Inc. India launched the Innovative100 last year to identify and recognise innovative mid-sized companies in India. Much like last year, winning companies this year too are those that have demonstrated a fresh and smart approach of looking at business problems and providing fascinating case studies of managing and growing companies in India.

The Methodology

Eligibility
The nominated company must have generated revenues of at least `50 crore but must not have revenues more than `1500 crore in the FY2013-14. It must also be a privately held, for-profit, based in India and independent company (not a subsidiary or division of another company). 

Evaluation Methodology
Each innovation—across the nine categories of business functions in which we have sought nominations—was judged on four parameters: uniqueness of idea, replicability, scalability and sustainability, and tangible business impact. Please find below the scale of weighted averages used to evaluate the companies:

Categories
To recognise innovations across a broad spectrum of business functions, Inc. India Innovative100 had 11 different recognition categories with nine categories for companies and two categories for CEOs (open only to founder-managers/promoters/founding partners). Companies could nominate themselves in a maximum of three categories. 

Section A 

Categories for companies to choose from:

 Innovation in Marketing
This category rewards innovations that are helping enterprises offer greater value to their customers/clients on core elements of marketing: a company’s pricing model, distribution/placement network, promotional strategy and the value additions in their product and/or service itself.

 Innovation in Branding and Communication
This category rewards innovations that are helping companies manage and build their brand perception, communicate with their customers, and support them in ways that were previously not possible. 

 Innovation in Technology
This category will recognise companies that have used innovative approaches to save the cost of implementation, speed up roll-out, and build key stakeholder buy-in while deploying, designing or implementing business-imperative technologies.  

 Innovation in Responsible Business
This category rewards businesses that are conscious of, and committed to improving their impact on the environment and community around them, and are integrating responsible practices in the way they operate their businesses. 

 Innovation in Supply Chain
This category highlights the innovations carried out across the supply chain—procurement and vendor management, inventory management, and logistics—that have supplemented the go-to market strategies of companies and gained them competitive advantage quickly. 

 Innovation in Product
This category recognises breakthrough products that have redefined markets and/or created new ones by improving usability, access and value, and deploying cutting-edge design and R&D. 

 Innovation in People Practices
This category is for innovative HR approaches through which companies have been able to work their way around the resource crunch and craft successful strategies to attract, nurture, manage and retain talent.

 Innovation in Manufacturing
This award will go to companies who have demonstrated an ability to achieve world-class manufacturing standards—benchmarking against best practices, achievement of high-efficiency norms, use of systems for continuous and sustained improvement like Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. 

 Innovative Newcomer
This category recognises CEOs who have taken the companies they founded to formidable positions within the industry they work in within a short period of time. Their company’s journey should represent a remarkable example of growth, ingenuity and future potential. The companies in this category are founded on or after January 1, 2008.

Section B 

Categories for founders /CEOs to choose from: 

 Innovative Leader
This category recognises CEOs who have demonstrated an ability to lead their organisations and employees by crafting a unique leadership style that is both great for business growth, and employee fulfilment.  

 Innovative Globaliser
This category recognises CEOs who have adopted innovative methods and strategy to take their companies beyond Indian markets—either by building a brand for their products/services in other geographies, scaling up physical presence by offices and manufacturing facilities abroad, or entering into partnerships with foreign firms to do so.