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The Optymum SS company slogan: “Innovation in Scientific Solutions” is meant to tout its service product innovation as a priority and a central part of its business model.
Problem Vs Solution
The world of life science project management is complex, as illustrated by the complicated structure of the industry dominated by; universities, contract research organisations, and platform-based outsourcing businesses. Optymum SS innovated to make it simpler and cost-effective for scientists with its pipeline-organisation, and project management business. Prior to adopting this business model solution, the platform was a website used by, its Founder and Sponsor, Daniel A. Mamphey, to secure temporary contract work. Developing the business model solution was a gradual process. The initial stages were a minimum viable product (MVP) technological platform-based business idea. He then explored alternative business models through experimentation and an evolutionary process of continuous modification, adaptation, and perfecting of the existing business solution, changing a single element or many elements at once, and the relationships between elements in multiple areas of innovation. Thus, Optymum SS innovated not just its business model, but its solutions, selling them as a service product. This involved designing a service product that isn’t about just offering services; but providing smart solutions –employing intelligence, bringing elements of selected services together, and eliminating inefficiencies –to create unmatched synergistic value.
The amount of money spent on innovation activities and a company’s overall short-term financial performance have little or no relationship. What counts instead is how organisations use money and other resources and the quality of their talent, procedures, and decision-making to develop products and services that drive progress and strongly hook up with their market and consumer base.
Opportunities
The Optymum SS service innovation brought opportunities whose extent wasn’t fully imagined or predicted. Innovation service innovations are focused on the customer, markets and prospects; allowing the finding of amazing discoveries and improving the business process. The minimum viable product (MVP) stage of innovation also allowed direct contact with the markets and the very customers these innovations were intended for. For a service innovation product to succeed, it had to fit in with the market and the consumers’ perception.
The Optymum SS innovation, as far advertisements go, was an exceptional and unique service offering, but it was also beneficial or vital in terms of boosting business success, as demonstrated by the customer testimonials. We picked the strategy of channelling innovative energies to address consumer pain points, with the commercially viable conclusion that the market would be willing to pay for it.
In the case of Optymum SS, the consumer pain was that of scientists who typically laboured to start and finish their life science projects. For service innovations to succeed, it is unnecessary to suffocate innovation beneath a thick layer of red tape. This guarantees that the innovation is sensitive to client needs and could expand upon gaining a more in-depth grasp of those requirements.
Industry Reaction
Client-side project managers quickly embraced the Optymum SS business model solution. As a result, the company achieved moderate growth in the medium term, however, more dramatic gains were noted through improved productivity, reduced costs, and increased competitiveness.
The public can oppose new innovations. History is littered with examples of ideas that were met with scepticism before becoming established features in everyday life. This is mainly because individuals are naturally wary of anything that is unfamiliar or indicates a shift in their daily lives or habits. They are not afraid of innovation merely because it is novel; rather, they are afraid of innovation because it typically entails losing a bit of their identity or way of life. The pursuit of innovation can also distance people from nature and their sense of purpose; two aspects of the human experience that are vital. An important source of resistance is found in market segments that support or are supported by an incumbent product. People having business interests in existing products, people who identify with existing products, and people who stand to lose influence as a result of change; are all examples of these groups. The first group is, perhaps, the most self-explanatory. Many industries have been impacted, if not destroyed, due to technological innovations. The fact that a current product is strongly ingrained in their identity, culture, or rituals may drive certain consumers to oppose innovation. The advent of new innovations can also lead to a change in economic power, transferring influence away from some groups and toward others. It is less difficult to adopt innovations that are superior compared to the ones that came before them.
The industry’s reception of the Optymum SS innovation was brand recognition and value as well as new partnerships and relationships. Brand recognition came in the form of the ability of a proportion of our consumers to identify our specific brand. Though the life science sector is highly competitive, we can postulate that our brand was measurably successful, and some consumers were able to recognise the brand including its slogan. We didn’t have to conduct detailed market research to determine the success of our brand recognition. Adoption of our innovative service product and business model also came in the way of increased requests for partnerships and other collaborative business relationships. The industry response was complimentary of our business strategy of pursuing partnerships making it a keystone in all we do.
Lessons Learnt
The lessons learnt by Optymum SS are provided in the points below:
- Firstly, the main lesson from the Optymum SS story is that if a new innovation has superior properties, especially when overwhelmingly superior to its predecessors, chances are that it will get adopted no matter what. Always begin by defining service innovation objectives, then make a list of goals that go along with your overall business objectives.
- The Optymum SS business model innovation also adopted a central property: Being an advocate for remote working. This happened over the period of the Covid-19 pandemic. People flock to innovations that make them more autonomous and mobile. It’s important to strike a balance in your innovation programme between the most sustainable and disruptive breakthroughs while keeping in mind that disasters are an inevitable part of any recipe for innovation success. Consumers like to move around and do so at their own convenience, a first choice that successful innovations have manipulated to their advantage.
- There is a convention that people are simply afraid of what they don’t understand. Firstly, service innovations have to be described and structured in a simple and straightforward way for the consumers to understand. Secondly, it’s the loss they are afraid of, not the newness. That loss can be a part of their identity, way of life, or economic security. Understanding the source of that fear can help mitigate resistance to service innovations by involving the opinions of consumers -who are affected.
- Finally, the Optymum SS story teaches the lesson to keep your options open. While the service innovation measurement strategy should be solid, it should not be inflexible if it is to drive progress. Service innovation processes that drive progress have to be improvable.
About The Author: Optymum SS is a networked, international pipeline-organisation of chartered scientists and certified laboratories. UK Chartered Scientists represent the best professional scientists working in the UK and abroad. We utilise our innovative business model to support the provision of the best, most cost-effective solutions to challenges within the broad life sciences –advancing well-being and quality of life. For more information about working with us or joining our partnership, please get in touch.
