America has always been, and still is, a nation of inventors. To paraphrase what Mark Twain once said, the reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated. Independent inventors and innovators still contribute significantly to the social and economic welfare of this country.

The Wal-Mart Innovation Network (WIN) ...

The Wal-Mart Innovation Network (WIN) is an inventor assistance service that provides inventors with an honest and objective third-party analysis of the risks and potential of their ideas and inventions. WIN is an expression of support for inventors by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Center for Business and Economic Development of the College of Business Administration at Southwest Missouri State University, the Innovation Institute, and our WIN Partners.

Just as most inventors do not have the expertise to patent their own inventions, most inventors lack the know-how to determine the commercial potential of their ideas and inventions. This is why WIN focuses on invention evaluation. We feel we can best serve America's inventors by helping them to avoid costly mistakes and to learn more about the industrial innovation process. As inventors enhance their understanding of this process of which they are a part, they increase their ability to, and prospects for, working their way through this increasingly complex process.

The Wisdom of Evaluation

Innovation always starts with an idea, which when pursued turns into an invention and, after a lot of hard work, into a potential new product which then requires even more hard work and expense to launch into the marketplace. Innovation would never happen if inventors were not excited about their inventions.

However, caution is likewise necessary. Without it, you may end up spending a lot of time, money and effort pursuing an idea which solves a problem for you, but lacks commercial potential. When this happens, you end up putting that time, money and effort into a project that doesn't go anywhere. That's time, money and effort which could be invested in another project.

No one really knows the odds that an idea will be successful in the marketplace. That depends on the commercial quality of the idea and the quality of the venture which develops and markets it. The estimates of the number of ideas needed to find or generate one new product in a corporate environment varies between about 50 and 500, depending upon the industry or market involved. The odds which face inventors at the idea stage are higher; a fair estimate is between 100 and 1,000 depending upon the market your new product will enter. The best way to improve these odds is to eliminate those projects with low commercial potential early and focus your efforts on those of reasonable potential. You won't eliminate risk, but you can greatly improve the odds by evaluating your ideas.

The PIES-VIII Evaluation System ...

luxury hotels in StuttgartWe use the most recent version of the PIES (Preliminary Innovation Evaluation) format which is currently in its eighth edition and was implemented in August, 1995. The PIES format is a comprehensive, structured evaluation system consisting of 41 criteria that are used to evaluate the commercial potential of your idea or invention and to provide you with a risk profile of your project. These criteria are based on years of research and new product experience and will provide you with insights into the risks you face and the strategy you will need to employ to reach the marketplace. A WIN client described his evaluation report as an essential tool for future planning. This is precisely what we had in mind. Our reports are intended to help you make decisions and develop strategies for further development. Unless you are already well along in the innovation process, you may very likely have several months and perhaps years before your project will be ready for licensing or entry into the marketplace. Your report will help you focus your efforts and guide you in resolving areas of concern.

The PIES-VIII Evaluation Manual ...

One of the truly unique features of the PIES-VIII format is the use of an evaluation manual, Evaluating Potential New Products, to provide you with more feedback about your invention than can be placed in a report. We know many of the people you may wish to show your report to won't wade through a lot of detail. So, we've crammed our 41 criteria into a 13 page report in order to keep the report as brief as possible. We'll also send you a letter which explains our evaluation procedures and frequently contains specific comments from your chief evaluator. As soon as we receive your evaluation request, we will send you a copy of the evaluation manual which will provide you with a discussion of each of the 41 criteria, why each is important and how they interact to affect the commercial potential of your invention. An explanation of the several ratings for each criterion follows. By carefully studying this manual, you can glean a lot of information about, and insight into, the commercial strengths and weaknesses of your project; we recommend you start reviewing it as soon as you receive it. Your report will conclude with a final recommendation about further investment in your project.

Please note that not all recommended projects are referred to Wal-Mart. Many new products are not suitable for review or introduction through large discount/mass merchandise stores. Pursuing improper channels of distribution can lead to serious consequences. Thus, we try to steer you in the right direction. Please refer to paragraph #3 of the Innovation Registration Disclosure Document for a summary of recent evaluation results. Results vary over time depending upon the nature of inventions/innovations submitted to WIN.

