Innovation Day 2023: embracing outcome-based innovation

Historically, companies pursued innovation by enhancing product qualities, improving affordability, or adding features. This way they wanted to create more added value or become more competitive. Today, a rising group of innovation leaders is shifting focus to elevating customer outcomes and experiences, by integrating the product as an asset into new business model innovations. That’s where outcome-based innovation takes center stage, where the spotlight shifts from the product to its service potential or enabling business model.

By aiming for superior customer outcomes, outcome-based innovation yields greater added value than any other type of innovation. But how does this translate into practice? It involves integrating new technologies, adopting circular economy, or embracing product-as-a-service (PaaS) innovation. The aim is to nurture products that surpass their traditional roles, amplifying their impact on the world during use.

5 thematic tracks, 10 interactive demos and in-depth talks

During Verhaert’s Innovation Day, you’ll discover the magic of outcome-based innovation, empowering the voice of your customers, harnessed through cutting-edge technologies. Choose the innovation topics that best fit your needs from 5 thematic tracks covering in-depth insights, exclusive demos, and customizable toolsets.

• TRACK 1: Fueling the future of robotics & AI
  AI has created a tremendous boost in the field of robotic innovation. Thanks to advanced algorithms and machine learning, robots can not only navigate and interact with their surroundings but also understand them.
• TRACK 2: Rethinking the use case for value creation
  Redefining your use case is the ultimate tool in beating your competitors. Get inspired on how including stakeholders can help you create new business and value opportunities through market and user insights.
• TRACK 3: Riding the product-as-a-service wave
  In a world where new products and companies pop up every day, how can you strengthen customer retention? With a products-as-a-service business model, you deliver a complete solution instead of just a physical product.
• TRACK 4: Sustainability driving innovation
  Every day, the call for environmental responsibility grows louder. Sustainable innovation secures long-term success while boosting your reputation. Learn how to create end-to-end holistic solutions for a better world.
• TRACK 5: Cultivating entrepreneurial champions
  Curious about the latest tools for innovators to use Generative AI in your ideation or validation process? Interested in the most popular product and project management tools? Get a glimpse of the e-courses from Verhaert Academy!

 
Discover how to master outcome-based innovation during Verhaert’s Innovation Day on November 21st! Visit the event website for the full program and sign up by choosing the 2 tracks of your interest.

Get your spot

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Innovation to tackle current societal challenges

Flemish Minister of Innovation Hilde Crevits visited Verhaert’s Innovation Day as the first in a series of company visits. She said the following on the role of the government on innovation:

The government should create a healthy environment to enable innovation. This does not just mean subsidizing it, but also means creating an environment of collaboration and communication between government and industry. We need to join forces to tackle our current challenges and changes, and most importantly when it comes to climate change and Artificial Intelligence.

Hilde Crevits, Flemish Minister of Innovation

50 years of pioneering innovation

50 years is a bizarre age for people, and that’s also the case for a company. It’s an age to celebrate, but it also sparks reflection on past years. So this year, we celebrate our 50th anniversary, but also use this milestone to reflect on past accomplishments and future prospects to ensure continuous innovation.

Koen Verhaert, CEO Verhaert Masters in Innovation

Verhaert was founded in 1969 during a time of revolution and innovation: we went to the moon, the Concorde took its first flight, Woodstock took place, and in Belgium the driver’s license, VAT and postal code were introduced. Since then a lot has changed and continues to change. Those changes and resulting challenges characterize the framework of this Innovation Day’s lectures.

Innovation in perspective in 5 tracks

The Innovation Day is an annual event with 16 lectures in 5 tracks to share insights on innovation management, product development and technology to guide the innovation agenda.

The first track, called MyFutureProduct, focused on what future products will look like. Specifically, the lectures discussed the changes in value drivers in product development and future products, such as customer needs and companies ambitions. Another mayor change was the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and digitalization. Today, it can no longer be considered a feature in products, it’s the core. The last of these lectures examined how mature businesses can continue innovating.

MyInnovationFactory was the second track and concentrated on the organization of innovation and how to manage the process. Innovation often means change and that change is not always easy. These lectures considered the following ways to guide innovation: the importance of using the right KPI’s, a quality management system and finding the adequate approach on different innovation risks.

