Essity: Collaboration in the lab
In the Cross Innovation Lab, hygiene product manufacturer Essity has developed the laboratory of the future.
The challenge
Innovation cycles are shortening, markets are becoming more complex - the framework conditions for industry are changing. New solutions are needed to ensure that the manufacturing industry remains competitive in the global marketplace. Essity tackled these challenges together with creative professionals in the Cross Innovation Lab.
Specifically, the question was how a contemporary lab design can promote more collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Output
With the help of experts from the creative industries, Essity was able to gain critical and inspiring external perspectives on the existing lab for the first time. The topic of space was examined from various angles through field research at Essity in Kunheim and at the workplaces of the experts from the creative industries.
The result was the visualisation of a sustainable spatial concept for "the laboratory of the 21st century". The approach puts people at the centre and takes into account the desire for more collaboration, communication and an improved working atmosphere. The visualisation served both as a basis for argumentation and as a basis for the architects.
The vision: In the 21st century lab, the potential of all employees is optimally utilised.
Team: Agneta Rydenstam, Anja Werth, Florian Huffschmidt, Armin Warnecke, Lina Moreno, He & Shi (Congsu He & Lan Shi), Arne Körner
Format & method
In the Cross Innovation Lab, companies come together in changing constellations over a period of six weeks to work together on product developments in a stimulating environment. Experts from the creative industries are specifically involved in the process.
- Field research: At the beginning, the challenges of the companies are explored in a new kind of depth in collaboration with creative professionals - and their fresh perspective from the outside.
- Workshop phase: In a total of four workshop/lab days, the companies develop new solutions together with selected creative professionals.
- Feedback loops: Between the labs, a concept review takes place with all participating companies in order to further improve the products through joint feedback and exchange.
In the iterative work process, companies develop new products or product adaptations in a significantly reduced amount of time.
Our partner: Essity
Essity is the world's leading provider of hygiene and healthcare products with 46,000 employees in over 150 countries. The Stockholm-based company is represented in many global markets with well-known brands such as Leukoplast, Tempo, Zewa, Lotus and Tork. The Tork brand alone has an annual turnover of more than 1 trillion US dollars. In the Cross Innovation Lab, we worked together with the Consumer Tissue division.
