Getting organised for innovation

Marketplace Answer:

Thanks for sharing that xxx is your company—love that you’re diving into this before building out your innovation strategy. xxx operates in a space where the future of motorway retail is being shaped by some really big shifts—sustainability, electric vehicles (EVs), digital convenience, customer experience, and new food/service formats.

So before jumping into detailed innovation plans, here’s how xxx can get organised for innovation, using the SPOC framework and the Connect–Learn–Practice–Innovate model. Let’s break it down.

🚀 What’s Changing in Your Industry (Motorway & Forecourt Retail)

Key trends shaping your market:

• 🌱 Sustainability & Net Zero: Pressure to decarbonise fuel and build greener infrastructure.

• 🔌 EV Charging & E-Mobility: Disruption by Tesla Superchargers, Gridserve, Ionity, etc.

• 🤖 Digital Self-Service & Loyalty: App-first, frictionless convenience.

• 🥗 New Retail Formats: Premium food-to-go, local partnerships, wellness.

• 📊 Data & Personalisation: Using AI to target and optimise real-time offers.

Success stories:

• Gridserve built an innovation-first model combining EV, retail, and solar power.

• BP Pulse & Shell Recharge are pivoting to energy services and digital platforms.

Failures:

• Little Chef’s collapse shows what happens when you don’t adapt.

• Older forecourt chains have struggled where they failed to integrate new digital and sustainability models.

🧭 How xxx Can Get Organised for Innovation (Before Strategy)

1. Connect – Start building innovation readiness

• Audit your SPOC: Use the SPOC framework (Systems, People, Organisation, Culture) to run a diagnostic.

• Internal interviews & customer insight loops: What innovation readiness gaps exist?

• Leadership alignment: Run executive roundtables to clarify appetite for innovation and ambidexterity.

2. Learn – Build capability across teams

xxx can’t rely on “idea hunting.” People need innovation skills.

✅ Recommended InnovMates Learning Hall Products:

• Organisational Capability for Innovation

• Driving Innovation Culture Change

• Innovation Leadership for Executives

• Customer Journey and Experience Design

• Open Innovation Strategies & Applications

(Instructor-led or self-paced options available from the InnovMates portfolio)

3. Practice – Develop systems before scaling strategy

Use pilot projects or “safe-to-fail” experiments to practice innovation before a full rollout.

✅ Recommended Practice Hall & Innovation Hall products:

• Practice Hall: De-risk & test concrete strategies

• Agile & Lean Innovation Implementation

• Design Thinking & MVP Development

• Customer-Centric Innovation Programs

✅ Recommended Tools:

• Stage-Gate for fuel/retail rollout innovation

• Agile for digital & loyalty experience design

• Open Innovation for partnerships with tech, EV charging & food startups

Use these to test ideas across fuel, food, forecourt, and EV segments.

4. Innovate – Build your innovation system

Now you can build an integrated innovation system aligned with:

• Your brand strategy

• EV expansion roadmap

• Food service partnerships

• ESG targets

Use the Innovation Value Chain to structure:

• Idea Generation (internal and external)

• Conversion (pilots, testing, feedback)

• Commercialisation (scaling within xxx & partners)

Add design thinking to create services customers love (not just operate).

🔁 Wrap-Up: Your Innovation Kickstart Plan

Learning Outcome	Action
LO1	Run a SPOC-based audit for systems, people, org & culture.
LO2	Define strategic intent aligned to EV, food, and net-zero targets.
LO3 & LO4	Use innovation value chains tailored for both product (fuel, food) & service (charging, loyalty) contexts.
LO5	Match Stage-Gate, Agile, Open Innovation to right context.
LO6	Evaluate early innovation pilots using clear metrics (speed, cost, value created).

🌐 Let’s Go Further

💬 Get 1-2-1 support:

• For organisational alignment: organisation.partner@innovmates.com

• For EV tech & digital transformation: technology.partner@innovmates.com

• For customer loyalty and service innovation: market.partner@innovmates.com

🧰 Products to consider:

• Innovation Strategy & Roadmap Design

• Organizational Capability for Innovation (Instructor-led)

• Innovation Training & Certification for Teams

• Lean Startup & MVP Development Programs

• Sustainability & Eco-Innovation Strategy

Let me know if you’d like a tailored readiness checklist for xxx or help prioritising which trends to tackle first!

Take the First Step Toward Innovation Success

Schedule a Consultation or Free Demo Today!