Industry Leaders Share Insights on Powering Innovation During Uncertain Times

Innovation has always been tough. Even in normal times, leading-edge companies put in endless hours searching for new approaches that will solve customer problems and disrupt markets. They engage in a continuous process of rapid design, development, testing, and iteration to create new and better products. In the quickly changing environment we now face, the question naturally arises: Do the principles employed by these innovative organizations still apply?

The short answer is: Yes. Indeed, we believe that now is a time when innovation matters more than ever. With this in mind, Arena is excited to share a report that will help others as they strive to adapt to the new realities.

Many of our customers have achieved success by introducing inventive products based on new technologies and new manufacturing paradigms. We wanted to understand how they have managed to drive innovation forward in highly competitive industries. To that end, we invited renowned innovation expert Robert Tucker to interview several key executives at these organizations to discuss their product vision, their overall approach, and any best practices they could share.

The resulting report is entitled More Than a Product: Innovation for a New Era. While the interviews were conducted just prior to the COVID-19 health crisis, their lessons remain particularly pertinent, especially as it becomes increasingly clear that innovation will be key to facing the challenges that lie ahead.

Whatever their mission, these companies have learned how to tame complexity and harness technological advancements in the service of their customers. Our report describes the processes they’ve used to reach their ambitious ends, particularly when it comes to orchestrating product development across supply chain partners, R&D teams, and customer groups. And we’ve detailed how they’re reimagining the products themselves and creating platforms or connected experiences that solve complex, vexing problems.

We believe you will find these insights useful in your quest to bring products to market in today’s dynamic global circumstances. The leaders we talked with have faced constant change on a daily basis. The lessons they’ve learned along the way should help you find new ways to advance product development in your organization and create inventive solutions for your customers.