Inventive or innovative, which partner do you need?

Sales of your current product are declining and you want to develop a new, competitive product. Or you have an idea for a new product, but you can't find a machine that can do the editing for you. You know what you want to achieve, but you don't know how. Still, you have to choose a partner. How do you choose the right one? Here, we share the difference between inventive and innovative partners, and when to choose which ones.

What is an inventive partner?

An inventive partner comes up with smart solutions for completely new products. It's not about “reinventing from scratch”, but about finding smart ways to solve a previously unsolved problem. Someone who thinks outside the box, based on real mechanics. Someone who sees what is needed, finds unexpected concepts and works experimentally.

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Advantages and disadvantages of an inventive partner

You get a unique solution, especially for this problem, conceived from the actual problem. A true innovation that sets you apart. But it often takes longer than expected, you don't know how it works beforehand and planning is difficult because no fixed deadline is possible.

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What is an Innovative Partner?

An innovative partner practically uses existing concepts for new products. The operating principle is already clear; now it's about really building, engineering and making it ready for production.

Your innovative partner takes a concept and turns it into a new product. With standard engineering tools such as CAD and FEA. Your partner also thinks along with you about production options, costs, maintenance, reliability, materials, components, tolerances and drives.

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Advantages and disadvantages of an innovative partner

You get what you ask for, according to the cost calculation and within the deadline, and smaller issues can be solved quickly. But it goes wrong if the operating principle is not yet established, an extra margin of certainty is used and any changes result in additional costs.

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Is the operating principle clear or should it be considered?

That is the crucial difference. Concretely:

Your own team and the partner you hire

The difference between inventive and innovative goes beyond the partner you choose. It's also about your own organization. Because who do you put on this project internally?

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Inventive work requires people who are comfortable with uncertainty. Ask those “what if” questions, experiment, and don't go crazy about a process with no fixed outcome. If you put an engineer there who wants clear specs and expects results, the project will crash — not because someone is bad at their job, but because it doesn't match.

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The same goes the other way around. Innovative work requires people who build efficiently within frameworks. A conceptual thinker who keeps tinkering where it's already good costs you time and money.

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This means that, as an organization, you need to consciously think about your team composition. Often you need both. This means that you need to consciously know who works best in which phase.

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The right choice starts with the right question

Do you already know how it should work? Then you need an innovative partner. Do you still have to find that out? Then you start with an inventive phase. Separate budget, separate team, and only then. But it's not just about choosing the right kind of partner. It's also about choosing a partner who understands that this distinction exists and who consciously puts their team together according to the type of work.

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At Trios, we know when to wear which hat. We are honest about which phase you are in, even if that means slowing you down first. Because a good start is half the work, and a wrong start costs you twice as much.

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