Think of the chair that you are currently sitting in (or if you are reading this on the go, think of your favorite chair). Someone designed that chair, someone put all the pieces together, someone had it displayed in a showroom perhaps. This means that before you got to sit down in a nice, comfortable chair, a lot of different things had to happen to bring that to you as a customer. If you were responsible for bringing the next generation sitting experience to the market, what would you do different compared to what is available today?


Me outside the White House, but what does the president think of his current chair?

After 1,5 years at Husqvarna Group – working in Sweden, Malaysia and the US – I realize how complex this challenge is. Because the customer in Sweden might want something different from the one in Malaysia and the US, but you still need to find a way to cater to as many customers as possible without compromising too much on each individual customer experience. The good thing about Husqvarna Group’s trainee program is that I have gotten to meet with a lot of customers and I have been able to build a network within Husqvarna Group with people that can help me find a good balance when it is time to bring new products or services to the market.

Like Andriy wrote in his blogpost this a an exciting time to be working at Husqvarna Group, because digitalization is affecting our industry like many other. So getting back into the chair, if you believe that the market is going to be fundamentally different from today, what parts of the existing value chain would you still use and what parts would be changed? One of IKEA’s greatest strength in their business model is you, the customer. Because you are willing to go to IKEA and buy a flat pack and assemble it yourself. In return you are able to get affordable and stylish furniture which to many and myself included counts as a good deal. Is this the best way to sell chairs or can it be improved even further? Amazon has been experimenting with drone delivery, what if the drone would deliver the flat pack to you or what if IKEA would re-engineer their products so that the chairs could be delivered and assembled by drones?


Inspiration and chair examples together!

If you are at the edge of your seat wanting to realize the next generation sitting experience, there are a couple of frameworks that you can utilize to try out your ideas. Two good ones that are easy to apply to most business scenarios are Porter’s five forces and in conjunction with that you can flesh out your new business model with the Business Model Canvas framework. By using frameworks, global trends, your network and ideas it is possible to find new possibilities and thereby improve the customers’ experience no matter if it is a better chair or if it is a better landscaping experience.

But frameworks can only guide you to what kind of questions you should be asking yourself, before that can happen you need to find the inspiration for your ideas! For me traveling, meeting with new people or having drinks with friends, are some examples of how I might get new ideas. Because you find new ways of looking at existing knowledge and you learn new things in which you see potential business opportunities. Further this is yet another reason for why I enjoy working at Husqvarna Group, I feel that we have a great atmosphere that encourages new ideas and innovations in which we put the customer experience in the center. So lean back in your nice comfortable chair and start to think about how you can change the chair industry!

Alexander Fornell
Global Trainee
Product Management & Development