Open Innovation
See how BIC uses HYPE Partnering to centralize partner data, unify evaluations, and cut partner sourcing time by 30% across an 800+ partner ecosystem.
Overview
Learn how BIC, a world-leading brand of stationery, lighters, and shavers, uses HYPE Partnering to:
- Search for and engage with external partners
- Methodically and strategically collect data about partners in HYPE’s easy-to-access and easy-to-use database.
- Reduce the time needed for sourcing partners by 30%
- Give the Ecosystem of external connections a single body and multiply its results for the organization.
About BIC
Founded in 1944 and based in France, BIC is a world leader in stationery, lighters, and shavers, with a long-term vision of providing high-quality, affordable products to consumers everywhere. To meet this vision, BIC is constantly looking to expand its core product offering. For example, BIC expands out of its core stationery category evolving from purely writing Instruments to "Human Expression," which goes beyond writing instruments and into creative expression, arts and crafts, and digital writing market spaces as well as skin creative and tattoo segment as well.
Here, external partners are particularly important for BIC’s venture beyond its usual products (in 2022 BIC has acquired Inkbox - the direct-to-consumer, semi-permanent tattoo brand that empowers customers with the ultimate tools for self-expression).
We were delighted when BIC turned to HYPE Partnering for a new way to discover, pilot, and track collaborations with their external partners, which reduced the time they spent on forming new partnerships by an incredible 30%.
Everything open innovation needs
“Frankly speaking, your solution encompasses all features (ideation, partnering, strategy) that one organization would need as means to establish and strengthen its open innovation capabilities.” – Kostas Mavroidis, Head of Technology Incubator & Open Innovation
Before HYPE Partnering: A missing link in building a sustainable partner ecosystem
BIC was searching for ways to streamline its partnering process after identifying that executing many of the new ideas in its pipeline required collaboration with external partners. Yet the company’s data and open innovation processes were scattered among various departments and each partnership was happening in a silo.
This caused duplication, missing data, wasted time, and many other pressing business issues:
- Retrieving past or lost interactions with external partners was complicated, if not impossible
- No processes existed for managing the ecosystem of external partners
- There was no communication plan for promoting the ecosystem to the rest of the company
- No unified way existed for evaluating and benchmarking potential solution providers
- The right set of tools and resources was missing for managing the ecosystem.
- There was no systematic or methodical way to build, track, and sustain relationships with the right partners
"Before HYPE, I was working on implementing a POC (proof-of-concept) and had a particular partner that I wanted to collaborate with; however, I couldn’t get in touch with them as nobody replied to me.
One day, I was walking in the hallway and met a colleague of mine. He asked how my POC was going, and I explained that I was struggling to get in touch with the startup I want to work with. My colleague immediately told me that he has worked with this startup. He gave me all the phone numbers, email addresses, and other documents I needed.
It was a clear representation that our team made a lot of connections, but these were not methodically and strategically collected in an easy-to-access and easy-to-use database. And that’s why so many connections got lost or forgotten.
It was evident that we needed a centralized open-for-all database to retain external communication records, a value evident in HYPE Partnering Platform that was implemented in the company at the time in a Pilot phase."
After HYPE Partnering: Everything can be done on one platform
BIC started using HYPE Partnering in 2021 and its value was proven in less than six months. Everyone on the initial pilot team was impressed by how easy it was to navigate HYPE’s platform and with the value the platform provides.
Since purchasing and fully rolling HYPE Partnering’s platform, BIC’s internal collaboration has taken off exponentially, with numerous teams interacting on the platform. These teams now add their insights, evaluations, and comments about each partner to the platform, which avoids any duplication of work. And if someone else needs to collaborate with the same partner, they can simply retrieve all the necessary information from the single “source of truth.”
BIC can also search for a new partner on the same platform because HYPE Partnering is seamlessly integrated with multiple third-party databases.
Another significant benefit for BIC is the unified process and workflow for evaluating these partners. HYPE Partnering’s platform brought uniformity and centralized evaluation streamlining within BIC’s Partner Scouting Activities:
- It’s easier to discover partners externally and search for them internally
- Every previous and current engagement with external partners is tracked
- Employees can connect and collaborate with external partners
The benefits for BIC of using HYPE Partnering
Partner network EXPANSION
Expansion of BIC’s partner ecosystem across many fields and verticals (800 partners already in the system and growing).Ecosystem body MATERIALIZATION
Create a single body Ecosystem of Partners to review, handle, and leverage it.User GROWTH
Different teams and departments are starting to collaborate, and groups in different countries now engage with each other.
Time SAVED
There has been over a 30% reduction in the time needed for sourcing partners (from assignment of a topic to arriving at a shortlist). This is mainly because the teams don’t need to search for data across multiple databases and everything can be done in HYPE’s platform – users don’t ever need to exit the platform.
“We (BIC) are very happy with the collaborative relationship we have with HYPE. Reaction time is great, and it seems there’s always an open door when we want to suggest improvements.”
Fast questions with BIC
1. How has it been working with HYPE’s Customer Success team?
This is maybe one of the most important assets of this collaboration. HYPE's Team has provided an open space where we can co-create and co-evolve the platform towards what we actually need.
2. What would your job be like if you didn’t have HYPE?
Most probably a maze of Excel sheets and report tables with lots of running around with several different scattered methodologies and tools.
3. What would you tell other companies considering using HYPE?
Allow HYPE to bring out the vast power of Open Innovation that you most probably already have but don't know because it is scattered and diffused.
4. How would you describe your experience with HYPE in three words?
Co-creative, Open-minded, and Enlightening.
Ready to expand your partner ecosystem?
See how HYPE’s platform can help you centralize partner data, streamline scouting, and build lasting collaborations, just like BIC, which cut partner sourcing time by 30% and grew its ecosystem to 800+ partners.
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