Innovations that go the distance
With much emphasis on a customer-first approach, one might start to wonder: To what extent does this focus inform our innovation journey? A large one, it turns out. By anchoring our thought process on real-user needs, solutions are built on the foundations of solving big problems—in a way never thought of before.
*Disclaimer: As of Oct 4th, the Environmental Science division of Envu was divested. Note that this content was produced prior to separation.
At the core of what sets ES apart lies the drive of a consistent forward momentum. Fueled by a people-first mindset, teams worldwide delivered on the promise of going the extra mile—quite literally—to truly understand every customer’s needs on the ground.
This hands-on, co-discovery of problems and challenges has enabled us to not only exceed customer service expectations. It also served as a launchpad for efficacious innovations closely based on actual use cases. Adopting an active listening approach is an essential first step. The game-changer is what we do with the insights gathered. How might we interpret and translate these insights into differentiated innovations for real-life impact? Innovation as a base strategy has enabled us to determine various pain points of outdated solutions and opened opportunities for new developments, as exemplified by the ES team from Malaysia.
What started as an on-ground customer engagement led Teck Peng Lee to quickly identify untapped potential in the rodent control space. “G1 rodenticides such as Warfarin were first developed in the 1960s, and they have not seen much improvements since,” said Teck Peng, Cluster Commercial Lead for ES Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei and ES Philippines, Hong Kong & Taiwan. “This presented a great opportunity for us to introduce our wax block formulation under the established Racumin brand.” Developed by ES scientists, Racumin utilises an active ingredient called coumatetralyl, which has a lower toxicity risk to non-target mammals and birds.
Strategic collaborations also played a key role in introducing this new formulation to the market. The ES team partnered with Sime Darby Agri Bio, tapping on its commercial expertise to market Racumin Wax (RWB) to all plantations in Malaysia as a sustainable and accessible rodent control solution. More than presence in the market, another key go-to-market strategy was continuous active customer engagement even during the post-purchase stages. “We actively visited plantations and conducted frequent field trials to test the product’s efficacy,” said Farouk, Market Segment Manager for Rural Hygiene, ES Malaysia. Customer engagement also included virtual appointments and private online training sessions. “Customers feedback that RWB significantly reduced damage caused by rodents within 3 to 5 rounds of application.”
From a broader perspective, innovations within the team seemed to also dovetail a bigger purpose. “Our vision at ES is to enable healthy environments for everyone, everywhere. RWB fits that vision because it has a lower risk of environmental contamination while protecting wildlife from secondary toxicity effects,” said Mark, Market Development Manager for ES Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. “Furthermore, the use of RWB for rodent control is in line with key RSPO guidelines* - whereby it complements integrated pest management whenever a biological control is used.
True innovation equals impact multiplied by market accessibility. By fluidly shifting from a customer-first, problem-solving process to an entrepreneurial mindset of market expansion, this is how ES will continue to break boundaries and set new industry trends in the long term.
* Refer to pages 15 and 16 of the RSPO Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Palm Oil Production – Criterion 4.5 and 4.6. https://www.rspo.org/file/RSPO%20Principles%20&%20Criteria%20Document.pdf