Innovation
IDEA’s mission is to support its customers in improving the performance of their logistical value chain.
Innovation at the core of IDEA’s DNA
At IDEA, innovation is based on field initiatives, transformation challenges shared with our customers, technical opportunities enlightened by the group’s ecosystem and responsible investments serving IDEA’s purpose.
To deal with innovation in a consistent and agile manner, IDEA mobilises all its stakeholders around the same culture of taking initiatives.
“Innovation, at IDEA, is found at every level of the company. To obtain this result, we observe initiatives in the field, ensure the legibility of our ambitions and share our way of undertaking innovation to attract talent. Not to mention our capacity to support our industrial partners with concrete achievements. The factory of the future needs the logistics of the future!” Jean-Baptiste Bernicot – Chief Innovation Office
Discover a logistics player that innovates differently
Prototyping engaged with our customers
IDEA has defined five pillars that structure its innovation programme. Each one of them is illustrated by one or more experiments – called “prototyping” or “proof-of-concept” (POC).
An innovation programme built on five working pillars
Image with pictograms representing the 5 pillars :
- “Manufacturing 4.0” solutions, such as additive manufacturing or laser cutting to more quickly incorporate added value to the flows entrusted.
- Automation and robotization to free operators from low added value tasks by entrusting them to autonomous resources, or by helping them in their tasks with “cobotic”’ type solutions. This is the case in particular with the incorporation of a robotized warehouse at one of our aeronautics customers.
- Process digitisation to provide easier access to information for operators and their field contacts, thereby facilitating the conduct of operations.
- Digital modelling of activities to be able to use augmented reality and virtual reality solutions to be better integrate and train operators. At Airbus Saint-Nazaire, for example, we use virtual reality logistical training (VRLT)
- Connected objects associated with the products or equipment entrusted to IDEA, to facilitate the control of operations with real time key information forwarding that feeds the continuous improvement approach. At Chantiers de l’Atlantique, IDEA uses a “hands-free” crane control system.
These proofs-of-concept are shared with IDEA customers and also support the technical proposals created in response to invitations to tender.
Innovative initiatives co-built with its customers
The projects launched in this framework are co-built with customers and local teams. They are widely shared and in “open innovation” mode. The diversity of customer issues associated with the contribution of technical and digital solutions from the group’s ecosystem promotes the permanent enrichment of this roadmap.
More generally, the collaborative innovation approach is deployed in-house with innovation workshops on-site, and outside with customers and IDEA partners as shared lessons learned (see box below) and, finally, with the entire ecosystem regarding the broader challenge of promoting the innovative solutions of the territory.
IDEA works with academic (ICAM, IMT…), innovation (EMC2) or logistics players like the Pôle Achats Supply Chain Atlantique (Atlantic Supply Chain Purchasing Cluster - Pasca).
Imagining the offers of tomorrow and an inspiring future
DEA simultaneously imagines new offers for current customers and also looks at emerging markets where the group has a role to play (such as worksite logistics or urban logistics).
As for proof-of-concept, IDEA builds offers that can be tested quickly. This requires the strong involvement of the group over time with all the economic, academic, associative and public players with whom it collaborates before imagining a return on investment.
Employees consider the changes of these new markets when they imagine the future businesses of IDEA, with a high point every five years around the construction of the strategic plan.
Our collaborations
Innovation by IDEA is based on a collaborative approach and supported by a process of co-creativity.
We seek out operational solutions that improve working conditions for us and for our customers.
To achieve this, we develop ethical relationships with the technical partners in our ecosystem.
All of these prototype development efforts drive our innovation roadmap, and, we hope, that of our industrial customers.”
IDEA employees: lead players of the group’s collective innovation
The IDEActions challenge invites employees to find solutions to their problem themselves with significant openness to proof-of-concept projects.
Innovating by following the principles of design thinking is part of the corporate culture. Each IDEAction is shared, qualified (safety, productivity, quality) and must also meet the criteria of CSR.
IDEA thus unites a community of IDEActors around a repository of more than 650 IDEActions, a growing part of which is co-built with customer teams in the field. Employees share their IDEActions on the group’s collaborative intranet and different prizes are awarded each year. The best achievements are even spotlighted on IDEA’s YouTube channel. The initiatives mainly concern safety and productivity such as:
- 3D printing of masks to reduction preparation time before painting by 90%,
- Digitisation of forms to simplify production declarations and customer billing,
- or production of video procedures for tasks with safety risks…
More and more employees associate contributions to societal or environmental issues such as:
- recycling scrap wood to finance the class trip of a school,
- promoting soft travel through the provision of reconditioned bicycles by an association,
- or recycling worn work clothes transformed into industrial rags by a local reintegration workshop.
A good example of the acculturation of the IDEA teams to CSR issues.