The Agrokor Group, Croatia's Largest Private Company, Selects NineSigma as its Innovation Partner
NineSigma Europe to Help Agrokor Develop a Company-Wide Open Innovation Strategy to Stay Ahead of Changing Market Demands
CLEVELAND and LEUVEN, Belgium, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NineSigma, Inc., the leading innovation partner to organizations worldwide, has been engaged by The Agrokor Group to implement a company-wide open innovation strategy. Agrokor is the largest private company in the Adria Region of Europe, with approximately 40,000 employees. Its consumer products include water and other beverages, ice cream and frozen foods, edible oils, margarines and mayonnaise, meats and wines. Agrokor also operates several retailers, including Croatia's largest retail chain, Konzum d.d.
Through open innovation, companies look outside their four walls for solutions and technologies that will help them go to market faster with new products, and maintain their competitive advantage. Working with NineSigma Europe, Agrokor will identify new product development opportunities in each business unit, beginning with ice cream and frozen foods. NineSigma will then develop Requests for Proposals that define the company's precise needs, and reach out to its worldwide network of solution providers spanning a broad range of scientific and technical disciplines. The company will also help Agrokor select the most promising technologies and determine the best strategies for pursuing them, from licensing or purchasing agreements to consulting arrangements.
"Through this relationship with NineSigma, Agrokor and its companies will enjoy access to the world's greatest network of innovators. With this investment we have started to adopt a new innovation strategy, open innovation, which will be implemented through all of our business processes. Our plan is to strengthen our own research and development capacities, integrate new knowledge, and expand our product portfolio to successfully respond to competitive challenges," said Ivica Todoric, CEO of The Agrokor Group.
"Agrokor recognizes that as knowledge is shared more freely worldwide, a commitment to continuous innovation is essential. Product market cycles are becoming shorter and shorter, and good connections to external partners and consumers have become more critical. Accessing ideas, knowledge, technologies, and skills exceeding their own capacities is the only way to quickly meet the needs of an ever more demanding market," said Rick Wielens, CEO, NineSigma Europe.
About NineSigma
NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social sectors. The company provides open innovation services to organizations worldwide, including Kraft Foods, Philips, Siemens, and Unilever, to solve immediate challenges, integrate new knowledge, fill product pipelines, and stay ahead of the competition. Named to the 2012 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private U.S. companies, NineSigma's proprietary process has produced billions of dollars in value for its clients. NineSigma has the largest open global network of solution providers and an extensive database of existing solutions spanning numerous industries and technical disciplines. NineSigma's online innovation community, NineSights®, is the world's first open innovation social media destination, connecting innovators of all sizes with resources and relationships to drive growth. Learn more at www.ninesigma.com and www.ninesights.com.
Media Contact:
Dawn Ringel, Warner Communications — [email protected], (781) 449-8456
SOURCE NineSigma
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article