The lectures in Track 3, MyStartUp, examined how start-ups work, how to interact with them and how to implement the start-up management in your (mature) company. Start-ups are a relatively new way of organizing innovation and companies need those start-ups to reach innovation ambitions. Furthermore, it introduced the concept pretotyping, prototyping in an early stage to simulate marketing action and learn from it.

The fourth track, called MyFutureGovernment, discussed the crucial role of the government in innovation and the necessity to set-up systems to interact between government and industry to encourage innovation. Society changes constantly and both government and industry need to adapt to that. Furthermore, governmental innovation has dual ambitions: on the one hand, it needs to solve the specific problem or need, and on the other it has to create a knowledge chain and industry activity derived from it.

The lectures in Track 5, MyTechnology, stressed the difference between product and technology development and the need to not see technology as an objective, but as an enabler. Today, humanoid and geospatial technologies are frequently used in everyday products, something that would have seemed absurd not too long ago. Furthermore, these lectures focused on Advanced Human Interfaces and software languages, and the importance of choosing the right one.

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Innovation in perspective

How did the innovation landscape change? What did we learn from the past and what are the trends towards a better future? With 16 inspiring lectures in 5 tracks, Verhaert wants to encourage professionals from different sectors to innovate.

1. MyFutureProduct – New value creation platforms

Products of the ’60s were very much about hardware design for new industrial production processes. What will future products look like? How do you make your propositions future proof? Let’s explore a generic blue print for future proof products and services.

2. MyInnovationFactory – Organizing innovation in an increasing complex world

A few decades ago breakthrough innovation came from highly confidential corporate labs and rigid organizations. Today start-ups are setting the new standards and agile seems to be the way to do. Find the building blocks for your future innovation factory.

3. MyStartUp – Changing the entrepreneurial landscape

San Francisco was the capital of the late sixties hippie movement. The following decades Silicon Valley became the world’s largest hot spot for technology, innovation and start-ups. What can we learn from Silicon Valley to start your own future start-up.

4. MyFutureGovernment – The impact of the government on innovation

The club of Rome questioned our volume driven industrial model 50 years ago, and pushed towards a more sustainable vision. Critics of today pinpoint the potential impact of new technologies and the need for differentiated local actions. Explore how governments can accelerate innovation to the best of society.

5. MyTechnology – How new are new technologies?

New technologies and innovation have been driven by science since the ’60s. The latest technologies of today are often a result of connecting science domains. This requires another approach on technology forecasting, scouting and transfer. Learn more about this fresh perspective based on 4 technology domains.

Also guest speakers from Möbius Business Redesign and DEME explain how they create an innovation culture as an organization. The Innovation Day is therefore a perfect opportunity to meet other innovation professionals and learn from their insights. Register quickly, the places are limited.

50 years pioneering innovation

Since 1969, Verhaert Masters in Innovation has pioneered the product innovation business. The integral service provider in product development helps companies and entrepreneurs to develop and implement successful innovation projects. Together with their customers, they develop new breakthrough products, services and businesses in an integrated way.

Verhaert can look back on a rich history in innovation. A history in which they developed a unique organization and corporate culture. During the annual conference Innovation Day, Verhaert wants to share insights, best practices, tools, cases and concepts on product, business and technology innovation.

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Conversational bots creating new experiences

Nowadays companies are constantly improving their customer support services. There is a strong demand for new technologies that can, in addition to improving the type of service, save money by reducing human resources.

On the other hand, there is a growing demand by end consumers to solve their problems more quickly, using instant messaging to interact with the organization, using channels available online or even a physical conversational bot on the sales spot that sees the consumer and adapts to different inputs (e.g: sentiment, age, local, hour, …).

“For those channels and solutions, there are ways to explore the human-computer interaction by exploring artificial intelligence methods and machine learning applied to the user experience during the interaction, in order to make this interaction the richest possible”, says Innovation Day speaker Davide Ricardo, Chief Technology Officer at Load.

How can blockchain help us in the fight against fake news, corruption and hacking?

An oracle is – in the context of blockchains and smart contracts – an agent that finds and verifies real-world occurrences and submits this information to a blockchain to be used by smart contracts.

