products and services to maintain a competitive edge.

Additionally, the TTMA recently acknowledged the arrival of Industry 4.0, marked by disruptive innovations such as smart machines, robotics, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. These innovations are driving change across various sectors, including manufacturing, education, finance, and healthcare. In this new environment, innovation is no longer an activity that companies can choose to participate in or not. It is now essential for growth and survival.

ISO 56001: Transforming Innovation Management In September 2024

The International Standardization Organization (ISO) published ISO 56001 as part of the ISO 56000 series. This document will revolutionise how innovation has been managed for the past 30 years. It provides a framework for developing an innovation management system (IMS) and is designed to continuously improve an organisation’s innovation capability.

These standards are not geared towards specific products and services but focus on cultivating the right culture, strategies, and systems within businesses of all sizes so that they can become more agile, adaptable, competitive, and resilient to cope with today’s business challenges.

These standards are based on eight key innovation management principles: realisation of value, future-focused leaders, strategic direction, culture, exploiting insights, managing uncertainty, adaptable structures, and a systems approach. These principles, detailed in ISO 56000, provide a solid foundation for the effective development and application of an IMS.

Innovation Powerhouses: Agostini Group and Carib Brewery

Several local firms in the manufacturing sector, such as Agostini Group and Carib Brewery Limited, have already established innovation departments. Agostini Group’s Innovation Lab has initiated various undertakings, such as an agricultural project to support VEMCO, a manufacturing and distribution group of companies, to increase import substitution and export expansion.

They also launched an internal innovation challenge to generate impactful ideas, resulting in an innovation pipeline. Their focus on innovation has led to an after-tax profit of TT$313.35 million in 2023, which was 64.2% more than the figure recorded in 2022.

Similarly, Carib Brewery has introduced an augmented reality series of labels, new product flavours, and a smart manufacturing line. Their smart factory has opened up capacity on two other production lines, one of which is used for export, which no doubt has supported their plans to launch Carib Beer in India by January 2025.

Other local manufacturers can draw from these models and enhance their production and export efforts by adopting the best practices outlined in ISO 56001. This could generate numerous benefits, including improved efficiency, stronger brand recognition, new revenue streams, and better responsiveness to customer demands. Implementing these practices can help position Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) firms as significant players in the global market and enable them to better mitigate the disruptions of the fourth industrial revolution.

A New Era for T&T’s Innovation Landscape

The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS), through its National Mirror Committee of Innovation Management, has adopted ISO 56001 as a national standard. This adoption signals the standard’s relevance to T&T’s economic growth and its alignment with global innovation practices. Implementing ISO 56001 will enhance Trinidad and Tobago’s innovation capabilities, helping local manufacturers to remain competitive in the global marketplace by fostering a culture of experimentation and collaboration. It will also align T&T with its key trading partners, who are expected to adopt this standard. Innovation is often embedded in business-to-business (B2B) contracts. Therefore, local firms will be able to demonstrate their capabilities and sustain long-term business relationships. The ISO 56000 series can be obtained from the TTBS at www.gottbs.com.