The ORLEN Group’s innovation management model brings together all aspects of the Group’s strategy and the innovations themselves are understood to mean much more than development and implementation of new products or services. We pay attention to product, process and sales innovations. Projects of crucial importance are those relating to our current value chain. Because of the role of intellectual capital in modern economy, we put strong focus on advancement of staff skills and competence. We consistently build our team of experts, especially in the area of R&D, and develop a system to support our leaders. In addition, as part of the strategic development directions we chose to follow, we decided to create a strategic research agenda, deploy innovation acquisition tools (accelerator and CVC fund) and begin closer cooperation with startups.
The innovation strategy relies on external and internal innovations supported with an advanced management model. To stimulate external innovation, the ORLEN Group carries out projects facilitating cooperation as part of an external ecosystem of innovations, successful application of state-of-the-art commercial solutions and use of special tools for project implementation. Internal innovations mean streamlining of the technological and organisational processes, developing the portfolio of R&D projects, and tapping synergies within the ORLEN Group. PKN ORLEN is consistently pursuing its R&D strategy through the construction of a Research and Development Centre, expected to serve as a a platform for collaboration with the scientific and business communities.
The ORLEN Group supports a culture of innovation to fully benefit from internal and external innovations. Innovation is promoted as the desired attitude across the organisation, and the dedicated decision-making process for innovative projects ensures ability to flexibly respond to market needs. What is more, in 2019 projects were under way to develop a knowledge-based organisation and unleash the internal potential in order to foster culture of innovation. Examples include the continued in-house programme to support innovation among employees, intended to encourage our staff to put forward their ideas and to enable identification of highly-innovative solutions (ORLEN Insight – a knowledge-sharing platform, Opportunities Market – a project platform, an in-house platform ORLEN Idea, and a competition for the most innovative project of the year).