What is Open Innovation?
Open Innovation is a concept that allows companies to source ideas or innovations, regardless of whether that industry is related to their own.
In this way, a company does not only rely on internal sources but also finds solutions from external ones. Additionally, the R&D team can save a lot of time and resources by opting for open innovation. How?
Let’s find out!
The Open Innovation Process
Let’s take an example where two companies with a common goal take two different paths to overcome a problem by innovating. While company A decides to innovate from scratch, company B tackles the problem by adopting open innovation.
Who do you think achieved their goals first?
Yes, it was company B!
Let’s see how. Well, here’s what a traditional innovation cycle of a product looks like-
Since company A was innovating from scratch, they first had to come up with a concept, analyze it, and then move on with development (that is if the idea is a success). Whereas with open innovation, you can eliminate half of these steps!
Here, it’s very likely that you’ll find innovation that you can directly integrate according to your needs.
Although the process varies from company to company, it basically involves 3 major steps –
1. Identify
Determine the issues your R&D team is experiencing.
2. Search
Use open innovation to look for solutions outside the organization or the industry.
3. Integrate
Integrate the newly discovered solution in line with your business requirements.
Saving your time and resources is just one aspect. Open innovation can do so much more for your company like cost reduction, staying ahead of the competition, and bringing more innovations. All while lowering the risks involved in the innovation process.
Author’s Note: As part of our research for this article, we compiled a list of Open Innovation Platforms. Here are 36 Open Innovation Platforms you may find useful.
The Benefits of Open Innovation
In recent years, companies such as Nestle leveraged this concept to speed up their market entry process. It helped them launch their new products faster than they would have been able to do otherwise.
“We have already seen success with our new ways of working. In the first half of 2019 alone, we launched products such as the Garden Gourmet plant-based burger and a new range of Starbucks products, all with a ‘speed to market’ mindset. In addition, we have rolled out our infant formula with Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) across 44 markets in just 12 months and invented the first dark chocolate made entirely from cocoa fruit for our KitKat brand.”
– Stephen Palzer, Chief Technology Officer Nestle (Source)
Besides saving the company a lot of time, open innovation presents a company with many other benefits. Let’s discuss them briefly,
Reduction in the Research Cost
When compared to starting from scratch, there is a considerable reduction in the overall research cost when a company seeks open innovation.
More innovative ideas
Involving brilliant minds in your organization will bring you more innovative ideas to work upon. As a result, providing you with more effective solutions.
Fast to Market
Since you’ll be introducing innovation to the market at an early stage you’ll get a chance to stay ahead of the competition. Meanwhile, satisfying not only your existing but also your potential customers.
Lowering the risk
Having stakeholders involved means you won’t have to take the brunt of any situation if the risk increases. Hence, maintaining a balance is easier when you collaborate on the innovation process
So, how can you do it (efficiently)?
A number of companies, including Loreal, Unilever, Nestle, and Samsung, have adopted this concept for their innovation process and have partnered with inventors, startups, and even small-scale business owners.
There are many ways through which you can use this innovation process to your aid. This includes – sharing your problem on open innovation platforms, hosting open innovation challenges, partnerships, startup or technology scouting, acquisitions, hackathons, and much more!
However, it’s not always a direct road to the desired solution.
Challenges in Adopting Open Innovation
In spite of the fact that open innovation can solve most of your problems, it is a very technical and detailed process. Finding the right solution from hundreds out there, and analyzing the risks involved in integrating the solution into your industry or product requires thorough research and expertise.
To make this process a success, many companies hire expert consultants to help them conduct the process efficiently. This is where GreyB comes in!
How can GreyB help?
GreyB can help find your *ideal* innovation that matches your requirements among all the solutions available out there.
Let’s take an example of how we helped one of our clients.
A European food & beverage company approached us to help them identify biodegradable materials and companies that can help in achieving better packaging solutions for their products.
Along with providing the solutions, our experts also evaluated the options to address the material’s weakness and checked for the commercially available options to enhance the material properties of food packaging.
As a result, we created a list of 18 materials and recommended 2 out of those to pursue further.
To provide you with the best solution, experts at GreyB can provide-
- Open Innovation Consulting
- Technology & Supplier Scouting
- Technology Landscape and Trend Analysis
- Whitespace/ Gap Analysis
- Competitor assessment and Tracking
- Upcoming or Budding Market Analysis and more!
Interested?
Next Read: How can innovation adoption help your R&D team?
Authored By: Ridhima Mahajan, Marketing
