NineSigma Leadership Conference Exposes the Inner Workings of Open Innovation to Expand Best Practices and Accelerate Adoption

CLEVELAND, May 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when innovation is a competitive necessity, even the world's leading companies need help overcoming roadblocks to continued transformation. With that goal in mind, Open Innovation (OI) leaders from Lockheed Martin, BP, J.M. Smucker Company, Sealed Air, Johnson & Johnson Consumer and more, shared valuable lessons learned from their OI initiatives at NineSigma's recent Innovation Leadership Summit in Atlanta, GA.

NineSigma pioneered the strategy of Open Innovation (OI) nearly two decades ago. Since its inception, this strategy has accelerated time-to-market and sparked game-changing breakthroughs in every industry worldwide. OI Champions from organizations such as Pfizer, NASA, Roche Sequencing Solutions, and Eaton converged at the event, entitled "Open Innovation Exposed" to talk openly about what is needed behind the scenes to make OI a sustainable business practice. Leaders from Ajinomoto, BASF, GE, Haier, and Metro Atlanta Chamber also received Innovation Awards for their accomplishments in the field of Open Innovation.

"Open Innovation is for bold leaders, committed to advancing their business objectives through collaboration. Every OI path involves something unexpected – and it was gratifying to have a powerful community of innovators opening up about elements of OI they never anticipated – and the thrilling possibilities they created," said Dr. Andy Zynga, CEO of NineSigma.

Dr. David Zhang, Senior Director and Head of Biometrics, Roche Sequencing Solutions said, "I've been practicing OI for many years. My participation as a panelist in the IoT (Internet of Things) cross-industry session and networking at the NineSigma Summit proved to me, there is still a tremendous amount to learn from the diverse Open Innovation leaders that comprise NineSigma's global community."

A successful OI program invites the entire world of experts to propose new IP, components, concepts or inventions that empower companies to leapfrog their competition. But the path can be daunting. Katherine Kost, CEO, Element-Y said, "This event was invaluable from the solution provider perspective. Engaging as a panelist to share how we create mutually beneficial relationships with solution seekers was especially rewarding. This topic and the cross-industry experiences shared by everyone involved were exceptional."

Summit sessions also covered:

• Establishing internal alignment to drive OI success
• How to build trusted business relationships between solution seekers and solution providers in order to create value for both organizations
• The challenges and opportunities presented by the Internet of Things
• The benefits and potential pitfalls of prize-based competitions to spur OI efforts
• New business models for corporate OI programs

During a pre-conference workshop, NineSigma launched a new approach to product development called Open Design Thinking™. Open Design Thinking is an integrated strategy that blends the best of OI and Design Thinking to help companies create a powerful system for rapid, effective and repeatable breakthrough innovation.

About NineSigma
NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social sectors. NineSigma has the largest open global network of solution providers and an extensive database of existing solutions spanning numerous industries and technical disciplines. In 2015, the company was again named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America. Learn more at www.ninesigma.com or www.ninesights.com.

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SOURCE NineSigma

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