Case Studies

Unilever HZL Inside-out Program

Project objectives

Reviving Hazeline Brand through internal incubation & acceleration
Adopt and apply a completely new entrepreneurial process and mindset
Accelerate the process of prototyping and building MVP to go to market
Create and validate a new business model which is applicable for Hazeline

Our solution

Tailor made acceleration program with lean startup methodology
EIR coaching by industry experts and serial entrepreneurs

Sanofi Hackathon 2020

Program Overview

XNode teamed up with Le Wagon and co-delivered three 3-day Wechat Mini Program Hackathons for Sanofi.

The hackathon aimed to empower Sanofi's in-house innovators to

‍Refine their innovative ideas,
Try to validate their proposition,
Develop an interactive prototype,

through a series of tailor-made workshop and coaching.

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XNode offered end to end solution, which includes:

Material design and onsite decoration
Workshop facilitation and pitch rehearsal
Retrospective article and media

And won the award of Sanofi Innovation Community Partner

Michelin SAP 2019

Program Overview

Innovation is a key priority for Michelin to achieve its 2020 Ambitions. In order to achieve those ambitions, Michelin decided to set up a Corporate Innovation Board which initiated the Incubation Program Office.

In China, Michelin IPO (the innovation department) aims to build a strong portfolio of new business models and solutions in the following domains: (1) commercial fleet (2) individual consumers’ mobility needs, (3) retailers, consumer experience on food and travel

Together with Michelin IPO, XNode helped different BU :

Define and finetune innovation topic and needs
Scout and screen the best startups
Accelerate the POC projects with structured methodology and expert coaching.

Scania Disruptive Innovation Acceleration Program

From Building In-house to Leverage Outsider Knowledge to Co-build

‍New Products and Services

XNode worked with Scania internal BU and support teams to map out problems and issues that Scania want to tackle for current daily work and for future planning.

After problems and solutions are scoped, we co-picked 5 topics that can be further scouted after. The final goal is Scania BU will work closely with selected startups to co-create a PoC/ MVP for new market share acquisition and finance incremental. This will leads to real business impact generation in the end.

XNode plays the role as executor, facilitator and guider during the process of innovation strategy planning, program scoping, scouting and collaboration among startups and corporate.

Key Results for Scouting

1 month scouting in China

- From pre-A round to C round startup

‍58 startups are either being selected or showing interests

Only 3 startups are interviewed and picked to enter the 3-month acceleration program

- 3 startups collaboration model brief :

Startup A: Autonomous truck driving related algorithm and technology development in mining area.
Startup B: A new business manager SaaS for Scania customer (e.g. distributor, OEM and 3rd party vendor etc. ) to realize digitalization transformation.
Startup C: Helping Scania rental platform to increase efficiency during approval process with its AI algorithm and image recognition technology.

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019

Project Objectives

Company Objectives

Adopt and apply a completely new entrepreneurial process and mindset;

Help internal teams validate their innovative ideas with real customers and leads to more launching opportunities;

Accelerate the process of prototyping and building Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to go to market faster.

Pain Points to Address

A multitude of BU’s and markets all with its own dynamics and interests;

Time-consuming and costly process for idea and concept development;

The challenge to quickly learn from the market feedback and improve iteratively.

XNode Solution

Lean Startup Methodology:

Intensive acceleration workshops over three months
Using lean startup concepts to build solid business models and test hypotheses
Rapid prototyping to develop a minimal viable prototype at the end of 3 months

Entrepreneurs-in-Residence:

Our Entrepreneur-in- Residence, Sina, an entrepreneur with experience with digital marketing and the Chinese consumer ecosystem,
Through weekly touchpoint meetings, Sina will guide the team as they work on their product, providing valuable insights and guidance

Stakeholder Engagement:

XNode will facilitate the discussion between ASI’s Europe team and Chinese team
Team will tap onto our community of external partners, investors and mentors

Pernod Ricard China - Ask Jerry Challenge

Objectives

The challenge aims at making Ask Jerry – Pernod Ricard China’s nationwide WeChat Cocktail Platform, the next industry-standard marketplace with the largest community for bartenders, bar owners and cocktail lovers in China.

