Dive Summary:
- David Dorf, Director of Technology Strategy at Oracle Retail, asks why more retailers do not have standalone innovation labs, after a big impact from Walmart and Nordstrom's labs in 2012.
- Dorf highlights the advantages of a separate innovation lab: keeping the "start-up spirit", not allowing innovation to get "sucked into fire fighting" and not having to meticulously document every new tweak in an ongoing creative process.
- Dorf argues that, in an age of ever-changing technology, retailers cannot afford to "stand still" and need the outside-the-box thinking provided by standalone innovation labs to stay ahead (or even keep up) in the market.
From the article:
"... At Oracle Retail we established the Retail Applied Research (RAR) team a couple years ago under the leadership of John Yopp. They research emerging technology, collaborate with other labs, and convert ideas into prototypes in a nimble fashion. Their efforts help us better assess the value of ideas and de-risk some of the technology.
To foster the innovative spirit, we also have an annual Science Fair in our R&D organization. Small teams with innovative ideas are given the week of NRF to build prototypes, which are then judged based on originality, execution and presentation. Last year we had some pretty cool ideas using iPhones and Twitter that led to patent applications. ..."
