2015 global industrial hand protection technology innovation … · 2015. 9. 22. · industry...

2015

2015 Global Industrial Hand Protection Technology Innovation Leadership Award

BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH

© Frost & Sullivan 2015 2 “We Accelerate Growth”

Contents

Background and Company Performance ........................................................................ 3

Industry Challenges .............................................................................................. 3

Technology Attributes and Future Business Value ..................................................... 3

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 6

Significance of Technology Innovation .......................................................................... 7

Understanding Technology Innovation .......................................................................... 7

Key Benchmarking Criteria .................................................................................... 8

Best Practice Award Analysis for Ansell Limited .............................................................. 8

Decision Support Scorecard ................................................................................... 8

Technology Attributes ........................................................................................... 9

Future Business Value ........................................................................................... 9

Decision Support Matrix ...................................................................................... 10

The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards ..................... 11

Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 11

Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices ................................................................................................................. 12

About Frost & Sullivan .............................................................................................. 13



Background and Company Performance

Industry Challenges

The global industrial hand-protection market is highly fragmented. With growth in end-

user industries and increased safety awareness, Frost & Sullivan points out that the global

industrial gloves market recorded significant growth - particularly in the cut-protection

segment. Cut-protection gloves have become a basic requirement for all kinds of work

groups; for instance, Level 1 and 2 cut-protection gloves are a commodity, as most

mechanical and thermal gloves are required to have a minimum of Level 2 cut-protection

capabilities. In contrast, Level 3 to Level 5 cut-protection gloves have formed a growing,

niche segment. The latest trend is the growth of Level 5 cut-protection gloves, as users

seek better cut-protection.

Within the cut-protection segment, the main end-users are the automotive, machinery,

and metal fabrication sectors, which together account for 80% of the demand for cut-

protection gloves. Workers in these industries require a higher degree of cut protection.

Traditionally, as the level of cut-protection increases, gloves become thicker, resulting in

diminished dexterity and comfort. Furthermore, with continuous use, the gloves start to

wear out, become uncomfortable, and result in hand fatigue. Frost & Sullivan notes that

this reality has a direct impact on the productivity of workers and results in lower

compliance. In addition, end users have expressed a need for thinner gloves that workers

can comfortably use throughout the day, without having to replace or remove them. As a

result, there is a continuous demand for gloves that offer more comfort, durability, and

abrasion-resistance properties. To meet these needs, the type of yarn used to knit

different levels of cut-protection gloves is the key factor that will determine the

effectiveness and market success of these products.

Technology Attributes and Future Business Value

Product Impact

Ansell s a global leader in industrial hand protection and introduced a new range of

HyFlex® cut-protection gloves using its innovative INTERCEPT®™ Technology™ yarns.

Ansell introduced its new INTERCEPT™ Technology™ as a product development platform to

manage its current and future cut-protection innovations. The INTERCEPT®™ Technology™

is a proprietary cut-resistant yarn technology that provides the ideal balance of comfort,

protection, and dexterity. Moreover, the special-knit construction creates a soft,

comfortable yarn that optimizes the gloves’ fit and feel while providing excellent cut

protection

Ansell launched the INTERCEPT®™ Technology™ with a whole new suite of eight light- and

medium-duty gloves under the HyFlex® portfolio. These lightweight and ultra-light styled



gloves offer EN (European Standard) cut-protection levels of 2, 3, 4, and 5. The light-duty

products are also nitrile-coated and have 2.5 times more breathability when compared to

other cut-protection gloves. Furthermore, these gloves not only provide cut-protection,

but also provide all day comfort to workers, thus enhancing compliance. The INTERCEPT™

Technology™ gloves are also designed to decrease injury expense, without reducing

productivity or quality. The gloves also provide cut protection, abrasion resistance, grip,

tactility, and dexterity. Four styles are new to market introductions offering cut protection

with higher degrees of comfort than is currently in the market.

