DESIGNING ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS FOR INNOVATION

COURSE NAME

Organizational Models for Innovation

COURSE DATE

October 2019 - December 2019

TEAM CREDITS

Yun Yang

Julia Rochlin

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course teaches how to strategically create enterprise design abilities in open innovation systems with a focus on learning:

Key principles that shape open innovation systems
To identify, codify and understand design capabilities as knowledge agents.
Develop design-based organizational models effective in managing innovation ecosystems.
Develop project plans for effectively testing experiments and leading open innovation processes.

LEADERSHIP

PROJECT PLANNING

INNOVATION STRATEGY

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

SYSTEMS DESIGN

GRADUATE SCHOOL PROJECT

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Students were assigned a global food distributor and tasked to design an open innovation model that leverages design capabilities for rapid innovation. Our group was assigned DS Smith, a global packaging and assembly company and we focused on designing their organization as a sustainable circular economy model prioritizing new product innovation and rapid prototyping capabilities, speed to market, and zero waste.

DESIGNING THE
"SUPPLY CYCLE THINKING"

ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL

DS Smith is a leading packaging and assembly company, who provides unique customization, consulting, and just-in-time assembly capabilities for customers around the world.

In 2013, DS Smith established their first sustainability policy and in 2019, became a global partner with the Ellen McArthur Foundation to develop a comprehensive Circular Economy model. This model focuses on making each level of the supply chain ‘certain to be recycled’ with a target towards 0% waste.

To drive the circular economy model and infuse continuous innovation, our team explored how DS Smith could integrate itself within the Chicago innovation district, to enable DS Smith to provide unique, innovative and flexible manufacturing solutions. This organizational model leverages DS Smith's existing entities, while integrating networks, knowledge sharing and design capabilities, and enabling customers to bring new ideas to market faster and at lower cost than ever before all with a core focus on sustainability and recycling.

Above all else, packaging must be redefined in the face of global sustainability challenges. From recyclability, to climate change, to pressures on water sources, packaging must play a role in facilitating a more circular global economy.

- MILES ROBERTS, Group Chief Executive

"

02

Added in clusters of entities that are critical to powering the innovation model, established connections and determined design capabilities enabled through the established connections.

We began by identifying the key entities within DS Smith's operation to drive just-in-time assembly, rapid prototyping, and design innovation. Then, following the Circular Economy model, we divided our org model in half to establish two key ecosystems - Innovation and Technical. Connecting these two ecosystems are DS Smith's integrated Impact Center & Just-In-Time Assembly Center.

01

Pulled inspiration from an Ellen MacArthur Circular Economy Diagram to understand dynamics and entities required to drive a circular economy.

Team working together to work through the dynamics of the diagram and requirements of the model.

03

Now to test our model. Using The Innovator's Hypothesis by Michael Schrage, we next devised 5 5-week long experiments to test the innovative capabilities of our model. We decided to introduce the concept of a Dark Kitchen and see through our 5 experiments if our assumptions are correct.