Case Studies

Kering Innovation Workshop

50+ brand managers

Kering China and APAC

2-day innovation workshop in Shanghai (powered by Fabernovel and XNode)

Goals

To gather in-depth knowledge on pre-determined topics relevant to Kering group’s strategy and get inspired by best innovation practices in different fields and industries

Participants

Various brand managers from China and the APAC region, as well as innovation team from the group

Outcome

Identified trends and inspirations not only limited to luxury industry
Potential business challenges and opportunity identified with a follow-up by adopting new ideas for innovation within respective major brands of Kering
An ideation workshop in Hong Kong for 200+ Gucci store managers

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.

‍

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

Osram 2019 X-pioneer

Building the OSRAM Engine of Innovation

XNode worked with OSRAM China BUs to scope and identify business opportunities. Together, 5 innovative ideas with clear pain points and opportunities were defined.

The goal of the X-Pioneer acceleration was to rapidly generate business impact for OSRAM. It also aims to leverage the speed and agility of startups in combination with the existing client network and resources of OSRAM to experiment with new business models.

The innovation journey started with ideation

XNode organized an ideation workshop with multiple BU teams to identify business challenges and opportunities for OSRAM.

At the end of the ideation session, outputs were:

High potential technologies and innovations for implementation
Relevant business challenges and opportunities
Preliminary project roadmap for acceleration

Demo Day

On May 27th 2020, X-Pioneer demo day was held in Shanghai with over 40 participants from different business units including smart lighting, automotive, and smart city.

X5 Retail Group

Scouting for Chinese retail innovations

XNode worked with X5 Retail Group’s Innovation Department to scout 100 top-notch Chinese startups. The aim was to co-develop innovation solutions to automate and robotize retail processes, as well as the testing of new technologies, products, and services.

The 5 main areas of scouting were:

Solutions to streamline in-store operations
Personalization tools to enrich user experience
Solutions to optimize supply chain processes
ADAS and DMS for transportation efficiency and safety
AGVs to drive warehouse automations

100+ startups delivered

In December 2019, a total of 100+ startups were scouted with 20+ brief reports delivered.

Among the shortlisted 20+ startups, successful pilots are already underway in the scenarios of ADAS, biogas and AGV.

Pilots have the potential to roll out across X5 Retail Group’s various formats that cover 14,400 stores and comprise the brands: Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, and Karusel.

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

Oney Incubation Program

Objectives

Active exploration of 3 new business opportunities for Oney, Achieving Problem/Solution fit through rapid iteration and customer interaction, building a bankable business case to gain HQ support for follow-on investment.

XNode Solution

Oney Incubation Program: a tailor-made incubation program to rapidly explore the 3 business opportunities through a rigorous process of validation and customer interaction. After the program, 1 proposition was turned into a compelling business case with customer traction, while the other 2 proposition proved not to be viable in the market.

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

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

Foxconn Wake Up Call

50+ innovators

Foxconn D Group

3-day wake up call in Shenzhen

Goals

To get inspired by the innovation ecosystem, find ways to drive new business revenues for Foxconn, and identify talents for the new innovation projects.

Participants

Head of D Group, senior managers, and junior team members from Shenzhen, Wuhan, Taiwan, and USA

Outcome

25 people joined a follow up internal accelerator program run by XNode resulting in the subsequent creation of 2 spin-outs by Foxconn

Innovation Programs

Our practice-proven programs

Internal & External Accelerators

Learning Expedition

Reverse Mentoring

Let's talk about your innovation goals

Case Studies

Kering Innovation Workshop

Sanofi Hackathon 2020

Osram 2019 X-pioneer

X5 Retail Group

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019

Oney Incubation Program

BMW Open Innovation

Unilever HZL Inside-out Program

Foxconn Wake Up Call

Innovation Programs

Our practice-proven programs

Internal & External Accelerators

Learning Expedition

Reverse Mentoring

Let's talk about your innovation goals

Case Studies

Kering Innovation Workshop

Sanofi Hackathon 2020

Osram 2019 X-pioneer

X5 Retail Group

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019 ​

Oney Incubation Program

BMW Open Innovation

Unilever HZL Inside-out Program

Foxconn Wake Up Call

Continental China Megacity Mobility Solutions Incubator 2019