Keeping up with the latest research and technology developments is a crucial yet challenging task for innovation managers. With the vast amount of scattered information across various sources, locating and analyzing relevant intelligence can be enormously time-consuming.
This is where getting an expert opinion can make an invaluable contribution to accelerating innovation.
This article reviews 5 key companies offering innovation consultancy services for R&D teams across industries.
Whether you need quick access to cutting-edge research, want to track emerging technologies, identify collaboration opportunities, or gain competitiveness insights, these experts allow you to work smarter by enhancing discovery and decision-making.
Future Bridge
| Website | https://www.futurebridge.com/ |
| Location | Netherlands (HQ), United Kingdom, United States, India |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Type of Services | Industry Analysis, Technology Intelligence, Competitor Intelligence, Technology Due Diligence, Market Testing and Technology Scouting |
Future Bridge monitors and advises on the future of industries from a 1-to-25-year horizon. Using their platforms, programs, and access to global ecosystems and players, they keep clients ahead of the technology curve, drive growth, identify new opportunities, markets, and business models, answer the unknowns, and promote best-fit services and collaborations.
Moreover, the company works in different domains like chemicals and natural resources, energy, food and nutrition, home and personal care, industrial equipment, life sciences, and mobility.
Ninesigma
| Website | https://www.ninesigma.com/ |
| Location | United States (HQ), Belgium, Japan |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Type of Services | Sustainability and Environmental Scouting, Open Innovation services |
Ninesigma connects R&D professionals to new partners, startups, researchers, suppliers, and manufacturers. It accelerates innovation, shapes clients’ sustainable future, explores new technology spaces, discovers new business opportunities, extends their capabilities, and partnership model & venturing.
Further, with a huge clientele like Ajinomoto, BMW, Bridgestone, Nissan, Polymeris, Ordi Council, and Solvay, Ninesigma represents itself as an open innovation service provider.
Scoutbee
| Website | https://scoutbee.com/ |
| Location | Germany (HQ) |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Type of Services | Supplier Scouting and Industry Analysis |
Scoutbee is an AI-driven supplier & intelligence platform that helps clients manage suppliers and drive their business forward to optimize their costs, ensure supply continuity, reach ESG and diversity goals, enable product innovation, and accelerate procurement excellence.
GreyB
| Website | https://www.greyb.com/ |
| Location | Singapore (HQ), India |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Type of Services | Industry Analysis, Competitor Intelligence, Technology Due Diligence, Partnership Scouting, Intellectual Property Intelligence, Startup Scouting, Innovation Scouting and Open Innovation Services |
GreyB is an innovation consulting firm that assists clients in areas such as startup scouting, tech scouting and white space analysis. With over 2.2k clients worldwide, GreyB is a leading provider of innovation consulting in the R&D landscape.
They have recently launched the ‘Scouted by GreyB‘ series, conducting interviews with startups in diverse industries such as sugar reduction, carbon capturing, biofuels, and more. The goal is to provide insights for various industries to understand these startups and make strategic partnership choices.
Ambi-Vation
| Website | https://ambivation.com/ |
| Location | Germany (HQ) |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Type of Services | Startup Scouting and Innovation Scouting |
Ambivation updates clients on the most relevant startups for their search field or strategy. The company aims to create ideal conditions for cooperation with startups and the implementation of joint innovations.
Moreover, they help R&D professionals develop strategies, validate and identify the right startups, and work together with them in innovation partnerships.
Conclusion
While the above list is an exhaustive one, it’s not the end. There are many other consultancy firms, like Startupscouts, Escalent, BAE Systems, Venture IQ, and much more.
In today’s hyper-competitive and fast-changing environment, R&D teams must sharpen their focus, expedite experimentation cycles, and consistently outpace competitors in delivering impactful innovations.
Therefore, investing a modest fraction of your R&D budget in the right intelligence consultancy is a strategic move with the potential for exponential returns. Additionally, this investment can lead to solving problems more rapidly, gaining a commercial edge over the competition, and establishing resilient workflows that fuel future growth.
Authored By – Ridhima Mahajan, Market Research
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