Managing Innovation Examples

A large healthcare multinational had recently acquired a number of smaller companies based in various countries. Each one had its own product portfolios, roadmaps, innovation processes and ways of working. We helped the customer choose and deploy the necessary tools to improve transparency and strategically align innovation throughout its whole organization. We then analyzed the ‘innovation overview’ for each new acquisition. This allowed us to identify overlaps to reduce costs, and identify blind spots offering new business opportunities. The end result was a clear overview of a development portfolio worth over € 200 million.

An established vacuum cleaner manufacturer wanted to create three new product families: one high-end, one mid-range and one bagless – a new market for that customer. By analyzing consumer demands, market trends and the customer’s supply chain, we jointly developed a smart architecture that met the needs of all three ranges. The architecture had a high level of commonality in components, technical design and interfaces, while allowing plenty of commercial and styling variation. This enabled the customer to reduce costs and still differentiate the ranges in consumers’ minds. The customer successfully entered a brand new market with minimal additional investment.

An office equipment manufacturer was looking for ways to maintain a continuous flow of innovations and upgrades. We worked with the customer to define a long-term strategic roadmap. Using a ‘learning by doing’ approach, we helped improve transparency and manageability in the company’s core technology program for various product lines. And we ensured that this tailored roadmapping process was transferred to the customer’s organization. The company now has two core technology roadmaps, aligned with its business and innovation drivers, and linked to its product and platform roadmaps.