If your project is referred to Wal-Mart, it will be reviewed by a relevant buyer. A positive recommendation by the buyer is not a guarantee of a purchase order. The finished product will still need to meet Wal-Mart's standards and fit into its merchandising plan at that time

The WIN Innovation Resource Network...

We realize that as important as a professional evaluation is, most inventors need help in carrying their projects forward. For this reason we have established a national network of approximately 2800 resource partners located throught the United States. Most of these resources are in the public sector at universities, government agencies or non-profit groups. Included are Small Business Development Centers, SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), chapters, SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) chapters, innovation centers/groups, inventor organizations, economic development organizations, and some for-profit enterprises, chiefly technology transfer/licensing agents. Most of our resources focus their activities within a given state, so resources are listed by state. State directories are furnished to inventors with ideas deemed to be worthy of at least some further development.

Some Questions and Answers

Since we started WIN inventors have asked a lot of questions about the program. Hopefully, some of these questions and our answers will be helpful to you.

1. Do I need to have my patent before getting an evaluation? Absolutely not. In fact, we recommend obtaining an evaluation first. Patents cost a lot of money.

2. What experience do you have in evaluating inventions? The director of the WIN program is Dr. Gerald G. Udell. He has over 24 years experience in invention evaluation, and he is generally regarded as the leading expert on invention evaluation in the United States. He has authored 30 books and over 200 articles, papers and reports many of which relate to the innovation process and/or invention evaluation. He is the author of the PIES format which is the most widely used evaluation format in America.

3. Who will do my evaluation? The Innovation Institute (I2) is the WIN evaluation agent in all states except Missouri. The Institute was founded by Dr. Udell in 1979 to carry on the evaluation research he began in 1974 for the National Science Foundation. It holds the intellectual property rights to the PIES format.

4. How long will my evaluation take? You should have your report in about six weeks.

5. What other services does WIN provide? WIN is essentially an invention evaluation service. We do not provide invention development and marketing services because we think it is a conflict of interest for an evaluation service to also provide additional services on a fee basis.

alberghi scontati Ennis6. How much money will I end up paying WIN? $175 -- about what you would pay for a very low cost patent search or to some patent attorneys for an hour of their time. There are no other payments to WIN. Any additional services we provide are at no cost to you and are at our option.

7. I don't want an evaluation, how do I get my idea to Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart does not license or invest in ideas or inventions, nor does it pay in advance on orders placed with vendors. You will need to wait until your idea/invention has had significant sales through other channels of distribution. Then, it will be appropriate for you to contact Wal-Mart. Please be advised that our sister program, Support American Made, will then evaluate both your product and your venture for Wal-Mart. If your product and venture pass both evaluations, and your product is suitable for Wal-Mart distribution, you will be referred to the appropriate buyer. An alternative used successfully by several WIN clients has been to license their inventions who are approved Wal-Mart vendors and let them carry the ball.

8. Where do I go for help after I get my evaluation report? We will send you a list of inventor services and other resources located in your state. We maintain a national network of over 2600 resources for inventors including inventor groups, small business development centers, legitimate licensing executives and economic development groups. Please note some states have much better developed resources than others.

9. What does Wal-Mart gain from sponsoring WIN? Basically, the satisfaction of doing the right thing -- helping people to help themselves. Wal-Mart does not benefit financially in any way through this program. Wal-Mart is involved because its top management knows that innovation is essential to a healthy and prosperous national economy.

10. What happens if I get a positive WIN evaluation? A positive WIN recommendation does not obligate Wal-Mart in any way. WIN evaluators are free to endorse your invention without consideration of Wal-Mart stocking needs or policies. Our objective is not limited to stimulating only innovations suitable for Wal-Mart stores. There are a lot of other good ideas/inventions that deserve help too.

11. Will Wal-Mart take over the development of my idea or invention? No. Wal-Mart is a retailer and has no manufacturing facilities. You are responsible for any development and commercialization.

12. How did WIN get started? The first version of the evaluation format used by WIN was developed by Dr. Gerald G. Udell as part of the National Science Foundations Innovation Centers Experiment in 1974. When that experiment concluded in 1980 Dr. Udell continued his research into innovation evaluation at the Innovation Institute, which he founded for that purpose. In early 1990, David D. Glass, President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in a speech in Springfield Missouri recognized the importance of innovation to our economy, and commented that more needed to be done to help inventors in this country. Dr. Udell was in the audience. WIN was launched one year later.