Open Digital Platforms to Spur Innovation

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2022

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the novel coronavirus surfaced in Wuhan in 2019, Chinese officials called for mobile isolation wards. Haier Group partnered with suppliers to design and construct units quickly, thanks to the openness of the leading manufacturer’s digital platforms. Unlike Haier, many companies have tightly regulated, siloed platforms. Georgetown Professor Kasra Ferdows says more companies can unlock innovations by extending their platforms to facilitate a broader range of collaborations. He breaks down how Haier capitalizes on the expertise and resources of its ecosystem and rapidly exploits new business opportunities. Ferdows is a coauthor of the HBR article "How to Turn a Supply Chain Platform into an Innovation Engine."

Transcript

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0:00.0	So you got the job. Now what? Join me, Eleni Mata, on HBR's new original podcast, New
0:08.1	Here, the Young Professionals Guide to Work, and how to make it work for you. Listen for
0:13.8	free wherever you get your podcasts. Just search New Here. See you there!
0:30.0	Welcome to the HBR IDA cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Kurt Nickish.
0:49.0	The Chinese city of Wuhan was urgently in need of mobile isolation wards. It was
0:55.8	2019 at the site of the first outbreak of the novel coronavirus officials put out a call,
1:01.9	the China-based company Higher Group answered. Higher is a global leader in
1:07.9	appliance manufacturing. It teamed up with a Chinese home furnishings company to
1:12.6	prototype, build, and deliver these mobile isolation wards. And they did it in
1:17.7	record time in a matter of weeks. It wasn't just the emergency situation that
1:22.8	kicked things into top gear. Higher used a remarkable in-house digital platform.
1:28.2	That story has lessons for any organization that wants to leverage its
1:33.3	digital platforms for new business opportunities. But you don't have to work at
1:37.8	Siemens, or GE, or another company with a global supply chain for this to
1:42.4	apply to you. It has lessons for anyone trying to collaborate quickly and
1:46.8	effectively with partners. To tell the story, we're joined today by Cass
1:51.5	Rafferto's, a professor at Georgetown University, with Howley of Stanford's
1:56.8	Graduate School of Business, and Zindey Zhao at China Europe International
2:01.5	Business School, Furto's wrote the HBR article, How to Turn a Supply Chain
2:06.0	Platform into an Innovation Engine, Lessons from Higher. Casera, it's great
2:11.0	to have you. It's a pleasure, and thank you very much, Kurt, for this opportunity.
2:15.2	You've studied how dozens of companies use digital platforms internally. You
	...

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