"Innovation is now an imperative"

By Charlotte Connoley
  

Looking to the future I can’t help but feel optimistic having chosen a career path within the “food” industry. It seems hard to imagine horticulture will become redundant given the survival of the human race depends on obtaining energy in some form. I have no doubt much will change in regards to how we obtain this energy in the next 20 years, but unlike other products and services it is unlikely to become redundant altogether. 

On receiving our telephone book this year, I must say I was incredibly surprised that an edition was still printed given the use of online tools for acquiring this type of information these days. For millennials not only is the phone book a rather foreign concept but so too phone boxes, CD’s, DVD’s, video stores, landlines… the list goes on. 
A recent for sale ad for a Video Ezi shop made me think who would be brave enough to buy this business given the proliferation of Netflix, Lightbox and Apple TV? And I even understand SKY TV is losing subscribers as a result of these. 

Our mail is only delivered every second day now as the written or printed word has become less and less and even my husband who works in logistics pointed out that they see their competition as being 3D printers! Why import it when you could acquire the “template” online and print it here in NZ. 
With well-known fashion stores such as Pumpkin Patch and Kimberely’s closing their doors and the advent of Amazon across the Tasman we all have to consider the mortality of our businesses and if in fact we wish for a different outcome how we may achieve that into the future. 

Innovation is now an imperative for businesses to survive in our fast-paced world. You may have heard the saying “If you don’t change in time, you will be exchanged in time”. Innovation is not just about product or process improvement, but about how the whole company can prepare for the future. As a business we try to consider this with innovation around finance, warehousing, research and development and a range of other parts of our business. 

So, as we look to another New Year I wish you all a safe and happy holiday and a prosperous year ahead… and let’s see if we all receive a telephone book in 2018! 

Charlotte Connoley
Managing Director at South Pacific Seeds charlotte@spsnz.com 

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