Archive THINGS+

THINGS+ project team is excited to announce the Final Project Conference, SERVITIZATION: An Opportunity for Growth in European Regions, 6th of October 2020, online on WebEx.

AGENDA
Leading policymakers will discuss the benefits of the servitization methodology, and real-life users will share their experience. 

In a time of crisis, startups  can go one of two ways: fall or pivot. Things+ is here to help them pivot, especially through helping them find new business path & opportunities. As one attendee said: “The event was a great opportunity to get back into entrepreneurial community and help establish new collaborations.”, Gregor Zupin, CEO of Microbium Ltd. 

There is a 5th Things+ Newsletter available introducing success stories and insights into expert's work with SMEs. We are discussing whether servitisation makes more sense for a larger company than a smaller one and the added value of a servitisation concept. It is proven that companies that expand or combine their product offering with services are up to three times more likely to make profit. You are invited to read more here!

There is a 5th Things+ Newsletter available introducing success stories and insights into expert's work with SMEs. We are discussing wether servitisation makes more sense for a larger company than a smaller one and the added value of a servitisation concept. It is proven that companies that expand or combine their product offering with services are up to three times more likely to make profit. You are invited to read more here! 

Alessandra Gruppi is the business innovation expert that led the pilot action to test with
SMEs the effectiveness of THINGS+ Service Innovation Methodology in Friuli Venezia Giulia,
Italy. She took part to the train-the-trainers in Ljubljana and together with Friuli Innovazione
tutors delivered the end-users workshops and supported 13 manufacturing companies in
implementing their servitization pilot projects. Read more >>

Slovakia has 4 new companies which have implemented servitization in their product portfolios. 

In the course of 2 months, Slovak entrepreneurs participated in a series of workshops dedicated to servitization.  The last one was held on the 19th of July at the Slovak Business Agency. After a lot of effort and hard work,  the companies came up with their own unique servitization concepts which they are ready to implement in their businesses in order to satisfy expanding needs of customers. 

We are looking forward to a follow-up of their success!

Service Innovation - Program designed for entrepreneurs expecting hands-on support and cooperation with mentors which have proven experience in their fields. 

The Office of the Marshal of the Lodz Region invites companies to participate in the project: 
"Introducing service innovation into product-based manufacturing companies" - THINGS + 

Call for applicants to participate on pilot program on servitisation is open till March 8th 2019! 

Follow the link for additional information and application form >>

Servitization is competitive advantage created through product-centric services. Manufacturers are integrating products and services in their portfolio, thus making servitization a competitive priority in the industry as a whole. More about this topic in the article: Servitization: The Changing Face of Manufacturing and Service.

https://www.salesforce.com/uk/blog/2017/04/servitization-the-changing-face-of-manufacturing-and-service.html

Things+ project partners have already finished the first part of the pilot project on servitization. 
Reflections on progress and invitation to participate in the 2nd round of Pilot 
will follow shortly. 

Technology park Ljubljana, partner in the Things+ project, organized a workshop, on 7th of September, on the topic of servitization, moderated by Borut Potočnik and Jernej Pintar.
 
The aim of the workshop was to increase the added value of companies’ products in such a way that a service is added to the product, resulting in a customer becoming a long-term product user and no longer just a one-time buyer of the product.

Key outcomes
Why develop a service when everybody is developing products? Why has Philips switched from selling light bulbs to selling "lighting hours" services at airports? 

For additional informations please visit TP-LJ website.

Croatian partner Science and Technology Park of the University of Rijeka started with the 1st Pilot action of introducing service innovation into manufacturing SMEs in the end of June. The first phase started with a group workshop, where the 6 participating SMEs were guided through the use of tools which will enable them to recognize opportunities for servitization, based on existing capabilities and knowledge within the company. During the 2nd group workshop participants worked with the tools that will point out the opportunities based on external developments on the market and new insights. With every step, the participants are getting closer to a detailed servitization concept. Workshops were led by servitization expert Mr. Boris Golob, with assistance from other STEPRI staff.

At the end of May 2018 Technology park Ljubljana hosted a very interesting workshop called Train-the-trainer. From the 28th to 30th of May more than 30 experts from different product & business development sectors participated in this Workshop, enabling them to efficiently impart knowledge about servitization and help manage processes in their companies. Additional informations are available at TP-LJ website

Friuli Innovazione, lead partner of the THINGS+ project, opened a call for experts to identify an innovation business consultant 
to support own staff in implementing the pilot action with Italian SMEs. Italian language mandatory. Deadline to submit CV is April 13. 
Link ot the call www.friulinnovazione.it/lavora-con-noi/job-opportunities/consulente-aziendale

On March 13th THINGS+ was presented to the participants of the Augmented Joint Transnational Training held in Brno, CZ, in scope of CERIecon project.  Mr. Boris Golob, STEPRI, presented key facts and activities of THINGS+ project outlining evolution of business model towards servitization of product-based offering, including cases and examples of service innovation in manufacturing SMEs. Participants were introduced with key activities of the project and the significance of servitization trends for the Central Europe economy.

A kick off meeting was organised by lead partner Friulinnovazione Udine in January 2017 to: discuss mutual expectations with all project partners, align communication plan and tools, work packages and project reporting. Partners also discussed THINGS+ project objectives – how to enrich portfolio of SME companies, increase their value and improve their market position. Get to know our partners below.

On October 25th and 26th THINGS+ project partner STEP RI - Science and Technology Park of the University of Rijeka hosted first Interactive Working Group Session. The consortium discussed relevant documents and analysis developed so far. The revision of relevant documents and discussion led to a creation of a new Service Innovation Methodology, specifically: Factsheet of existing service innovation methods and impact measures implemented in THINGS+ regions and Catalogue of service innovation and new service creation tools. 

Project Partner Slovak Business Agency hosted the second Working group Session and partners meeting from 14th to 15th of December 2017 where business, market and customer assessment tools were discussed. Partners also worked with experts in small groups focused on the challenges of service commercialisation and internationalisation.

The first 50 companies that will send their application by June 15 will join the pilot action and test for free the Service Innovation methodology (SIM) on their own business model. 
Calls are already open in Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Czech, Saxony, Germany, Hungary, and Lodzkie Poland.
Don't miss the chance, apply now.