Accelerating innovation
a.s.r. has been in the insurance business since 1720. It is one of the top three insurance companies in the Netherlands. Through its labels (a.s.r., De Amersfoortse, Ditzo, Ardanta, and Europeesche Verzekeringen), a.s.r. offers insurance, pension, and banking services to consumers & SMEs. a.s.r. is also active as a fiduciary asset manager, particularly in the public sector. Confronted with a rapidly changing market, a.s.r. decided to accelerate innovation. To help guide this acceleration, identify relevant first steps, and create traction throughout the organization, a.s.r. reached out to SparkOptimus.
Involving SparkOptimus has been crucial to accelerate innovation within a.s.r. They continuously challenged & helped us on priorities & ways of working. The mindset of the team and the combination of expertise & experience resulted in a solid foundation for the future
SparkOptimus started with identifying, categorizing in horizons, and prioritizing innovation areas. Within these areas, ideas were prioritized, a balanced innovation portfolio was developed (considering different innovation horizons), and the first initiatives were kick-started. In parallel, a.s.r.'s innovation organization was assessed and blueprinted to be able to embed digitization & innovation throughout a.s.r.
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In a short time-frame, SparkOptimus helped to kick-start the first innovations and set-up the initial innovation organization.
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In recent years, the energy sector has faced significant disruptions due to the energy crisis and the ongoing transition towards sustainability. Eneco, a leading producer and supplier of natural gas, electricity and heat in the Netherlands, recognized the need to not only adapt to these changing market dynamics but to take the initiative in fostering a shift towards more sustainable consumption behaviours. Their vision was not just to introduce a new product but to catalyze a profound behaviour change that benefits both consumers' wallets and the environment. Driven by a vision to empower consumers with greener, more cost-effective energy choices through dynamic pricing and a broad range of services and products, Eneco partnered with SparkOptimus to kickstart the transformation, set-up and delivery of these innovations.
Budget Thuis is a leading energy and telecom services provider in the Netherlands, committed to providing reliable services at affordable prices. Serving more than a million customers, Budget Thuis holds a prominent position in the industry. Recognizing the substantial potential of Generative AI to enhance internal processes and the customer experience, Budget Thuis faced challenges in realizing its value independently. Therefore, they asked SparkOptimus’ support in identifying and prioritizing company-specific use cases, rapidly testing and proving the value by collaboratively building, testing, and improving MVPs, and designing an organizational setup for long-term, sustainable (Gen) AI innovation.
Henkel Consumer Brands (HCB) offers a wide range of consumer goods, represented by leading and well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf, and Dial. Committed to sustainability, HCB is transforming its product portfolio by integrating more sustainable solutions. The aim is to empower consumers to make sustainable choices not only in their purchase decisions but also in the usage of the products. To accelerate this journey, HCB collaborated with SparkOptimus to develop a comprehensive approach on shifting consumer behaviors and establishing sustainable choices as the new norm.
Zijerveld (a subsidiary of FrieslandCampina) is one of the largest cheese wholesalers in Europe. Recognizing the vast potential AI can bring to their business, they approached SparkOptimus for a one-week data scan. The scan consisted of identifying and prioritizing potential AI use cases across Zijerveld’s business and creating a first view of business value for selected use cases.
