When applying to IndX, your application will be reviewed by three competence teams based on each focus area: sustainability, autonomy, and connectivity. The competence teams consist of several experts in each area, going through the applications and selecting who’s going to pitch. This means, that just applying to IndX makes you visible to different departments at our corporate partners, and opens up doors for future collaborations.
We’ve interviewed some of the experts in each competence team – Martin Helmfrid from Saab and Jonas Klang from Toyota Material Handling!
Martin Helmfrid, Director Business Development – Advanced Programs – Saab Aeronautics – TEAM AUTONOMY and part of the IndX Steering group.
What does it mean to have competence teams validating the applications?
– The competence team has a very broad technical background, not only in the current subject area. This results in the technology presented being assessable not only based on its main purpose; a preliminary evaluation of its applicability and relevance in respective company product portfolios can also be conducted. One of the greatest challenges in the evaluation process is precisely understanding advanced technology from a rather limited application. To make this possible, a competence team is almost a necessity.
What expertise do the competence teams consist of? What does that mean for startups?
– The broad expertise within our competence teams enables us to provide startups with a fair evaluation, despite the limited opportunity in an application to describe the technology. With this extensive expertise, we can also link technology with products in our portfolio to ensure genuine opportunities with the companies we invite to pitch. I believe that the wide technical competence we bring to the process is a unique strength for IndX.
Jonas Klang, Program Manager Innovation at Toyota Material Handling Europe – TEAM SUSTAINABILITY
How do you function as a competence team in establishing a connection with each department at your partner companies?
– We have attempted to cover various aspects of our operations, but the emphasis has been on how, together with startups, we can enhance our offering to customers through better products and improved or entirely new services. Naturally, there is a focus on product development, but we have also sought to involve the service and maintenance business.
During your time in the competence team, can you reflect and see what contributions the competence teams have made to the IndX process? What benefits are there?
– With a broader representation evaluating applications even before the pitch, we accelerate the speed of the process while also creating early internal buy-in. This increases the chance of finding a suitable case for a proof of concept or pilot, which is typically what most startups desire.
