Sartorius - Customer Case Study

THE CHALLENGE

Turning technology insights into competitive advantage

For a leading partner of life sciences research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing like Sartorius, mastering innovation is not just important, it’s imperative. Staying ahead in a rapidly changing market requires the ability to anticipate and adapt to emerging drivers of change with speed and efficiency. To ensure industry leadership, Sartorius must leverage cutting-edge technological advancements, transforming insights into actionable strategies that drive innovation and secure a competitive advantage.

With the integration of the ITONICS Innovation OS in 2017, the Corporate Research department at Sartorius advanced its ability to drive forward-looking research in the biopharmaceutical space and fuel its innovation pipeline. With 60 members across multiple product development areas, the platform provided a connected ecosystem to track, analyze, and disseminate the department’s innovation program.

Groups with valuable knowledge and experience were distributed across a large enterprise
Geography and time-zones created barriers to technology discussions
Recognized need to validate new technologies in PoC stage before committing to long-term roadmaps
A desire to better understand the emerging trend and technology landscape critical to Sartorius' future

Connect global tech teams

Establish a centralized approach for multi-disciplinary, global teams to engage in technology discussions.

Fuel innovation

Dynamically collate and link innovation information—from internal and external expertise to companies, trends, and ideas.

Track progress

Comprehensively and transparently track the development and performance of Sartorius' innovation efforts.

1. Scouting

Sartorius utilized the ITONICS Innovation OS to scout, document, and categorize its innovation intelligence. This encompassed a broad spectrum, from emerging technologies and potential partners to active projects and prospective opportunities.

2. Sharing

The flexible and customizable structure of the Innovation OS enabled rapid capture and systematic organization in alignment with Sartorius’ internal best practice. This ensured immediate access to crucial information for the Corporate Research team and internal stakeholders.

3. Discussion

To visualize and evaluate its scouting efforts, Sartorius used the ITONICS Radar visualization. The Radar provides a holistic view of relevance and impact, helping to identify areas requiring further focus and action. The platform's sharing and commenting capabilities allow for ongoing, tracked discussions for a globally distributed team across multiple time zones.

4. Rating

Rating functions provided Sartorius with an objective method to evaluate identified technologies and projects. By allowing members to score these elements according to business impact, priority, or strategy fit, Sartorius was able to focus its resources and efforts on the most promising areas, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.

5. Act

Sartorius’ innovation program comprises both internal and external collaborative technology development and PoC projects. Good communication enables cross-disciplinary idea generation and evolution.

Through visual summaries and dashboards, Sartorius gained real-time insights into user engagement, the expansion of innovative projects, and other key performance indicators.

360-degree view: Sartorius achieved a consolidated view of Corporate Research’s innovation program. The platform served as a springboard for further innovation, laying the groundwork for future technological advancements and strategic growth.
Increased collaboration: The ITONICS Innovation OS enhanced global communication and collaboration across different time zones, fostering more interconnected and efficient workflows.
Effective knowledge management: The platform facilitated effective documenting and sharing of a range of innovation-related information, ensuring that valuable insights were accessible and leveraged across the organization.

Rapid technology capture and sharing: The platform enabled the swift documenting and sharing of identified technologies with potential value, enhancing knowledge dissemination within the Corporate Research department and among connected internal partners.
Dynamic partner identification: The system sped up the identification of potential partners, particularly startups and academic groups, that align with current or future innovation projects, thereby fostering collaborative opportunities.

A profile of Sartorius

Sartorius is a leading international partner of life sciences research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. With innovative laboratory instruments and consumables, the Group’s Lab Products & Services division focuses on laboratories performing research and quality control at pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies as well as academic research institutes. The Bioprocess Solutions division, with its broad product portfolio focusing on single-use solutions, helps customers manufacture biotech medications, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies safely, rapidly, and economically.

The company, based in Göttingen, Germany, has a strong global reach with around 60 production and sales sites worldwide. Sartorius regularly expands its portfolio through the acquisition of complementary technologies. In 2023, the company generated sales revenue of around 3.4 billion euros. Currently, around 14,600 employees are working for customers around the globe.

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