Identify

the most promising Startups with whom to set up cooperation agreements and create strong synergies in China

Accelerate

the top Startups into Xnode ”LaunchPad” Acceleration Program, in which startups can learn, shape and further grow their business

Collaborate

both online and offline with Pernod Ricard China experts to implement the solutions proposed at the end of the challenge.

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The Agorize platform was used as a powerful digital tool to spot the best startups to co-develop the Ask Jerry WeChat Platform and making it the next industry-standard marketplace. The XNode ‘’LaunchPad’’ transformed the ideas in executable business cases.

BMW Open Innovation

Objectives

Scouting top-notch Chinese start-ups for collaboration on both business and tech development with the aim to become the partner and early adopting venture client of selected startups.

Pain points

BMW did not have the connection with startups, entrepreneurs, community and network

Lack of experience in creating and managing Proof of Concepts, Pilots and Business cases together with startups

Ideation Workshop @BMW BeiJing

On Oct. 12th 2018, BMW Ideation Workshop was held in Beijing.

Together with colleague from 4 Bus（business unit）, we helped to better clarify the challenges and pain points faced by BMW

L'Oréal Learning Expedition

12 executive managers

L'Oréal China R&I (Research and Innovation)

3-day learning expedition in Shenzhen & Guangzhou

Goals

An inspirational starting point to trigger the L'Oréal management team as industry leaders. How we can create a customer experience or lead new lifestyle / lifestyle shifts through L'Oréal products. Look for forward-thinking, innovative approaches, and fun experiences.

Participants

Management team from L'Oréal China R&I covering all product lines, HR, finance and communication.

Outcome

Getting opened to more external innovation and startup connection
3 internal initiatives to be carried out regarding new technology adoption and talent development

Ericsson ONE Innovation Bootcamp

The big picture goal: become the toolbox for pioneers

Our mission is to create game-changers by unlocking intrapreneurs and innovators, shaping the future together.

How? By effective fostering an ecosystem of intrapreneurship

By enabling intrapreneurs to test and validate their ideas (market, product, operational) through the stages of rapid prototype, Incubation-MVP (minimum viable product) to Incubation-Industrilization ahead of moving into Ignition (acceleration).

Initial framework: 1)Ideation 2)Dragon's Den

To build a strong pipeline of projects through a careful and structured selection
From ideas to prototype: To apply the right methods and tools for these projects, in an accelerated manner, enabling them to reach a market-ready stage

This proposal outlines a full support structure to incubate and accelerate the Ericsson internal teams over a 2 months period. With our support, we aim to accelerate the proposition from idea to prototype, build a comprehensive business and investment case and validate the concept in the market to generate customer traction.

Innovation Programs

Our practice-proven programs

Internal & External Accelerators

Learning Expedition

Reverse Mentoring

Let's talk about your innovation goals

Case Studies

Unilever HZL Inside-out Program

Sanofi Hackathon 2020

Michelin SAP 2019

Scania Disruptive Innovation Acceleration Program

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019

Pernod Ricard China - Ask Jerry Challenge

BMW Open Innovation

L'Oréal Learning Expedition

Ericsson ONE Innovation Bootcamp

Innovation Programs

Our practice-proven programs

Internal & External Accelerators

Learning Expedition

Reverse Mentoring

Let's talk about your innovation goals

Case Studies

Unilever HZL Inside-out Program

Sanofi Hackathon 2020

Michelin SAP 2019

Scania Disruptive Innovation Acceleration Program

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019 ​

Pernod Ricard China - Ask Jerry Challenge

BMW Open Innovation

L'Oréal Learning Expedition

Ericsson ONE ​ Innovation Bootcamp​

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019

Ericsson ONE Innovation Bootcamp