CUSTOM8 N'V'

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CUSTOM8 N.V. Venus summer school Use of social
software in business
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Custom8
Overview

• Idea
• Increasing need for tailor-made products in
  medical sector, rehabilitation and prevention
• Transfer ideas to market
• commercial part of division (biomechanics and
  engineering design, K.U.Leuven)
• spin-off company
• Start
• Start 25-04-2001
• Owners 7 persons (2 founders) KUL
• Limited budget 200 K

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Market
Overview

• Niche market
• RD based
• More than 20 years experience in body measurement
  systems
• More than 15 years experience in bedding research
  and development, in close collaboration with
  bedding sector
• International
• Collaboration with universities, hospitals and
  industry throughout Europe

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Current status
Overview

• Collaboration with most important industrial
  players (EU)
• Recticel (Lattoflex, Beka, Swissflex,)
• Diamond Spring Company (Twinsping,)
• Products
• Market introduction
• Marketing and sales department
• Surgery
• Very different, specific market
• Daughter company simicure n.v.

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Problem
Overview

• Maladjusted sleeping systems or incorrect posture
• Unsatisfactory support of spine
• Low back pain

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Solution
Overview

• Personalized mattress properties

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Ikélo
Overview

• Personalized anthropometry-based expert advice
• Selection of optimal mattress, bed base and
  pillow
• Instant feedback to salesman and customer
• Direct input to production and distribution

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3D Optical Hardware
Overview
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• Measures physical characteristics, including body
  dimensions, body weight distribution and shape of
  spine
• Marker-free, contact-free, fully automatic
  registration
• Picks the best mattress in a product range

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3D Backprint
Overview

• Personalized anthropometry-based expert advice
• Selection of optimal mattress, bed base and
  pillow
• Instant feedback to salesman and customer
• Direct input to production and distribution
• Added value creation to marketing and sales

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Biomechanical Tests
Overview

• Posture Analysis

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Mechanical Tests
Overview

• Energy absorption
• Hysteresis characteristics

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Microclimatic Tests
Overview

• Moisture processing
• Controlled damp creation (37C, 95 relative
  humidity at material surface level
• Custom-build Sweat Sole
• Fixed indentation in test sample
• Moisture transport, absorption and recuperation

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Project management
Overview

• Web-based system
• External part
• Project description
• Role of partners
• Publications, events,
• Internal part
• File sharing (sometimes FTP)
• Project follow-up
• Track internal deadlines and important dates
• Communicate with contractors
• Example www.tissue-engineering.be

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Project management
Overview

• Ease of use and access
• Data centralized
• External part successful
• Promotion
• Feedback to supporting instances (e.g. EU)
• -
• Stands or falls with users
• Everything should be inside system
• IP problems (sharing data external server)
• Stands or falls with provider

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Networking
Overview

• Research Development
• Connection to non-profit systems
• IWT
• Leuven Inc.
• Different levels of communication
• Marketing Sales
• Business to business
• gt Limited experience (so far) large networks
• Dedicated networks (e.g. plastic surgery, bedding
  industry) not available
• gt manual tracking

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Networking
Overview

• Ease of use and access
• World-wide
• Different levels of communication
• -
• Business to business in conservative market (e.g.
  bedding)
• gt limited (online) resources at present
• Dedicated contacts not available
• People are not willing to share contacts

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Knowledge management
Overview

• Research development
• Gathering information
• Different people
• One location
• Structured
• Internal use only
• 2 Wikis
• Description and database of medical images
• Software routines for handling of medical images

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Knowledge management
Overview

• Ease of use and access
• Improved data transfer (e.g. personnel change)
• Stimulates
• Communication
• Collaboration
• -
• Internal use only
• Protection (e.g. protected Wiki)

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Marketing
Overview

• Under construction
• Web log on sleep
• General public
• Specific groups (e.g. practitioners)
• Links to dedicated partners
• Labs (e.g. related to snoring)
• Companies (e.g. mattresses)
• Increase awareness on healthy sleeping
• Increase pressure on companies and institutions
  to innovate

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Marketing
Overview

• Content (partly) provided externally
• Direct communication with consumer
• Visibility
• Supporting instances
• Future collaboration
• -
• Follow-up
• Deontology
• Conflict of interest

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Teamwork
Overview

• Text-based output
• Project proposal
• Reporting
• Completely manual, but structured

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Teamwork
Overview

• Ease of use and access
• Data centralized
• -
• Stands or falls with users
• Everything should be inside system
• IP problems
• Stands or falls with provider
• Data on external server

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Conclusion
Overview

• Custom8 uses social software
• Open source
• Affordable
• Easy to configure to wishes
• and to use (? SAP)
• Not dependent on any external source
• E.g. licences
• Data management
• locally

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Conclusion
Overview

• In order to be useful for custom8, social
  software should be
• Affordable
• Easy to configure and to customize
• Preferably open source
• Easy to use
• Not dependent on external sources
• Data storage
• License management

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