CNI: 83% of companies believe they need innovation in the post-pandemic.

Innovative solutions will be decisive to accelerate the resumption of activity and economic growth in Brazil after the pandemic of the new coronavirus, say executives heard in a study by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) commissioned by the FSB Research Institute. According to the survey, 83% of companies say they will need more innovation to grow or even survive in the post-pandemic world. The production line is indicated as a priority area to receive innovations by 58% of executives, followed by the sales area (19%). The research shows that 65% of medium and large companies had their production reduced or paralyzed due to the pandemic and 69% also claim to have lost revenues. For CNI Innovation Director Gianna Sagazio, the crisis tends to accelerate the development of innovations already underway. "The current context of the pandemic has made it even more evident for companies to invest in innovative technologies and, especially, in improving management methodologies," says Sagazio. The research reveals that sales were the most impacted by the pandemic, being cited by 57% of respondents. Then, the supply chain had 14% of the citations, and the production line, 8%. For the CNI, these figures reveal that "change has become imperative." Among the companies consulted, 68% changed their production process in some way, but only 56% of them consider having actually innovated after the change. Among the changes made in production due to the pandemic, the most cited concerns the relationship with workers (90%). Then there are changes in the production line (84%), in the sales processes (82%), in management (75%), logistics (62%), in the supply chain (61%) and inventory control (55%). The culture of innovation is already being practiced in most of the companies consulted, according to the survey, with 92% of them saying they innovate. Of these, 55% said that innovation greatly increased productivity. Companies in the Midwest, linked to agribusiness, were the ones that reported the most productivity gains (69%) due to innovations. But the budget to innovate is still a problem for companies. Among those who claim to innovate, only 37% say they have a specific budget for this and 33% have professionals dedicated exclusively to innovation processes. Executives who say they give medium or low importance to innovation pointed to the lack of resources and qualified personnel to innovate. The survey was conducted between June 18 and 26, with executives from 402 medium and large industrial companies, who were interviewed by telephone. CNI announces on Wednesday, 1, a partnership with SOSA, a multinational open innovation company. According to the entity, the agreement will enable industries and startups in Brazil to have access to SOSA's technology ecosystems in New York and Tel Aviv. According to cni, from this partnership, Brazilian companies will be able to participate in open innovation activities, technical recognition to encourage cases of immediate application.