De-risking innovation, solving business challenges with Open Innovation Platform

As business models are challenged by disruptive technologies and evolving customer expectations, businesses are turning to digital transformation through collaboration.

For many businesses, innovation comes with uncertainty, especially in today’s digital economy. As they develop new digital capabilities to stay ahead, they often face high costs and risks in the process. 

To mitigate these challenges, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) creates a structured, lower-risk pathway to innovation with the Open Innovation Platform (OIP).

The OIP is a structured, end-to-end platform that helps companies identify real business problems, crowdsource smart digital solutions, and co-develop them with the right partners. To put it simply, it is designed to de-risk the innovation process.

De-risk innovation, maximise results

Through the OIP, corporates work closely with IMDA’s consultants and design thinking specialists to uncover, assess, and refine their business challenges. Once a challenge is defined, IMDA PIXEL organises quarterly OIP Calls. In this phase, they crowdsource solutions from a diverse pool of over 16,000 global tech providers, including start-ups, research institutes, and technology companies. The OIP ensures that businesses receive actionable and validated solutions, all without incurring typical consultancy costs. Participation in the platform is complimentary, with companies only needing to commit prize money for selected solutions.

Once submissions are received, corporates co-evaluate proposals alongside IMDA’s team and select the most promising solution providers. These partners then co-develop, validate, and test the digital solutions in a real-world environment.

For companies, this means faster time-to-market for new digital initiatives, lower R&D costs, reduced innovation risk, and a partnered path to commercialisation. 

For innovators, it is an opportunity to co-create with enterprise customers, gain market traction, and scale their solutions across industries.

AI-powered rostering system

The OIP has proven itself effective, with several businesses benefitting from it to achieve success. Amongst them is the retail company Yue Hwa that has transformed shift scheduling through its AI-powered rostering system developed through the OIP.

Yue Hwa’s previous rostering relied on spreadsheets, with each department managing its own shifts for more than 40 frontline staff in four physical stores and one online outlet. The complexity of aligning rest days, leave requests, and spontaneous sick leaves led to frequent disruptions and staff dissatisfaction.

To address this pain point, Yue Hwa approached IMDA PIXEL in May 2023. IMDA consultants then worked closely with the retail company to define and refine their challenge.  In July 2023, the firm launched their well-scoped challenge via an OIP Call and in just 6 weeks, local and international solution providers submitted 16 tailored proposals.

Yue Hwa eventually selected Synapsify, a Pakistan-based tech firm, which customised its proprietary Human Resource Management ERP, Synapsivate, for the retail company.

The Synapsify team developed an intelligent rostering algorithm and web interface that allows fast, automated creation of staff rosters in just 15 seconds, customisation of shifts by type, in-store requirements, and employee preferences, and staff shift-swapping via a mobile application. 

“The solution also provides a fair and transparent system that acknowledges and accommodates diverse employee needs,” said Jacob Yu, Yue Hwa’s director. 

“The OIP is a great platform for both businesses with a problem statement and vendors with a solution. It was a smooth process from the onboarding to the development of the prototype,” he added. “We look forward to leveraging such platforms to continue improving our workplace and services.”

AI-powered waste-to-resource marketplace 

Another company that utilised OIP was sustainable packaging firm Greenpac. Instead of paying to recycle its manufacturing waste, Greenpac now transforms waste into a resource, unlocking new revenue streams by connecting with potential off-takers through an AI-driven marketplace. 

Greenpac participated in the A*Star A*STAR Advanced Manufacturing Startup Challenge 2023, organised by A*StartCentral and A*Star A*STAR Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (A*Star A*STAR ARTC) and hosted on the OIP. Through OIP’s structured innovation process, Greenpac found a match with tech startup Circular Unite.

In collaboration with A*Star A*STAR ARTC and A*Star A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (A*Star A*STAR SIMTech), Circular Unite built on its Next Gen Analytic Tool for Achieving Low Impact Ecosystem (Natalie) to create a digital waste-to-resource marketplace. The platform matches waste material sellers and potential buyers based on specific raw material needs, calculates carbon emissions avoided from reusing waste, and streamlines reporting for sustainability frameworks.

For Greenpac, what began as a search for better ways to make use of their manufacturing waste has grown into a strategic shift in how the company views waste not as an expense, but as an opportunity. The company now sees the potential for waste management to become revenue-generating, whilst advancing national goals to reduce landfill use and carbon emissions.

Greenpac’s positive experience with OIP has opened the company to new possibilities. “We benefitted from the platform’s ability to match us with innovative consultants who could address our business challenges, and we look forward to solving potential future problems this way,” Greenpac’s CEO Chika Imakita said.

Embark on a structured, scalable, and de-risked innovation journey with IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform. Learn more about IMDA’s OIP on their website and sign up for their mailing list to stay updated on upcoming OIP Challenges Call.