DESIGN THINKING
87
INDUSTRIAL BAKING
Using design thinking to facilitate automation In a time when change is the only constant, bakeries need to generate new ideas at an increasing pace and solve challenges in a human-centered manner. One of these challenges is the successful implementation of automation in the production process of baked goods. In this chapter, I describe how design thinking could improve this change process in industrial-scale manufacturing environments.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for how automation can be introduced within every bakery. Each implementation rather requires several adjustments to leverage the optimization potential. Furthermore, successful change in a
complex, rapidly transforming environment requires a motivated workforce with sufficient leeway for responding to changes in a self-determined manner. Due to the VUCA environment, prefabricated blueprints for managing change are of limited use. For instance, due to changing customer preferences, such as more emphasis on healthy and sustainable goods, labeling food products becomes more important. However, introducing new labels might require a new quality management system. Thus, bakeries need agile approaches that iteratively integrate new insights into the solution process along the way. One of these new approaches is design thinking, a team-based method that relies on a defined process and takes human needs into account before developing a solution (Endrejat & Kauffeld, 2017; Norman, 2013). Initially created for product and service development (due to its participatory and iterative style), design thinking is also an agile approach to implement organizational change (e.g. Elsbach & Stigliani, 2018; Endrejat et al., 2018). In this chapter, I describe the design thinking mindset and process based on the challenge of “using automation to increase speed and efficiency of the
U S I N G D E S I G N T H I N K I N G TO FAC I L I TAT E A U TO M AT I O N
+
In a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, companies have to continuously adjust their existing processes to changing conditions. Otherwise, they struggle to strive and survive. For instance, comparing the Fortune 500 (the list of the most lucrative organizations in the U.S.) from 1955 and 2019 reveals that only 10.4% of organizations appear on both lists. Naturally, companies in the baking industry are not immune to potential disruption. Structural and technological changes in the baking industry have been (e.g. Storey & Farris, 1964) and still are subject to scholarly attention (e.g. Hecker et al., 2013). One significant innovation in this regard is the automation of processes. Automation is “the use of machines and computers that can operate without needing human control” (Cambridge Dictionary). Automation can optimize the baking and selling process, especially for consistent and repeatable services
