White-space: Phantom Works' next frontier


As a catalyst of innovation for the enterprise, Boeing Phantom Works collaborates with the business units to determine what systems and technologies they need to meet their near- and long-term objectives. It then addresses those needs through its advanced systems and technology organizations.

"But to open new frontiers, we also need to look beyond the needs of the current business units for potential white-space opportunities," said Phantom Works President Bob Krieger.

"White-space" opportunities, Krieger said, represent potential product lines or services not listed in the long-range business plans of our business units but which have potential for producing significant revenues and profits. At one time, for instance, Connexion by Boeing and Air Traffic Management were white-space opportunities for Boeing.

"By developing a more disciplined process for identifying, pursuing and capturing white-space opportunities for Boeing, Phantom Works could have a more significant impact on the future growth of the company than it already has," Krieger said.

For example, the new process could help establish Boeing as a lead systems integrator for personal air transportation systems for which there is a projected trillion-dollar market in the 2025 timeframe.

Or it could lead to Boeing expansion into the hydrogen-based economy market or into providing a door-to-door total travel experience to airline passengers.

While the white-space process might sound similar to the Chairman's Innovation Initiative, and might even get ideas from CII, it is different in important respects, Krieger said. CII focuses primarily on fostering innovative thinking by Boeing employees and secondarily on the possibility of spinning out or spinning in their ideas for additional revenue, he explained. The white-space process, on the other hand, is focused primarily on identifying significant revenue-generation opportunities that can "move the needle" of a multibillion-dollar company.

While the white-space process is still being refined, it would include defining alternate possible world scenarios for 2016 and beyond, identifying systems that could prevail in several of those possible scenarios, evaluating the market potential of such systems, and determining Boeing's role as lead system integrator, prime contractor, etc., as well as the roles of potential competitors and partners.

To implement the process, Phantom Works will have a funded team in place by early 2004 that will be applying a white-space process to specific projects. In doing so, the team will draw on the expertise both within Phantom Works and across the enterprise to overcome potential barriers to turning white-space concepts into reality.

"Overcoming challenges is par for the course in implementing new initiatives, even those that will enhance the future growth potential of our company," Krieger said. "But by working together, I'm sure we will meet those challenges and make even greater contributions to defining the future of aerospace."