A customer-oriented mentality at ERIKS
Challenge
ERIKS is a broad supplier of industrial parts. They offer a range of solutions from o-rings, valves, rubbers, motors etc. They distinguish themselves through their service, co-development and engineering. This is also reflected in their culture.
To encourage innovation, ERIKS organises its annual Global Innovation Challenge where they invite teams to solve a challenge within a month. At the end of the month, all teams pitch their solutions & underlying evidence after which a selection of winners is made. This year, the aim was to support teams by starting with validation training: highlighting the importance of customer validation; starting with identifying assumptions, collecting data through rapid experiments to iteratively improve their solution.
Approach
- Innovation
- Academy
To support ERIKS in this ambition, we organised two full days: A kick-off & training event at the start, and a closing pitch event.
The kick-off and training focused on the importance of validation in innovation processes.
We took ERIKS employees on a deep dive into the world of validation: the need to build and test assumptions, interview and prototyping techniques.
Using our three-layer Value Proposition Canvas, we inspired them to build a value proposition that not only delivers value for the company, but explicitly starts with the customer and considers value for nature and society. Participants had to actively 'get out of the building' to talk to customers and validate their needs before showing their prototypes.
The pitch event at the end of the Innovation Challenge focused on presentation and storytelling techniques. Using our pitch template, teams had to prepare and practise their pitch in groups, getting feedback from peers on the spot. They then had an hour to adjust and prepare for their final pitch in front of the Innovation Jury, consisting of representatives from ERIKS' management team.
Result
The result? Two highly successful events that initiated a customer-centric innovation approach within ERIKS. Participants said the events gave them: "a good insight into the importance of customer validation" and that they: "had the opportunity to interview customers directly, validate ideas and refine ideas based on customer response".