The word that puzzles the mind of every business strategist. Innovation is ever-present on the agenda, but the contents of that agenda vary more than April weather. Diving into the definition and the endless meanders of its potential meanings and applications would leave us with a philosophical tone to the article that is not the direction in which we wish to head. Instead, we present an angle on innovation based on the five years of experience of connecting people within the PortXL operations.

Innovation is a puzzle solved by those who choose to collaborate

Every year PortXL brings together dozens of innovative entrepreneurs from all corners of the globe to share their ideas and find common ground with industry partners who seek improvements to their current operations and discover new ways to optimize their businesses. This process involves a large amount of pitching, inspiring sessions, and discussions, with the intent to lead to concrete business. This can only be achieved through a culture of openness and willingness to collaborate.

Through the act of bringing people together – in the same room, or more appropriately for these times, in the same chatroom – one can cut through the initial buzzwords and dive deep into concrete and actionable plans.

Collaborate to innovate

Watch PortXL mentors share their experiences and stress the importance of working together to achieve the common goal of creating a smarter and more sustainable port ecosystem.

Building Dynamic Capabilities

PortXL supports its corporate partners by enhancing their innovation sustaining capabilities. We can use the dynamic capabilities model to explain the value that PortXL adds.

According to David J. Teece’s model of dynamic capabilities, businesses depend on corporate agility: the capacity to 1) sense, filter, and calibrate opportunities and threats 2) build structures and processes to seize opportunities 3) maintain competitiveness through enhancing, combining, protecting, and continuously aligning the business enterprise’s intangible and tangible assets.

In terms of PortXL’s functions: PortXL helps to 1) sense opportunities through scouting activities 2) seize opportunities by facilitating collaborative conversations through our programs 3) maintain competitiveness by providing corporate partners and start-ups with the right tools to understand challenges, manage stakeholders and eventually begin successful pilots.