Case study
Ansell’s success in innovation and new product development: from complexity to clarity and impact
Ansell is a global leader in safety solutions and an integrated manufacturer of personal protection equipment for healthcare and industrial workplaces. Each day, over 10 million workers in more than 100 countries use Ansell brands such as HyFlex®, GAMMEX®, BioClean®, MICROFLEX®, and AlphaTec®.
IfM Engage supported Ansell in streamlining its innovation processes and accelerating new product development. It applied a structured and agile approach to product innovation planning via roadmapping, helping Ansell to develop a coherent pathway for new products and technologies leading to future growth.
In the webinar ‘Leveraging Innovation and Technology Frameworks for Strategic Impact‘, Paul Tierny, VP Mechanical Business Unit, Ansell, shared his experience of working with IfM Engage and the benefits and impact of working with us. Key highlights from the webinar are included below including timestamps for quick reference.
Delivering Value
Between 31 minutes and 34 minutes of the webinar Paul highlights some of the financial impacts they have seen from the roadmap.
- One of the biggest successes so far linked to the roadmap is that the 12 products they have launched so far account for over $100 million dollars in new product sales
- In the fiscal year that has just finished they launched over $50 million of new products directly linked back to the roadmap started in FY21
- The biggest selling new product development in high flex history was a direct output of the work on the key drivers for the roadmap.
Cultural and Organisational Impact
During the webinar, Paul reflected on some of the broader cultural and organisational impacts of the roadmapping project delivered in collaboration with IfM Engage.
Employee voice and engagement – 🎧 Listen from minute 25:
Paul highlighted that a significant challenge for Ansell, given its diverse workforce which brings a wealth of varied perspectives, was achieving alignment on projects. A key objective of the roadmapping initiative was therefore to ensure that all voices across various functions were heard equally. This commitment to giving every individual involved in the innovation process a say was a crucial improvement, laying the groundwork for more cohesive and effective development.
Enhanced Strategic Clarity and Focus – 🎧Listen from minute 32
The roadmapping process is as important as the actual roadmap. For Ansell, it was really about having a clear guideline on what they were going to focus on — but, more importantly, on what they were not going to pursue. Paul explains that’s where accountability within the process became much clearer, providing greater clarity on current priorities and what would come next.
Transition to a Holistic and Coherent Approach – 🎧 Listen from minute 50
Paul also explained that one of the most significant changes in the organisation as a result of the work has been a notable shift towards a more holistic approach. Previously, the culture had been focused on developing individual products, often in silos. However, he highlighted that the emphasis had since moved to creating families of products that could make use of shared technologies, leading to much stronger cross-functional alignment across the organisation.
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