lafabriqueainnovations.com is a collaborative site dedicated to the realization and industrialization of innovative product ideas Made in France, which is only a few months old. The principle is to propose to anyone who has an idea, to see it designed and sold with the help of this community. At the end of the product's conception, royalties (percentage on sales profits) are paid to all participants, including the author of the idea.
Their societal commitment is, among other things, to manufacture and design by designers all their products in France, to work with SMEs, to create new jobs or to control the quality of these products.
The four co-founders were inspired by Van Hippel's Paradigms: "innovation should no longer be centred on the means of production but only on the user". Their concept: the means of production regain an agility that allows them to always benefit from this new era of innovation and not be excluded from this new phase of the game.
The founders
A team based on specific values:
- The notion of profit sharing: an algorithm has been developed that allows the distribution of the profits of a project according to the different contributions. In this way, the value of each is put forward. This notion of sharing takes up the 50/50 principle.
- The notion of collective: through this platform, the main force of innovation that is highlighted is the human being. Synergy also allows for better collaboration between community members.
They are four co-founders:
- Mathieu Dupas, technical director: m.dupas[at]lafabriqueainnovations.com
- Arnaud Groff : strategic director, marketing and communication :a.groff[at]lafabriqueainnovations.com
- Raphaël Jolivet : Director of Design and Product Strategy : r.jolivet[at]lafabriqueainnovations.com
- Thomas Pansolato: art director, product design and web development t.panzolato[at]lafabriqueainnovations.com
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How does it work?
La fabrique à innovations is therefore a collaborative site that allows users to transform their innovative ideas into Made in France products, and to earn money by contributing to the development of an idea.
Anyone who submits an idea will have the opportunity to see their product realized and sold. In addition to this, the participants in the improvement of an idea and its transformation into an industrialized product also benefit from a percentage of the profits from sales.
Remuneration is mainly based on the sale of products designed via the platform. The sale is done through an integrated e-shop and a network of resellers. The innovation factory pays 50% net profits on sales to the author of the idea and the contributors. In addition, there is a fee for submitting ideas, which is another entry point for remuneration.
The principle of co-innovation
The innovation factory is a space in which micro-ecosystems will be created around innovative products. The bearers of "real innovations" will be able to rely on the team of professionals of the Innovative Community company, but above all on a community of consumer actors who will help them to co-develop their innovation. They will then be co-beneficiaries of its commercial success.
In addition, they will provide a great service to society by committing to do so produced by a French company. The market will thus benefit from innovations that have not been subject to the strategic laws of major accounts, which do not necessarily put the interests of the market ahead of their own, but also from the production burden for French SMEs and thus from employment.
Finally, by practicing co-innovation, a real process of change is initiated. Consumer change who will become aware that they must be influential players in globalisation, but also change in the SMEs that will relearn to be agile, flexible in production, even opportunistic.
A paying idea deposit: why?
1) For managerial reasons and for change management: "Too much creativity can kill creativity".
The Innovation Factory says it applies the best practices of innovation management deployed by Dr Groff and Mr Dupas for years in the largest companies: " if you want to create a sustainable community of actors promoting innovation, it is necessary to ensure "a rise in power" allowing the whole community to get to know each other and to devote their efforts to projects with a high potential for success.
So when the idea bearer has to validate his idea sheet, the fact of paying will allow him to pay particular attention to the factors favourable to his success (market, strategy recommended by La fabrique...) Besides this, a consulting space or forum also allows users to follow their own "pedagogical" path. Indeed, advice sheets will allow them to realize that "to participate is already to win".
This framework seems to them to be indispensable for structuring the eco-system so that it can take its bearings but above all to initiate a positive process of creation in the mobilized community: "We clearly aim for incremental innovation and let breakthrough innovation take time to come gradually. Life is made up of little extras, not just breakthroughs. Otherwise you run the risk of demotivating your troops!
In the best practices of innovation management, you learn that there is a challenge to force the carrier of the idea to accept the convergence, the concretization and which necessarily requires a compromise between the desires of the project carrier and the final result.
When we pay, this type of process takes place and our ecosystem regulates itself. We are for 2013/2014 on products requiring development times of less than 3 months and a selling price of less than 30€. »
2) For qualitative reasons and consulting assignments
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3) For reasons of security and reliability: the platforms are developed under an adapted CMS and a set of security certificates that have been put in place to guarantee tamper-proof traceability of everyone's contributions.
A numbered idea deposit certificate specifying the time and day is automatically transmitted to prove the anteriority of a deposit.
Moreover, before disseminating an idea, they look to see whether it can be the subject of special protection.
All these commitments therefore have a certain cost which would justify this economic model.
A first success with My Tatane
Among the first ideas already posted on the site, My Tatane flip-flops are one of the new products that can be predicted to be a commercial success.
They are flip-flops, tap dance, fully customizable. Material and colors, from the sole to the straps, to the jewel (the part of the top that will fix the straps to the sole), you can adapt your model in a few seconds.
The product is on sale from 19,90 euros without accessories and the managers of La Fabrique are confident : "We are investing more than 100,000 euros for the 2014 season, to increase our production capacity, to offer our products to resellers, or to bring improvements and new features to the product. We also plan to sell in the USA and Brazil through partnerships with local companies.
