Nice, Open innovation for sustainability
Ventures, products, and services
Manufacturing
Nice
2023
Challenge
Increase sustainability of Nice’s offering through the research and implementation of internal and external innovative solutions.
Solution
We designed an open innovation project which allowed Nice to interact with the external innovation ecosystem and to stimulate internal entrepreneurship activities.
Impact
Nice and MAIZE are currently working on structuring PoCs with the selected external players and on supporting the growth of the internal projects.
Nice has started a strategic path towards growth and expansion of its portfolio of connected systems and platforms, to offer a wide choice of customizable solutions and ease of use for the final consumer. Nice today can count on an organization of over 2,800 people across 5 continents, equipped with a rich set of skills and different cultures, as well as 15 R&D centers and 13 production plants serving its partners and customers in over 100 countries around the world.
“We decided to collaborate with MAIZE because we share a common vision on the importance of research to achieve a future in which everyone’s life is simpler and more sustainable. If technology is a key component of innovation, people are at the heart of our values, and we are aware that it is only through their contribution that we can advance as a company. MAIZE was a valuable partner in scouting and selecting the start-ups that best match our DNA and goals, and we will work with them to successfully turn innovative ideas into concrete projects for the next generation of home management solutions.”
An open innovation program to increase sustainability
To evolve Nice’s offering toward a more sustainable approach, we designed an open innovation program with two different focuses:
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- Internal focus: we designed a series of collaborative sessions involving the Nice People and to design new sustainable solutions;
- External focus: we scouted the market to identify innovative startups and suppliers that could increase the sustainability of Nice’s solutions.
Collaborative sessions to stimulate intrapreneurship and generate innovative ideas
We involved the Nice People in a series of collaborative sessions where, through design thinking and lean startup methodologies, we stimulated the spark of new innovative ideas.
In particular, we established vertically specialized think tanks to collaboratively ideate and design innovative solutions to increase the sustainability of Nice’s offering.
Market scouting to identify innovative startups and suppliers
We ran a two-months market scouting to identify innovative players that could work with Nice in replacing the traditional materials used in their solutions.
The project followed these steps:
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- Brief definition: we worked together with the Nice team to define the research briefs and the key technical requirements the new materials should have had;
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- Scouting and deep-dive: we scouted the market to identify startups and companies in line with the defined brief. Next, we held deep-dive calls with the most promising ones and, with the support of the Nice team, we selected the top solutions;
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- Pitch day: the selected companies were invited to the Nice HQ to present their solution to Nice’s management. At the end of the event, the best startups were selected to run a Proof of Concept (PoC);
- PoC: the selected startups, with the support of MAIZE, started working closely with the Nice team to develop a test solution for Nice’s offering. PoCs are currently underway and will conclude by the end of 2024.
Thanks to Nice’s commitment to building a more sustainable future for the company and its industry through innovative approaches and our strong expertise in open innovation, we were able to generate a positive impact through the collaboration with highly innovative players and the stimulation of intrapreneurship to generate new internal strategic solutions.
