Claudius Laskawy

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Never heard of platooning? If the answer to that question is no, don’t worry about it. However, it is very likely to five years from now, this technology will be omnipresent but still invisible whenever you enter a highway.

Platooning is essentially the practice of interlocking trucks into an interconnected vehicle chain that allows all drivers but the first to withdraw from their driver seats. The first truck is thereby driven by a certified lead driver that chooses the path and leads the chain of the following trucks. The exact path and position are then communicated in real-time via Wi-Fi to the succeeding trucks that follow the wheel tracks of the lead truck in the front. Radar, Wi-Fi and multiple other sensors ensure that each truck keeps a secure distance to the preceding vehicle and does not deviate from the prescribed track. At highway entries, exits and junctions platoons will automatically increase vehicle gaps to give way to other road users.In this way, truck drivers can simply enter or exit a chain of trucks. Benefits of platooning, which allows for reduced distances between driving trucks, simultaneous acceleration, and breaking and alternative work assignments for drivers, are a reduction in fuel consumption, accidents, CO2 emissions, traffic and maintenance. Furthermore, it will generate more overall throughput and reduce truck drivers’ stress levels. Halfway through 2018, a consortium consisting of six leading truck manufacturers (DAF, DAIMLER, IVECO, MAN, SCANIA, VOLVO GROUP) has started a real-world testing project in collaboration with traffic and road authorities on European streets. The final platooning demonstration is planned on public roads in 2021.

Curious about a platooning demonstration? Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpuwG4A56r0

Could platooning maybe even work for cars if car manufacturers can agree on a certain standard? One is tempted to think of a three-lane highway with a one lane for chained trucks on the right, one lane in the middle for all manually steered cars and a left lane that allows platooning for new kinds of interconnected vehicles that travel at a very high speed and allow passengers to do all kinds of leisure or work activities while the car is interlocked in a chain with other cars.

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Large corporations have been struggling with breakthrough innovations for a long time. As pointed out by Clayton Christensen in ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma’ (1997), incumbent firms that capture a significant share of a given market tend to focus on retaining their current, highly profitable customer base while ignoring the lower end of the demand side. Once this behavior becomes institutionalized, corporations focus on efficiency gains and incremental innovations of their product or service portfolios. Sponsored by senior management, corporates should hence establish separate divisions that focus on reviving entrepreneurial spirit and exploring digital opportunities at the low end of the market. But where to start?

In order to foster entrepreneurial thinking and the development of digitally enriched business ideas, corporations have set up different forms of digital innovation units (DIUs) that are supposed to mimic startups behavior. Their common goal is the strategic advancement of corporations as well as delivering tangible contributions to the digital transformation through the repeated development of incremental to disruptive innovations.

2/3 of all companies listed in the German DAX index have established at least one digital innovation unit – some claim to have set up more than 40 at locations all over the world.

These units are normally established outside existing structures, are equipped with toys like Legos and ping pong tables, and work with agile and flexible methods like design thinking, scrum, lean startup or sprints. Furthermore, they often enjoy high degrees of freedom in their operations, include various stakeholders from their networks in the ideation and prototyping process, and are sponsored by senior management.

Three types of DIUs have emerged over the past decade, namely Innovation Labs, Accelerators/Incubators and Company Builder. They have a common objective but differ significantly in their approach and scope. The graphic below offers a first overview of these three approaches and their general objectives. Digital Innovation Units

I will further elaborate on the specific set-up of Innovation Labs in my second post.

Platooning – the next step towards autonomous supply chains on European street?

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Innovation Labs, Accelerators, and Company Builder – How corporates try to deal with the Innovator’s Dilemma

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