Sharing a really interesting article I came across today on Business Week - the high cost of 'rework and redundancy' in the automotive industry. It is important to stay current on the latest innovations, and investing in research to grow the industry is important. But as this article opines, sometimes it can get out of hand, going from innovative to redundant. The infographic is particularly worth checking out.

What do you all think? At what point should automotive researchers stop "reinventing the wheel"?
Comments welcome.

INFOGRAPHIC: The High Cost of Rework & Redundancy in Automotive Innovation

  

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Studies have shown that over 70 percent of companies admit to investing in research that led to (or was leading to) a previously patented solution. The estimated cost of this duplication of effort comes in at nearly 30 percent of total R&D spend.

The top three vertical market sectors -  in terms of R&D spend - information technology, automotive, and pharmaceuticals waste a purported $15 billion, $9.7 billion and $9.2 billion, respectively, re-inventing the wheel.

That wasted spend could go a long way – check out the infographic below to see what, if applied elsewhere, the $9.7 billion the auto industry alone wastes could do: