Project INEDITOpen Innovation and the Do-it-together approach in furniture design

In the furniture industry, the demand for customised and sustainable products is increasing. Digitisation and customer involvement enable new agile and flexible development and production approaches.

With the INEDIT project, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum and its partners have developed a "do-it-together approach" that brings together customers, designers, furniture manufacturers, and makers in a collaborative working process. The development and design of the furniture pieces is actively shaped by the customer, and supplemented by feedback from other customers, ideas from designers, and material properties and manufacturing frameworks from makers. Thus, the value chain becomes a network. Customers act as idea generators, working with designers and manufacturers who evaluate and visualise their product ideas. Craftsmen, so-called makers, can be involved to build prototypes or unique pieces.

As an open innovation ecosystem, the INEDIT platform DesignTogether integrates knowledge and ideas from design and engineering from different disciplines. It enables the exchange of information without detours, the testing of new technologies and manufacturing processes, or cooperative production. The focus is on local, fair, and sustainable production. Ideally, recycled, smart, cost-effective, and personalised products should be brought to market in the shortest possible time.

As a project partner and leading partner of the communication work package, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum has promoted the dissemination of project results, supported the consortium in clarifying intellectual property rights, and developed an exploitation strategy. As an experienced innovation manager, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is leading the way towards sustainable implementation.

Two of the four demonstration partners, SCM and Veragouth, are also further developing their sustainability strategies through the project’s tasks.

Video INEDIT project - Short Presentation - YouTube

Video INEDIT illustrative video - YouTube

Video The Open Community with Ivo Zeller - YouTube

Project website: Inedit Project – Inedit Project (inedit-project.eu)