Nike's co-dependency with its customers means business

Infosys is very proud of being on Fortune’s list of the most innovative companies. Our founders were visionaries. They thought hard about the trends impacting the world, enterprises and society. That led them to create what is now known as the Global Delivery Model (GDM). A whole lot of innovation followed. But GDM still ranks as the most significant innovation – it’s the one that, arguably, led to a whole new approach to IT and services. 

The core of GDM is the idea of engaging with clients in a new way (in this particular case, for the delivery of IT services). This is an early example of an approach that today we call “co-creation.” Co-creation is about creative, inclusive and meaningful engagements with stakeholders to mutually expand value. That is, it’s not about transactional interactions, but rather, sustained engagements between partners. Let me give an example.

Take a look at the Nike+ website.  Here is a place where runners can upload data about their recent runs. They can see the history of their runs on maps, they can share them with their friends (and exchange comments, suggested runs, etc.), they can get tips, they can post information about upcoming events. Nike has given their customers a reason to want to come back to their website every day and engage; engage with Nike, engage with their friends. Nike has moved from a transactional product catalog to a website that sustains a long-term collaboration with their customers. Everyone gets added value – though not necessarily the same value: the customers get something that helps them with their fitness regime and helps them interact with friends, while Nike gets valuable information about its customers and how they are using its products. A classic win-win situation.

I think that’s a great example of co-creation. It has all the key elements. There is an “engagement platform;” that is, a place (in this case a website) where the parties come together. There are multiple stakeholders (Nike and its customers). It’s certainly creative (particularly visible if you go back and compare the origins of this site and how it’s evolved to become what it is today).

In my next blog I’ll talk about how co-creation can be applied to the process of innovation.

Source: Forbes.com