Telecommunications sector leads the innovation ranking

While it may not come as a surprise that the telecommunications industry is viewed as top of the innovation ranking and industrial electronics comes in last, it is surprising to see the automobile industry take second place. Almost 48 per cent of the 248 respondents said that industrial electronics was the slowest innovator, followed by the medical & wellness sector (over 27 per cent) and the automotive sector (just under 24 per cent). In comparison, the telecommunications sector is considered to be particularly innovative. This is according to a survey conducted by Fujitsu Electronics Europe (FEEU) at this year's electronics trade fair electronica.

In the age of industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things, innovation has only become more important. Pressure is increasing as companies have to continually develop innovative solutions in order to remain competitive. Almost 45 per cent of the surveyed visitors believe that with a strong technology partner and ideal market transparency, they can speed up their development projects by up to 50 per cent. More than 20 per cent expect an acceleration of up to 80 per cent under these conditions.

Three central innovation barriers were identified in the survey: the first is lack of transparency. Nearly half (47 per cent) of respondents said that there is insufficient information about which technical solutions are right for innovative products. In addition, the interviewees also identified the existing technological and cultural hurdles as a key obstacle. 37 per cent said that new solutions often fail due to a lack of the right technological solution or a lengthy development cycle. In addition, a further 35 per cent see the integration of different markets as well as other cultural difficulties as the factor which most often prevents innovation.

FEEU’s trend survey at electronica shows that the requirements for distributors are changing. Consulting services are becoming more important for the technical components. This is vital because delivering the right solution to customers at the right time ensures transparency and allows companies to shorten the development cycle for new products. This also enables technological hurdles to be overcome more quickly as distributors can pass their expertise from other projects on to their customers as part of the consulting service.

Axel Tripkewitz, president and managing director of Fujitsu Electronics Europe, says: "We see a clear development for distributors, from a simple parts supplier to an innovation consultant and accelerator. At Fujitsu Electronics Europe, we are well positioned to eliminate our customers’ barriers to innovation. This is because for us, value added means that we closely follow our customers' projects and offer the right solution from our portfolio according to their requirements. In doing so, we rely on best-in-class instead of on-the-mill solutions. With our linecard synergies, we make a significant contribution to the acceleration of innovation: our solutions combine synergies - from development through to production. Our experts are involved throughout the product life cycle and help to break down technological hurdles. Through our global supply chain, we also offer short delivery times and the best possible availability so that our customers can operate at optimal levels across every market.

Fujitsu Electronics Europe, alongside its partners and suppliers, exhibited at booth number 425 in hall B1 at electronica 2016. While the electronic fair took place from November 8th to 11th in Munich, the company took the chance to ask 248 visitors for their opinion on innovation. The outcome is not representative and readers should regard it as a trend barometer for the electronical sector. The respondents answered questions on innovation, the different market sectors and the acceleration of projects.