Frost & Sullivan appreciates the fact that Ansell has a unique knowledge base of many

core technologies, such as cut resistance, abrasion resistance, grip, and manual dexterity

parameters. Moreover, these technologies incorporate end-user insights and are coupled

with great design and efficient manufacturing to provide breakthrough products to their

customers. For instance, the HyFlex® gloves are tailored using the ®heir ZONZ™ Comfort

Fit Technology of open-weave zones and knit designs; this technology used around the

knuckles and areas of high stress to enhance hand comfort. Some of the gloves are also

nitrile- or Polyurethane-coated using the proprietary FORTIX™ Abrasion Resistance

technology. This coating formulation offers the gloves eight-times more durability than

similar lightweight gloves; in addition, these coatings are silicone free. This is particularly

advantageous to the automotive industry, as it enables users to avoid any hazardous

substance during the painting process. As such, these gloves clearly have a user-friendly

focus. The gloves also incorporate Ansell’s patented, gripping-surface technology that

minimizes the force required to grip wet and oily surfaces, thereby reducing hand fatigue.

Furthermore, when Ansell’s INTERCEPT®™ Technology™ is combined with other proprietary

technologies, it only enhances the product leadership position of Ansell. The new HyFlex®

gloves have shown consistent performance in their ultralight weight styles and have

redefined cut-protection innovation. The Ansell INTERCEPT®™ Technology™ is built to

provide superior comfort and protection. Moreover, Frost & Sullivan agrees that this

solution is unique to the market and highly differentiated.

Visionary Innovation

Ansell, being the market leader, places significant emphasis on understanding customer

needs. For instance, the company performs thorough customer research and visits

customer plant-sites to understand the worker environment and needs. To achieve a more

effective understanding of demands, the Ansell GUARDIAN® analytics are applied. The

Ansell GUARDIAN® prograqm is a customer-centric diagnostic methodology, whereby the

customer’s needs and safety requirements are analyzed, and a product solution

assortment is devised to increase safety and improve productivity and business

performance.

Ansell also conducted hundreds of global audits at client sites and performed assessments

in different applications to properly understand the needs of the customer. These needs



were then addressed by engineers working in different Ansell R&D laboratories across the

globe. The goal was to develop a unique composition of fibers for the yarn and provide

the highest levels of comfort and dexterity - thereby exceeding the benchmark set by

other competitor yarns and providing a better value proposition.

The INTERCEPT®™ Technology provides extremely lightweight gloves that fit almost like a

second skin, making it comfortable for the worker to throughout their shift. In addition,

these gloves offer the best combination of comfort and safety, thereby enhancing the

productivity of the workers.

Using this technology, Ansell has produced a proprietary yarn and re-engineer other cut-

protection gloves in their portfolio. This technology has enabled Ansell to serve the needs

of the market and has also provided the company with a distinct advantage over the rest

of its competition.

The new range of HyFlex® gloves with INTERCEPT®™ Technology is a comprehensive

portfolio solution for customers and end users around the world. The designs are

grounded in user insights , while the quality ensures glove safety and compliance

Application Diversity

The INTERCEPT program is grounded in market intelligence about global industry demands

for more comprehensive cut protection solutions. The program targets high volume

applications in key vertical markets where cut risks are known to drive product selection

and where Ansell has intimate segment and work process knowledge. Cut-protection

gloves can be used in a wide variety of applications. Although every application requires a

certain degree of cut-protection, the main users are the automotive, machinery and

equipment and metal fabrication sectors. Within these industries, the work processes that

require cut-protection the most are final assembly, metal stamping, and body press .

These gloves also find applications in aerospace, glass manufacturing, transport,

construction, and other manufacturing sectors. The HyFlex® gloves withINTERCEPT®™

Technology™ are designed for the core-work processes of these industries. These

extremely thin and lightweight gloves also enable day-long wear, thereby improving

compliance by increasing comfort and dexterity.

Industry Impact

INTERCEPT®™ Technology combines high performance fibersinto a high-performance

yarn. It combines the superior properties of the different fibers and provides optimum

protection for workers.

The gloves are designed to provide high levels of dexterity, such that they can be worn all

day long. This enhances the comfort, productivity, and protection of the workers, thereby



increasing wearer acceptance of cut-protection gloves. This, in turn, reduces the chances

of hand fatigue and costs associated with hand injuries.

