Provoke Design developed its foresight competence and created new networks

The business aim of Turku-based Provoke Design is to design products and services towards more user-friendly and more distinguishable direction. Provoke’s strengths are in the design of mobile products and electronics. Provoke Design employs sociologists, physics, engineers and visual designer, which means that assignments are considered from many different angles.

In spring 2007, Provoke Design carried out a series of foresight competence workshops in cooperation with Finland Futures Research Centre of the Turku School of Economics. The aim of the workshops was to analyse the company’s innovation networks and to develop their foresight competence and a foresight system. In addition to the system and the analysis of the company’s networks that were generated in the workshop, the company gained an understanding of the future research models and methods. Furthermore, through other workshop participants, Provoke Design made many new contacts with potential customers as well as with other companies in the field.

Cooperation in product development resulted in Yosa oat snack

Bioferme Ltd. is a family-owned company in Kaarina, which manufactures spoonable probiotic Yosa oat snacks, organic drinks and organic fermented vegetable products. Chance and networks, played a considerable role in the start-up of Yosa production.

In 1994, Bioferme Ltd. acquired a licence to an idea which was born in the Department of Food Technology of the University of Helsinki, and later launched on the market under the name Yosa. Yosa was a totally new type of product and it was not “ready” when it entered the market. Yosa’s texture, taste and probiotic strain have been developed over the years and the cooperation has been ongoing with the University of Turku. 

According to Merja Scharlin, the CEO of Bioferme Ltd., the product development has been a long road and the universities have given the company their support all the way. It is only afterwards that the value of the support can be fully appreciated. Scharlin thinks that the entrepreneurs are afraid of the universities for no reason. The entrepreneurs need to get their hands on the latest research information. Even know-how expires, if it is not updated continuously.

Language and cross-cultural communication training for an international company

Auramarine Ltd. is the market leader in auxiliary unit production, and it specialises in delivering fuel supply systems. Skills in English language and in cross-cultural communication play an important role in its business activities, as most of their customers are located abroad. The most common means of communication include e-mail and telephone conversations, and therefore fluent language skills and cultural competence are highly important. Cultural competence helps you to understand why negotiations may take long although from someone else’s perspective things could be settled a lot quicker.

Auramarine Ltd. bought English language and communication training from the corporate services unit of the Language Centre of the Turku University of Applied Sciences. The training focused especially on improving the staff members’ skills in telephone and e-mail communication and in cross-cultural communication. To ensure customer-oriented approach, the materials used in the training were based on the company’s everyday communication.

Partiovaruste Ltd. expanded to international markets through e-commerce

The aim of Partiovaruste Ltd. was to expand its business to international markets through e-commerce. Jussi Nummelin, a student of the Turku School of Economics, prepared an internationalisation plan for the company in his master’s thesis and estimated the needs for change required by the internationalisation process, including, for example, the supply chain management.

The principal suggestion made in the study was that Partiovaruste should start the process of internationalisation by first getting into the markets in the neighbouring regions. After succeeding in this, the company could aim at international markets. Innovativeness, reliance on quality brands in the product range, questions related to brand integration and an effective marketing concept, were considered as the critical success factors. As for managing the supply chain, good relationship to the principal suppliers was emphasized.

Long-term cooperation has created a trustworthy partnership

Raisio Group and Turku School of Economics share a long and diverse partnership. One of the corner stones of the partnership is the 'Leading Raisio' training programme, which has been organised since 2002. According to Merja Lumme, Raisio Group HR Manager, the programme originated from Raisio Group's needs. It is more about Raisio than academic matters. The yearlong training is offered to the Group’s key persons who have potential to develop their expertise and managerial duties.

The trainers of the training programme include both experts representing the Turku School of Economics as well as Raisio’s own members of staff. One of the strengths of the programme is the fact that the members of the Group’s management team act as sparring partners for the trainees. This promotes active interaction between the management team and the key persons.

From the viewpoint of Raisio Group, the main benefit of the partnership is having access to the latest research information. Business with long-lasting results cannot be done without academic research and new, educated employees.

From the viewpoint of Turku School of Economics, the main benefits relate to a better understanding of what Raisio Group expects from the training programmes. Because each training programme is tailored to meet the current challenges, the planning process of the training programmes also develops the skills of the personnel at the Turku School of Economics.