Innovation is Not (Only) About Technology

In the rapidly evolving world of SaaS solutions, innovation is crucial. As the Chief Product Owner of Customaite, I understand this all too well. That’s why, four times a year, we organise an Innovation Day with the entire team. These days are designed to break away from daily operations and take the time to think out-of-the-box and experiment. This not only generates new valuable ideas but also strengthens team spirit and camaraderie.

Something for the mind, the body and the soul

Our innovation day always starts with a delicious, healthy and rich breakfast. This gives everyone a chance to catch up informally and begin the day on a relaxed note. Afterwards, we break into groups. These groups are pre-formed based on ideas chosen in advance. The ideas need to have the potential to add value to our customers and our product. It's important that everyone works on something they are passionate about and that contributes to our shared goal.

At midday, we have lunch together, a moment to relax and share insights that have already been gained in the morning. After lunch, we go back to work, and in the evening, each group pitches their ideas while enjoying pizza and some drinks. This conclusion is not only informative but also a fun way to wrap up the day together.

Technology and Beyond

While we are a tech company and much of our Innovation Days focus on the latest technological developments, such as evaluating the newest Large Language Models like GPT-4o or LayoutLM to better extract information from documents with a complex layout, I want to emphasise that innovation is not only about technology. One of the groups at our last Innovation Day called themselves the "Friction Hunters." Inspired by a lecture by Steven Van Belleghem, "Improve Your Customer Experience with Friction Hunting," they spent the entire day identifying points of friction in our application where users might still experience difficulties.

The Friction Hunters

The Friction Hunters made a very valuable contribution to our Innovation Day. By identifying and solving friction points in our application, they directly contributed to improving the user experience. One of their solutions was even immediately implemented technically and can provide immediate value to our product. It was really wonderful to see how a non-technological approach can lead to valuable innovations in a technological product.

Triple Win

Innovation Days are essential for Customaite. They offer a unique opportunity to foster creativity and collaboration and to discover both technological and non-technological innovations. While technology plays a significant role in our product, time and again, it turns out that valuable insights also come from other perspectives.

The Friction Hunters showed us that reducing friction is just as important as technological advancement. Ultimately, innovation is about creating value for our customers, and that can be achieved in many ways. At Customaite, we will continue to innovate, with an eye on both technology and the broader customer user experience, ensuring we fulfil our promise: making the customs declaration process as smooth as possible.