How OPEN INNOVATION is transforming the future of businesses

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A success story with Autostadt and prototype.club

Why Open Innovation?

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the ability to innovate is crucial. Open innovation is not necessarily a new approach. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of this, it is often given too little attention. But what exactly is open innovation, and how can it drive success?

Def.: Open Innovation

Open innovation refers to the practice of leveraging external ideas and knowledge to complement and enhance internal innovation efforts. This opening up of the innovation process can be based on the integration of external knowledge for the use of collective intelligence in the sense of an outside-in standard.

The implementation of open innovation initiatives has many aspects that may not be directly visible at first glance. In addition to competitive advantages, such as the optimization of time-to-market, cost-to-market, fit-to-market and new-to-market, indirect factors such as personnel recruitment and an improved brand image are also aspects of open innovation. 

Nevertheless, open innovation is not just a figurehead, but also requires a pronounced degree of initiative and agility within the company. This is where partners like prototype.club come into play, providing the necessary support and expertise to navigate the open innovation landscape.

A Success Story: Open Innovation at the Autostadt with prototype.club

The goals are set. But how can they be accomplished? That’s one of the biggest questions huge companies ask themselves every day.

The Challenge

Autostadt, the Volkswagen Group’s experience center in Wolfsburg, Germany, aimed to revolutionize the e-charging experience. Their goal was to create a seamless, engaging, and innovative charging process that would leave a lasting impression on visitors.

Our Approach

prototype.club collaborated with Autostadt to launch an open innovation challenge. We brought together 22 startups to pitch their ideas and solutions, fostering a dynamic exchange of insights and innovations.

The Results

The collaboration was a resounding success. Autostadt was able to explore a wide array of cutting-edge solutions, ultimately selecting the most promising concepts to implement. This initiative not only advanced their e-charging project but also demonstrated the power of open innovation in achieving ambitious goals.

Insights from Christopher (Autostadt) on his experience

Christopher Götz von Olenhusen, Technical Project Manager at Autostadt GmbH, shared his experience with prototype.club.

“What you put up in 3 weeks was amazing”

For more information and details about the startup pitches on the open innovation Autostadt challenge at Hannover Messe 2024, we have a detailed report for you. Get all the details to how e-charging is to be transformed to provide a holistic experience!