Text snippet and logo taken from the Irish Times
An innovative scheme is putting small companies together with multinationals in a way that benefits both.
The Innovation Exchange invites suitable large corporates to address its members, telling them of specific problems they need to resolve. Small companies that believe they can offer a solution should then prepare a one-page pitch. Staff at the Innovation Exchange undertake the matchmaking.
Tim Crowe worked for large corporates such as the IT giant Dell. “I set up supply chains around the world, including in China,” he says. “One of the challenges I had was getting real-time data about what was happening in the supply chain.”
In 2019 he and colleague Ken Sheehan founded WrxFlo. It is seeking to tap into so-called Industry 4.0 advances to create solutions to problems in supply chains. Industry 4.0 is an automated process technology that enables machines to communicate with one another, and with staff, to optimise performance.
Dell in China is now one of WrxFlo’s customers. For Crowe, the Innovation Exchange is a way of meeting potential clients. He knows the challenges they face. “On the corporate side, you are so busy doing your job — whether it’s finance, HR, engineering or operations — that you don’t get time to look up and look out,” he says.
Businesses like ours, on the other hand, are always looking at the latest technology and what’s going on internationally. We are always looking out. That disconnect is what the Innovation Exchange helps with.
Not only do SMEs often struggle to sell into large corporates, but staff at large corporates struggle to buy. More often than not, they are sold to. “I used to buy tech solutions myself,” Crowe says. “A lot of companies come and try to sell you stuff with all the dazzling charts and lovely sensors, whether you need them or not. But I always felt they didn’t understand the problem I was trying to solve. Having worked on both sides of that relationship, we spend a lot of time understanding the customer’s problem first.”
Above all, the Innovation Exchange is about creating partnerships. “It’s not, ‘Here’s my box of tricks.’” Crowe adds. “It’s about solving problems together, as SMEs have the flexibility to do that.”
Learn more about WrxFlo’s plans and how we can help your business to achieve the best digital transformation outcome.
Book a free, no-obligation demonstration with the team and we will be happy to take you through our software platform to help you come up with business solutions in a creative way.
See the full article from the Irish Times HERE