“Smart contracts contain value and only unlock that value if certain pre-defined conditions are met. When a particular value is reached, the smart contract changes its state and executes the programmatically predefined algorithms, automatically triggering an event on the blockchain”, says Pieter Zuliani, Technology Evangelist at PegusApps. “The primary task of oracles is to provide these values to the smart contract in a secure and trusted manner.”

Digital empowerment of older users

“Many older adults don’t find their way to online services that are commonly used. The fact that each app requires learning to work with a specific interface is a huge barrier. The target user wants simplicity and consistency, no overload of info”, says Lene Schroyen, Project Manager at Verhaert.

Smart home technologies have become more affordable and accessible, however the older adults are under-represented among the users. “Yet it’s easy to imagine a fitness tracker, smart socket, fitness watch … contributing to keep older adults active (socially, physically and mentally). That’s exactly what they want. I’ll share insights from the Vizier project at the Innovation Day.”

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How to approach Machine Learning for innovation projects?

Divide and conquer your Machine Learning project! “We will take a look at the steps that are specific to machine learning projects and discuss the common pitfalls and how to mitigate them.” Jochem Grietens, consultant PhysicsLab, is looking forward to sharing a step-by-step approach that will guide your organization to successfully manage a Machine Learning project.

Use Artificial Intelligence to make smart decisions

“Through the decades, AI has gone through periods of euphoria and deep depression. The most widely-known AI experiment is also one of the first: The Turing Test developed by Alan Turing in 1950 at the University of Manchester”, explains Pieter Zuliani, Technology Evangelist at PegusApps and speaker at Innovation Day. “The Turing Test contains criteria to determine whether a computer has human-like intelligence by convincing a human questioner that she or he is speaking to a human, not a computer. Since this time, the concept of AI has ballooned to include machine learning (deep learning), computer vision, natural language processing, robotics and more. But remember, all these AI technologies go to serve the goal of AI: to exhibit human-like behavior and intelligence.”

Improving quality of life through human centered robotics

It’s not about or robots or humans. The future is for robots and humans who work together. “The strengths of the robots are the humans’ weaknesses, and vice versa. By letting humans and robots join forces, we open a whole series of fantastic new possibilities”, says Lennert Vierendeels from Brubotics.

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Integrating AI techniques to build meaningful product concepts

In June Load organized a hackathon on using data for a better world: 48 hours of intensive team work on ideation, experimentation and fast-prototyping. “Building demonstrators to learn fast, that’s what a hackathon is all about”, says Jochem Grietens, consultant PhysicsLab. “Our team came up with a solution as a behavior changer, regarding the recycling issue as a helper to build a sustainable world. To help citizens collecting their garbage in the right bin, we built an app using object image recognition through smartphone camera and Artificial Intelligence.”

Circular economy in the chemical sector

Paul Poelmans, Key Account Manager Advanced Materials will give you guidelines to start your circular economy journey. “Is your organization ready for circular economy? We have a lot of tools to guide your organization towards a circular vision. There are simulation tools for ecosystems, design planning for ecodesigns and readiness assessment. Let’s dive into them.”

New toolset to give your product portfolio a circular make-over

A circular economy requires new business models, because the new situations focuses on the use of products instead of the consumption. “Producers transform into service providers”, says Gerd Van Cauteren, consultant DesignLab. “The key in sharpening your Product-As-A-Service business model? Secure and create added value during the product lifetime. How? With tools that guide you during exploration, analysis and design.”

Circular approach of passenger aircrafts

Have you ever wondered how aircrafts end up at the end of their life? And what they have in common with elephants? Toon Wassenberg of Aerocircular will show you a shocking truth.

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Innovating the smart city

“Our society is in transition. We’re navigating towards a smart city: a data driven and connected system”, says Dany Robberecht, Director Innovation Consultancy. “Cities are experimenting, a lot of fragmented things are going on. How do we avoid an innovation bubble? How to build a model to create a better world?” During this session you’ll discover new solutions to become radically better in something you’re not familiar with.

Nudging, design concepts to change behavior

Nudging can be defined as a value-based approach which proposes a positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence user’s behavior. “Fortunately, there are better ways to change behavior”, says David Pas, Coordinator DesignLab, about the great example below on how not to change behavior. “At the Innovation Day next week, we will tell you more about nudges and behavior”, says Louise Haazen, Consultant DesignLab, “Looking forward to share with you insights and lessons learned from recent projects.”

