Unilever joins Nouryon’s Imagine Chemistry (The Chemical Engineer)

Unilever joins Nouryon’s Imagine Chemistry (The Chemical Engineer)

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Knowde Take: Green, sustainable and innovative…what’s not to love? Nouryon’s 3rd annual Imagine Chemistry challenge brings together start ups, scaleups and other partners like personal care powerhouse, Unilever, in an effort to accelerate innovation and create value for customers. Interested in entering the challenge?  Don your thinking caps and bring your small particle solutions to the table.  You’ve got until March 8th!

NOURYON has launched the 3rd edition of Imagine Chemistry, a collaborative challenge which aims to accelerate innovation in chemistry. The chemicals company has also expanded the scheme’s partnership to include Unilever and other organisations.

Through Imagine Chemistry, Nouryon works with startups, scaleups and other partners to advance sustainable innovation. Winners work with Nouryon as equal partners to bring their ideas to market.

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The Chemical Industry Is Innovating (PwC)

The Chemical Industry Is Innovating (PwC)

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Knowde Take:

We’re excited to see that chemical producers are looking to adopt a long-time trademark of successful B2C companies: Innovating to optimize customer experience.  We agree it is critical to maintaining a competitive edge in the highly fragmented and increasingly commoditized chemical industry.

In our work with chemical companies, we see the critical impact of innovation close up every day. Why is innovation so important? It helps chemical companies address their customers’ challenges.

Chemicals innovation is helping the industry’s customers get more productive and more sustainable. Ultimately, it’s having a profound impact on the daily life of consumers. Nearly every good manufactured—96%—is touched in some way by chemistry.

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Digital Transformation In Chemical Industry Is Here (World Economic Forum, Accenture)

Digital Transformation In Chemical Industry Is Here (World Economic Forum, Accenture)

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Knowde Take:

The World Economic Forum and Accenture collaborated on this truly comprehensive paper on the many ways that digital technology will impact, improve and challenge the chemical industry as well as the frequent disconnect between the understanding and acceptance of the benefits of digital vs. the execution of effective digital initiatives.

Digital transformation is emerging as a driver of sweeping change around the world. Connectivity has shown the potential to empower millions of people, while providing businesses with unparalleled opportunities for value creation and capture. The Chemistry and Advanced Materials industry played a leading role in previous industrial revolutions, through its products and innovations, in areas such as pharmaceuticals, plastics and consumer electronics.

Today, the Chemistry and Advanced Materials sector is an important enabler of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Its contributions allow other sectors to turn ideas and innovations into sophisticated products supporting digitalization. But the industry itself is also being transformed through digitalization. Digitalization helps increase productivity and safety across the industry’s value chain and supports the design of new offerings.

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Chemicals Industry Getting Ready For Next-Generation B2B (Accenture)

Chemicals Industry Getting Ready For Next-Generation B2B (Accenture)

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Knowde Take:

This article from 2015 nicely summarizes the reasons why it is imperative for the chemical industry to provide an e-commerce experience that meets the needs of today’s buyers who are shaped by their experiences as consumers.  We’d love to know what customers think about the progress made over the last few years…

In the chemicals industry, electronic business-to-business (B2B) interactions between buyers and sellers typically rely on tools and techniques that have been in place for years.

Those tried-and-true approaches work, and they have brought greater efficiency and speed to transactions between companies and their business customers.

However, things are changing. Soon, the industry’s current approach to B2B—which traditionally focuses on sales transactions— may not be enough. Evolving technology and business practices and the changing expectations of chemical-company customers are quickly raising the bar for the industry’s B2B practices.

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Digital In Chemicals: From Technology To Impact (McKinsey)

Digital In Chemicals: From Technology To Impact (McKinsey)

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Knowde Take:

We love the way this article includes the impact of digital technologies on the markets served by the chemical industry.  Remaining relevant means continually evolving to meet the needs of your evolving customer base.

What are the major opportunities from digital in chemicals, and what must leaders do to capture them?

There is a lot of excitement about the potential of digital1 in chemicals, just as there is about digital across society in general. We believe that digital will have a significant impact on many areas of the chemical industry, with the potential to change value chains, lead to higher productivity and more innovation, and create new channels to market. Given all the excitement about digital, it is essential to separate the substance from the hype and carefully evaluate what this will mean for the industry.

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