Frost & Sullivan firmly believes that the Ansell INTERCEPT®™ Technology is a game

changing enhancement in the cut-protection segment. Frost & Sullivan expects this

solution to boost hand protection and support enhanced productivity at the workplace and

increased compliance

Brand Loyalty

Ansell is an undisputed global leader in protective gloves. For industrial hand-protection,

Ansell has always been on the forefront of technological advancements. With its

INTERCEPT™® Technology, the company has raised the bar in terms of providing cut-

protection solutions. Ansell introduced the INTERCEPT®™ Technology with their globally

recognized brand, HyFlex®, which is among the most-recognized industrial brands for

hand protection. By engineering this new innovation into its flagship brand, HyFlex, Ansell

has been able to successfully launch its innovative solution in the global market. However,

despite a highly fragmented market where it is difficult to gain brand loyalty, Ansell has

admirably maintained its leading brand position and is growing its market share.

Technology Licensing

While developing its new INTERCEPT®™ Technology, Ansell established the notable goal to

exceed the benchmark set by its other competitors to provide better value. Ansell’s

patent-pending INTERCEPT®™ Technology provides cut protection and the ideal balance of

comfort, protection, and dexterity for its end users. This new technology also marks

Ansell’s first venture into developing a new yarn technology; it has also opened a bigger

opportunity for the company through supply-chain simplification, as the backward

integration in yarn technology has provided Ansell with the opportunity to re-engineer

other cut protection gloves using its own proprietary yarns.

Conclusion

Frost & Sullivan applauds the fact that Ansell is a highly committed provider of industrial

gloves, and the company’s success in this industry clearly demonstrates its innovations.

Ansell has continuously pioneered exciting new breakthroughs in the industrial hand

protection market. With each new innovation, the company has also proven its

commitment to work place safety and customer satisfaction. Through the INTERCEPT®™

Technology, Ansell has introduced a product development platform for future innovations

in the cut protection market.

With the strong overall performance of the INTERCEPT®™ Technology, Ansell has earned

the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award.



Significance of Technology Innovation

Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon finding new ways to excite the

market, and upon maintaining a long-term commitment to innovation. At its core,

technology innovation or any other type of innovation can only be sustained with

leadership in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, and

differentiating from the competition.

Understanding Technology Innovation

Technology innovation begins with a spark of creativity that is systematically pursued,

developed, and commercialized. This spark can result from a successful partnership, a

productive in-house innovation group, or the mind of a single individual. Regardless of the

source, the success of any new technology is ultimately determined by its innovativeness

and its impact on the business as a whole.



Key Benchmarking Criteria

For the Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts

independently evaluated two key factors — Technology Attributes and Future Business

Value — according to the criteria identified below.

Technology Attributes

Criterion 1: Industry Impact

Criterion 2: Product Impact

Criterion 3: Scalability

Criterion 4: Visionary Innovation

Criterion 5: Application Diversity

Future Business Value

Criterion 1: Financial Performance

Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Criterion 3: Technology Licensing

Criterion 4: Brand Loyalty

Criterion 5: Human Capital

Best Practice Award Analysis for Ansell

Decision Support Scorecard

To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance

categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool

allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to

the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that

basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation;

ratings guidelines are illustrated below.

RATINGS GUIDELINES

The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Technology Attributes and Future

Business Value (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the

definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team

confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which

confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a

significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies.



The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the

interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players

as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3.

DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION LEADERSHIP AWARD

Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent)

Technology Innovation

Technology

Attributes

Future

Business Value Average Rating

Ansell 9.6 9.4 9.5

Competitor 2 8.3 8.5 8.4

Competitor 3 7.5 7.7 7.6


Criterion 1: Industry Impact

Requirement: Technology enables the pursuit of groundbreaking new ideas, contributing

to the betterment of the entire industry

Criterion 2: Product Impact

Requirement: Specific technology helps enhance features and functionality of the entire

product line for the company

Criterion 3: Scalability

Requirement: Technology is scalable, enabling new generations of products over time,

with increasing levels of quality and functionality

Criterion 4: Visionary Innovation

Requirement: Specific new technology represents true innovation based on a deep

understanding of future needs and applications

Criterion 5: Application Diversity

Requirement: New technology serves multiple products, multiple applications, and

multiple user environments


Criterion 1: Financial Performance

Requirement: High potential for strong financial performance in terms of revenues,

operating margins and other relevant financial metrics

Criterion 2: Customer Acquisition

Requirement: Specific technology enables acquisition of new customers, even as it

enhances value to current customers



Criterion 3: Technology Licensing

Requirement: New technology displays great potential to be licensed across many sectors

and applications, thereby driving incremental revenue streams

Criterion 4: Brand Loyalty

Requirement: New technology enhances the company’s brand, creating and/or nurturing

brand loyalty

Criterion 5: Human Capital

Requirement: Customer impact is enhanced through the leverage of specific technology,

translating into positive impact on employee morale and retention

Decision Support Matrix

Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard,

analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to

visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at

best-in-class levels.

DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION LEADERSHIP AWARD

High

Low

Low High



Ansell

Competitor 2

Competitor 3



The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best

Practices Awards

Research Methodology

Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research

methodology represents the analytical

rigor of our research process. It offers a

360-degree-view of industry challenges,

trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of

Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies.

Too often, companies make important

growth decisions based on a narrow

understanding of their environment,

leading to errors of both omission and

commission. Successful growth strategies

are founded on a thorough understanding

of market, technical, economic, financial,

customer, best practices, and demographic

analyses. The integration of these research

disciplines into the 360-degree research

methodology provides an evaluation

platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at best-

in-class levels.

360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN

THE CHAOS

Technology

Obsolescence

Disruptive

Technologies

New

Applications

CEO

Demographics

Needs

and

PerceptionsSegmentation

Buying

Behavior

Branding

and

Positioning

Competitive

Benchmarking

Emerging

Competition

Competitive

Strategy

Capital

Investments

Availability

of

Capital

Country

Risk

Economic

Trends

Crowd

Sourcing

Growth

Strategies

Career

Development

Growth

Implementation

Industry

Evolution

New Vertical

Markets

Industry

Expansion

Industry

Convergence

Emerging

Technologies

Smart Cities

Sustainability

New Business

Cultures

GeoPolitical

Stability



Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching,

Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices

Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate Award candidates and assess

their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the Awards are

based on close adherence to this process.

STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT

1 Monitor, target, and screen

Identify Award recipient candidates from around the globe

• Conduct in-depth industry research

• Identify emerging sectors • Scan multiple geographies

Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all best-practice criteria

2 Perform 360-degree research

Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline

• Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners

• Assess candidates’ fit with best-practice criteria

• Rank all candidates

Matrix positioning all candidates’ performance relative to one another

3 Invite thought leadership in best practices

Perform in-depth examination of all candidates

• Confirm best-practice criteria • Examine eligibility of all

candidates • Identify any information gaps

Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates

4

Initiate

research director review

Conduct an unbiased

evaluation of all candidate profiles

• Brainstorm ranking options

• Invite multiple perspectives on candidates’ performance

• Update candidate profiles

Final prioritization of all

eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper

5

Assemble panel of industry experts

Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders

• Share findings • Strengthen cases for candidate

eligibility • Prioritize candidates

Refined list of prioritized Award candidates

6

Conduct global industry review

Build consensus on Award candidates’ eligibility

• Hold global team meeting to review all candidates

• Pressure-test fit with criteria • Confirm inclusion of all eligible

candidates

Final list of eligible Award candidates, representing success stories worldwide

7 Perform quality check

Develop official Award consideration materials

• Perform final performance benchmarking activities

• Write nominations • Perform quality review

High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees’ successes

8

Reconnect with panel of industry experts

Finalize the selection of the best-practice Award recipient

• Review analysis with panel • Build consensus • Select winner

Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria

9 Communicate recognition

Inform Award recipient of Award recognition

• Present Award to the CEO • Inspire the organization for

continued success • Celebrate the recipient’s

performance

Announcement of Award and plan for how recipient can use the Award to enhance the brand

10 Take strategic action

Upon licensing, company may share Award news with stakeholders and customers

• Coordinate media outreach • Design a marketing plan • Assess Award’s role in future

strategic planning

Widespread awareness of recipient’s Award status among investors, media personnel, and employees



About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth

and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's

Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined

research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation

of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages almost 50 years of experience in

partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment

community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit

http://www.frost.com.

2015 global industrial hand protection technology innovation … · 2015. 9. 22. · industry...

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