Typically, these open innovation partnerships have been established between a large corporation and a start-up. However, specialist organizations such as Trailmaker have identified the evolution of a new era of collaboration. In addition to co-operating with start-ups, the corporations seek to combine this collaboration with other corporations from different industry sectors and countries.
By doing this, all parties get access to a significantly wider scope of business and higher learning potential.
However, at the same time when the learning potential increases, so does the challenge to manage co-operation. The increased number of players from different industries and countries implicitly increases the complexity.
Trailmaker hosted a networking breakfast for Spanish and Finnish corporate delegates working in energy, forest, utility and construction industries. New contacts, possibly even partnerships have been sparked when international players met on the topics of new ecosystems, circular economy and disruptive technologies for a decarbonized future.
The transition to new partnership models sparked lively discussions when delegates shared their experiences and vision of the future. It was also recognized that to harness these new collaborative opportunities, it is essential to secure a profound common view on the execution from the very start.
All parties must have a shared understanding and commitment to the same outcome, priorities and required capabilities from the start. Also, a higher level of transparency is needed to maintain common view and trust between the parties throughout the common journey.
By coming to Finland, large corporations like Repsol, Enel, Capital Energy and Sacyr were aiming to connect with potential partners. Exchanging views with Finland-based corporations such as Fortum, Metsä Group, Taaleri and Sumitomo laid the foundation for navigating the future collaboration.
Despite what the selected method of growing the innovation capability, there was an overall agreement across all participants: No company can achieve the transformation goals alone. It is crucial to find the right partners in technology and business. And even more importantly, to ensure shared understanding and commitment between all parties.
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TRAILMAKER is a concept that speeds up strategy execution. Core of the concept is a unique decision-making process, which guarantees profound commitment to executing the common strategy. The concept includes a web-based tool for maintaining the commitment.
