{"id":35228,"date":"2018-11-13T19:14:21","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T19:14:40","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:14:40","slug":"innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ra\u00edzen is the technology-driven and sustainable Brazilian star child of Royal Dutch Shell and Cosan, a well-established producer of bioethanol and sugar based in S\u00e3o Paulo.\u00a0Acting as a fully integrated agro-energetic company, Ra\u00edzen operates in every single stage of the supply chain: sugarcane cultivation, sugar and ethanol production, internal and export logistics, distribution and sales. Despite setting itself apart in the national territory by leaning heavily on R&D, Ra\u00edzen had to face the complexity of producing commoditized products: squeezed margins[1]<\/a>, high price-sensitivity from the customer as well as the cyclical. It also became clear to them that the agriculture part of its value chain presented the most optimization opportunities through innovation.<\/p>\n

In 2017, to address these challenges and complement its strategy to remain as key innovative player, Ra\u00edzen took its first and bold steps towards open innovation \u2013 expanding their avenues to capture cutting-edge process innovation in agricultural technology (agtech) and contributing to what is now called the Brazilian AgTech Valley.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Innovation at their core<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since its birth, in 2011, Ra\u00edzen was committed to keeping innovation at the very core of its business. One of the most compelling evidence of such commitment was the selection of their headquarters\u2019 location: the small town of Piracicaba, in the countryside of S\u00e3o Paulo state. Home to ESALQ (the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, part of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo), the most renowned agronomy university and research center in the Brazil.<\/p>\n

Despite the successful track record of in-house innovation as well as traditional research partnerships, Ra\u00edzen still faced increased pressure improve the efficiency of their agricultural processes in a race to cut down costs and return to profitability. This served as a catalyzer for the mindset change regarding innovation in the short and medium-term. Ra\u00edzen, thus, became more opened to less traditional business partners that could unlock value in their production chain or improve their current operations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Innovating the process of innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By 2017, when they were approached by Geo Energ\u00e9tica, a smaller and start-up-like Brazilian company which developed an unique and innovative biotechnological process for biogas production from reusing agro-industry waste[2]<\/a> and had already achieved a minimum viable product (MVP) in the country, Ra\u00edzen was ready to enter such a partnership. The joint-venture created enthusiasm not only in the market but also convinced Ra\u00edzen senior management that the most innovative responses are likely to come from outside the traditional sources previously used.<\/p>\n

In same period, Ra\u00edzen\u2019s own employees started developing and pitching ideas to lever the company\u2019s market relevance to promote widespread agtech innovation in the country. In an agile move, Ra\u00edzen swiftly created Ra\u00edzen Ventures, a new innovation-focus area with a dual mandate: (i) address current and future demand for innovation as well as (ii) develop and promote the culture of innovation throughout the entire company[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of their first initiatives was Pulse Hub, created with the help of prominent Brazilian and Latin American venture capital firms. Launched in August 3rd<\/sup>, 2018, Pulse was an incubator and innovation hub and to combine the creativity of agtech entrepreneurs and the well-established business and financial experience of Ra\u00edzen and SP Ventures. Through competitive pitching, they selected the five start-up companies that would be hosted, accelerated and funded by Pulse, they would also access a network of link-minded entrepreneurs and industry leaders.<\/p>\n

Bianca Nassif, a Centre for Shared Services analyst, shared the belief that the initiative had a perfect win-win profile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst we are eager to find the innovative solutions for our business that start-ups can bring, accessing the industry experts and key opinion leaders that work at Ra\u00edzen was unvaluable to the them. A single feedback from our company could spare them money and testing time, in addition, they can lever Ra\u00edzen fields and resources to test their \u2018work-in-progress\u2019 technology.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fabio Mota, vice-president of the Centre for Shared Services and leader of Pulse also reflected on the visible preliminary results.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [Brazilian entrepreneurs] did not care about sugar cane, only about grains. Now we have lines of start-ups seeking opportunities in our sector\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The uncertain, but promising, way forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the Pulse Hub program evolves, I believe the company\u2019s senior management should continue to push its double mandate forward, as instilling a culture of innovation and openness to change is absolutely critical to enable full capture of the incubated start-ups\u2019 potential. Creating incentives for the company\u2019s middle management and experts to organically interact with the start-ups will also be key to realize the win-win promise of the program.<\/p>\n

However, how scalable and financially viable the solutions created at Pulse are remain an open question and one that Ra\u00edzen should consider carefully when selecting and mentoring the start-ups.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>\u00a0“Ra\u00edzen energia had losses of R$107.2 millions in the last quarter”, Valor Econ\u00f4mico, November 2018\u00a0 available athttps:\/\/www.valor.com.br\/agro\/5973467\/raizen-energia-teve-prejuizo-de-r-1072-milhoes-no-ultimo-trimestre<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/br.reuters.com\/article\/businessNews\/idBRKCN1L826O-OBRBS<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]Ra\u00edzen’s annual report 2017-2018, available at<\/a>https:\/\/www.raizen.com.br\/relatorioanual\/pt\/inovacao.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Interview with Bianca Nassif, conducted on November 9, 2018<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0“In Piracicaba, the innovation hub is unstoppable”, Valor Economico, May 2018, available at Valor Econ\u00f4mico, https:\/\/www.valor.com.br\/agro\/5555949\/em-polo-de-piracicaba-inovacao-nao-para<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ra\u00edzen is the technology-driven and sustainable Brazilian star child of Royal Dutch Shell and Cosan, a well-established producer of bioethanol and sugar based in S\u00e3o Paulo.\u00a0Acting as a fully integrated agro-energetic company, Ra\u00edzen operates in every single stage of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11632,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[4992],"class_list":["post-35228","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","hentry","category-digital-innovation","hck-taxonomy-country-brazil"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2018\/","yoast_head":"\nInnovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ra\u00edzen is the technology-driven and sustainable Brazilian star child of Royal Dutch Shell and Cosan, a well-established producer of bioethanol and sugar based in S\u00e3o Paulo.\u00a0Acting as a fully integrated agro-energetic company, Ra\u00edzen operates in every single stage of the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-11-14T00:14:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\\\/\",\"name\":\"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-14T00:14:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-14T00:14:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Ra\u00edzen is the technology-driven and sustainable Brazilian star child of Royal Dutch Shell and Cosan, a well-established producer of bioethanol and sugar based in S\u00e3o Paulo.\u00a0Acting as a fully integrated agro-energetic company, Ra\u00edzen operates in every single stage of the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2018-11-14T00:14:40+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/","name":"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-11-14T00:14:21+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-14T00:14:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/innovating-the-innovation-process-raizen-incubates-third-party-innovation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Innovating the innovation process: Ra\u00edzen incubates third party innovation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/35228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/35228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}