In the age of disrupt or be disrupted, companies are rushing to “disrupt” themselves to get ahead of competition.

I was tasked to develop the DHL Asia Pacific Innovation Center two years ago, and when it comes to our innovation approach, one mantra I keep going back to is this: Think big, start small, fail fast.

Think big: Team up with start-ups. Start-ups are best equipped to disrupt the market. It is important for big corporations like us to understand how they innovate, how they work and how they are successful.

Start small: We hosted our first-ever “Start-Up Mixer” where we invited 11 start-ups. These are entrepreneurs who specialize in a diverse range of new trends that have big impact on logistics; such as Blockchain, Augmented reality, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Start-ups on the list included GeekPlus, a start-up known for their Goods-to-Person mobile shelving solutions; Savioke who develops sophisticated, peer-to-peer delivery robots; Vechain, who presented a Blockchain solution ready for anti-counterfeiting and cold chain logistics, and Overlay – the world’s first intelligent Augmented Reality collaborative platform that helps improve technician problem-solving and productivity.

These teams were invited to pitch their solutions to over 50 key decision makers and logistics experts from across our five business divisions and from an array of departments ranging from IT to Operations. We were excited to receive high levels of interest within our company, where slots were filled within the first week of registration.

To me, the parts of the event that brought the most value were the “start-up” pitches where each start-up gave a 5 minute snapshot of their solutions and capabilities, as well as a start-up exhibition featuring their latest technologies and prototypes.

Our colleagues then got the chance to make individual “appointments” with the teams that interested them most, sparking immediate conversations to pilot and test solutions within their operations.

Beyond these exchanges, the agenda was jam-packed with opportunities for start-ups to gain a comprehensive understanding of our businesses. These included an innovation tour, sharing sessions by DHL experts on the industry’s challenges, as well as plenty of networking opportunities afterward.

Has this initiative planted the seed for a proof of concepts that could become really big? We cannot be certain!

Fail fast: But, the one thing I have learnt is failures are golden training opportunities for our teams. Any proof of concepts seeded out of this event will fail fast. But, if one, just one idea gets big – it could disrupt the way we work, improve our customer service, and solidify our market leadership. Everyone wins.

The start-up mixer was a small event and an experiment in itself. But, based on what we have been hearing so far, this format may go global… That’s BIG! So watch this space.