Annual Report 2010 (4.1 MB) - Danish Technological Institute

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20
Case
06
Become successful
with innovation in
practice
The Danish Technological Institute
has helped find the competences
VELUX A/S lacks in its
development projects – competences
that are essential to successful
innovation.
For six months, a staff member from
the Danish Technological Institute
has served as a sounding board
for VELUX A/S’ radical innovation
department Xlab. The Institute has
helped Xlab to find key competences
outside the VELUX organisation.
Since the department is involved in
highly diverse projects, it naturally
uses subcontractors and industry
partners with the required competences.
With this innovation philosophy,
Xlab achieves more targeted
innovation.
– Today, Xlab can more quickly
decide whether a concept is feasible
before the product development process
has become too expensive and
without being bound by new staff,
assesses Senior Consultant Ivar
Moltke from the Danish Technological
Institute, adding that accuracy
increases because the business
becomes part of a flexible professional
forum that can add relevant
technical input and consider the
ideas from different perspectives
throughout the development and
design process.
Financial advantage
VELUX A/S is very satisfied with the
results of the cooperation with the
Danish Technological Institute. In
future, the business will continue to
include external partners in the innovative
process on a regular basis
via ‘open innovation’ workshops.
– We’ve become more aware of our
strengths and weaknesses when we
innovate – and we’ve become better
at including relevant external suppliers
holding the necessary competences
early in the process, says
Innovation Manager of Xlab Jens
Høgh Simonsen from VELUX A/S. He
assesses that this way of developing
products will strengthen VELUX A/S’
ability to maintain its market position
in daylight and ventilation, also
in the wider context that sets the
framework for Xlab’s innovation.
– Global networks, provided by
the Danish Technological Institute,
ensure the best skills and access to
inspiration and knowledge from the
very markets in which the solutions
must prove their worth, stresses
Jens Høgh Simonsen.