Collective intelligence: a dystopian innovation path today, a utopia tomorrow

Multi-sided business models will help you to open data monetization for multiple users while lowering costs of the system for every stakeholder. During this session Frederik Wouters, Business Development Director at Verhaert, takes the car as example which is evolving to a central platform for the future. “Together, all cars offer connectivity, great computing power and a lot of sensors offering hyperlocal information. Building a collective intelligence system by using car data will offer a challenge for both technology and business models.”

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Verhaert’s Innovation Day is an annual conference to encourage innovation and R&D professionals to innovate. With 16 inspiring sessions in 5 tracks you learn from insights, best practices, tools, cases and concepts on product and innovation management, and technology development. This year we’re celebrating the 15th edition. Register quickly because place are limited.

Program

Track 1: Circular economy for a better world
The end of ownership, new servitization and transport innovation create opportunities for a truly circular world resulting in completely new value chains.

1.1 Integrating AI techniques to build meaningful product concepts
1.2 Circular economy in the chemical sector
1.3 New toolset to give your product portfolio a circular make-over
1.4 Circular approach of passenger aircrafts

Track 2: Digital technologies for a better world
Our fast growing virtual world creates opportunities and challenges: realizing an experience economy, fighting digital crime and improving ambient living.

2.1 Conversational bots creating new experiences
2.2 How can blockchain help us in the fight against fake news, corruption and hacking?
2.3 Digital empowerment of older users

Track 3: Robotics for a better world
Fusing Artificial Intelligence and robotics technologies lead to endless possibilities ready to improve our world.

3.1 How to approach Machine Learning for innovation projects?
3.2 Use Artificial Intelligence to make smart decisions
3.3 Improving quality of life through human centered robotics

Track 4: Design for a better world
Changing the complex world cannot be achieved by a single person, company or sector. Gathering data from and controlling behavior of all actors through collective intelligence are pathways to innovation.

4.1 Innovating the smart city
4.2 Nudging, design concepts to change behavior
4.3 Collective intelligence: a dystopian innovation path today, a utopia tomorrow

Track 5: Space technology for a better world
Space technology becomes more and more an imminent opportunity to innovate. Future space exploration and space data deliver technology transfer occasions for a better world.

5.1 The social relevance of Earth observation data
5.2 Optics for science exploration
5.3 Scaling production of cell based therapies

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At this annual conference, innovation and R&D professionals find inspiration and motivation to innovate. They learn from new insights and best practices on new product and innovation management and technology development. With 16 inspiring sessions based on 4 tracks you learn what innovation initiatives you can take to make your company future proof.

Attend Innovation Day and discover:

• New technologies that are reshaping every industry
• How to transform into new services and business models.
• How to make your organization user centered.
• Major industry trends and how others transformed their business.

Sign up and create your personal program. Based on 4 tracks you can select the 5 sessions of your interest. Each track addresses the challenge to become more agile from a different perspective.

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Innovation Day focuses on ‘agility in innovation’

Innovation Day is a unique conference which aims to inspire innovation professionals to manage the innovation of tomorrow. With examples, methods and tools you will be encouraged to incorporate agile innovation in your organization.

» Track 1: Learn from the spirit of tech startups
The startup community is booming everywhere and is often blowing away corporates in terms of innovation efficiency. What can companies learn from startups and the way they operate? How can we take advantage of both worlds and bring startup thinking in our companies?

» Track 2: Use available technologies to accelerate your innovation process
New technologies are often key enablers in breakthrough product concepts, but developing technology tends to take time. How can we make use of available technology to accelerate the process and therefore make it agile again?

» Track 3: Alternative strategies to make products more future proof
With today’s pace of change the battle seems lost by definition. In this track we explore an alternative strategy to make our products inherent adaptive and therefore more robust and future proof.

» Track 4: Collaborative teams are the foundation of successful innovation cultures
Agility in innovation is about people for people. Discovering what really drives value for the user. Getting your team and organization ready to handle the uncertainty and changing context inherent to innovation.

*You can no longer register for this event*

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