Background
The perception of traditional premium brands is increasingly losing value among younger target groups, while the pressure for innovation from new players in the market is growing. The smart home of the future offers Miele many opportunities for new product experiences and revenue models, but needs the right strategy for its design and implementation.
Overview
zero360 has taken up the challenge and supported the development of Miele's own smart home division. The focus of the project was the development of new products and services as well as the transfer of the premium brand idea into the digital age. In addition to coaching in the development of new visions, products and business models, the simultaneous methodical enablement of the Smart Home employees was a central milestone. This ensured a sustainable transformation. Further activities included the support of the Design Center in strategic topics such as user interface concepts and the cross-departmental empowerment of employees.
Introduction and working methods of the Miele Smart Home department
Example prototype for the BaristaAssistant in the product generation 7000
Strategic support for the conception of the first Smart Home start-up appwash
Outcomes and results
Pioneer
- Development of a vision and strategy for the future of cooking
- User research with design principles for a new product generation
Develop
- Support the design of new, intelligent project concepts from the coffee machine to the vacuum robots and stovetops
- Joint validation of technologies such as augmented reality and chatbots through prototyping
Impact
- Validation of business models for the future use of washing machines
- Development of new business models, partly rolled out as start-up
Empower
- Further development and optimization of Design Thinking learning formats
- Enablement of more than 1,500 employees in agile working methods
"As a premium manufacturer, we have to meet the demand for a holistic user experience with our products. zero360 supports us in anchoring the user focus among our employees and in creating new premium user experiences by applying agile working methods."
Andreas Enslin
Head of Designcenter
Miele
Tools
Agile Working Methods
Business Modelling
Design Thinking
Prototyping
SCRUM
Service Design
User Interviews