Bureaucracy is the biggest barrier to innovation. Manufacturers are banging the drum about the need to get new ideas to market faster, but they are still constrained by the organizational layers that block their ability to build a process around idea generation.

In Managing Automation’s annual Innovation Reader Poll, 38% of the respondents said their companies have a clear vision of innovation that is consistently communicated across the company. And, although 55% of the manufacturers indicated that management is actively involved in setting innovation strategy, only 35% have turned that activity into an action plan that includes roles, responsibilities, and accountability.

That means that while innovation remains a top priority, it is not receiving enough attention.

Of course, new software tools can help. Magnet Product Design & Development, last year’s Progressive Manufacturing high achiever in the innovation category, tapped Invention Machine’s Goldfire to monitor designs already in the marketplace — in this case, for a toilet flapper — and test new versions to get the product out the door quickly.

Technology is a good enabler of innovation, but it alone can’t do the trick, as Randy Schiestl, vice president of research and development at Boston Scientific recently made clear. At Invention Machine’s user conference in Boston last month, Schiestl described how the life sciences company is using Goldfire to bring new products to market faster. But the transition to the application required a cultural transformation to accompany, he said.

To do that, Boston Scientific initiated innovation training to encourage knowledge sharing across business functions, plants, and divisions. The company identified individuals by category: knowledge owners, knowledge holders, and knowledge workers.  Understanding that knowledge is intellectual property, the company rewarded individuals for what they shared (typically with praise and credit, not cash).

This is interesting, especially considering that according to the innovation poll, 46% of a company’s innovative ideas come from only a handful of individuals rather than groups collaborating across the company.

Basically, Boston Scientific achieved what other manufacturers are striving for: a consistent structure and strategy for idea sharing. That means incorporating people, processes, and technology, and making sure everyone has an eye on the business opportunity.

“Innovation is only innovation if there is value attached to it,” said Schiestl during a presentation at the conference. “We have to make sure people understand that, and leverage it to turn [value] into revenue.”