What is European Concept?

2. What is European Concept? European Concept is a community of companies, people and research organizations who want to be (pro-) active in innovating products/services and process design in today’s sustainability focused environment and globalized markets.

3. Premises and assumptions • Successful companies are able to identify and fulfill new users’ needs: • Creating solutions at the cutting edge of technology • Integrating existing value propositions with new innovative opportunities • Innovation is the key • To drive market segmentation and face market polarization • To face cost-based competition from emerging countries • Successful companies place users at the center • The ultimate aim is to satisfy the final customer / consumer • Offer innovative and articulated value propositions that integrate advanced services and tangible goods. • Involve suppliers and customers in the product design process to achieve sustainable competitive advantage

4. Focus: Customer needs • New business models for detecting and managing new, undiscovered customer needs • Enabling structured methodologies versus intuitive and creative • Integrated networked design versus individual design • Make the classical product offering approach evolve into a modern product/service vision • product/service integrated design • product/service lifecycle management • sustainability

5. Sustainable Product/Service • Innovating along the entire life-cycle of products based on users’ needs • New Product/service Innovation approach, focusing on Value propositions: • Moving from a collective approach to product/service design based on real (individual) user needs (explicit, non explicit, indirectly connected) • Application of new technologies and innovative services throughout the entire value added chain, identifying new modalities to satisfy users expectations.

6. Adding to existing • European industrial and entrepreneurial network: • In relation to existing platforms (e.g. Manufuture) • In relation to initiatives having a European relevance. • Link and make available existing data sources and best practices on (sustainable) product/services development

7. Building blocks / topics • Innovation through new business models • Sustainable production best practices 3) Development of intelligent knowledge-based systems 4) Creation of specific data bases to be used by collaborative networks of enterprises 5) Integration of existing sources of information 6) Management systems for collaborative networks aimed to classify, store and share useful information 7) Training and dissemination of the above listed results and outputs within the European business community.

8. Interesting for whom? • Those who are interested in the topic of continuous innovation of products and services. • Those who are willing to contribute to the activities of the group (e.g. participation in meetings and workshops, where you present your ideas and needs etc). • Those who are open for international collaboration, which may for instance include participation in EU-funded research and development projects.

9. Current Supporters

10. Benefits? • To have the opportunity to exchange ideas and best practice with Academic and Industrial leaders • To develop your professional network and build collaborations with other innovative companies in the sustainable product/service industry in Europe • To be given the means to influence the relevant R&D agenda of the EU • To be continuously informed on actual opportunities for collaboration on innovative & sustainable product/service design opportunities