WORK
Changing the Way Biotech Innovates
Building a culture of user-centered innovation in the name of science
The Challenge
Bring user-centered innovation (UCI) to a global biotech company.
IMPACT
Life Technologies is now a $13.6 billion company and uses UCI to inspire innovation throughout the 10,000-person company.
The OUTCOME
A bottle redesign, the process of which eventually led to an organizational change.
Life Technologies, a global biotech company that supplies scientists with products and services, needed to grow big, from a $4 billion to a $10 billion enterprise. So it hired IDEO to help seed innovation across the company.
"When we started out, it was an R&D thing for driving innovation in new products. Now it’s not just R&D; user-centered innovation is a central part of our culture. It’s what we do throughout the organization," said Amy Cuneo, Associate Director, Customer Insights.
Over a three-year engagement, IDEO helped transform Life Technologies’ corporate culture through the introduction of User-Centered Innovation (UCI), an optimistic, experiential approach to problem-solving. Far outperforming its ambitious goal, Life Technologies is now a $13.6 billion company and uses UCI to inspire innovation throughout the 10,000-person organization.
After working with Life Technologies, IDEO designers came up with three products that have gone to market, including, a new bottle that showcases superior handling and storage, easier identification, and additional room for supplements. And Life Technologies has transformed from a company that aspires to focus on customers to one that truly does.
What started as a bottle redesign led to organizational change.
2014