Cases | Fabio Calzavara

Case studies

Disruptive initiatives, resulting in new strategies, business units or developing new markets.

Creating Hapvida's Innovation Department
Achieving financial results of $ 4.2 million on the first year
Role: Head of Innovation and Design

What makes this case great?
The company now has a set of strategic indicators and business drivers, allowing a clear vision of the strategy, a pipeline for digital projects and results generated by innovation initiatives. That had never been done throughout its 40 years of existence.

Situation

Hapvida is one of the largest healthcare companies in Latin America, with a market capitalization of USD 11 billion. The company provides health insurance plans as well as laboratory, medical, and hospital services to over 16 million clients in Brazil.

After the IPO in 2018, the leadership decided that the company needed to address the innovation concept, but the innovation team was focused on executing isolated digital projects, lacking cohesion and insight into their impact on the business and customer experience.

Tasks

Define the company's innovation strategy, including strategic goals and KPIs;
Define the operational areas and hire the team;
Establish the work process methods and tools;
Put the new department in operation, gathering results.

Actions

I collaborated with the company's C-level executives to align on our vision for establishing an innovation team and understanding their desired business outcomes. Subsequently, I engaged with strategic partners and benchmarked industry leaders to glean insights into effective innovation strategies and organizational structures. Drawing from these insights and theoretical models, I developed a tailored strategy and work process methods.

After iterating with the C-levels and the board of directors, I initiated the recruitment process. Over the course of eight weeks, I assembled a team of eleven individuals across three operational areas: digital products, open innovation, and corporate innovation culture.

Our inaugural project focused on mapping and identifying improvement opportunities in the user consultation journey, a critical point for the company. For more information on this and subsequent initiatives, please refer to the 'Digital Transformation' tab.

Results

Within 12 months after the department's first project:

7 business opportunities were developed and tested with clients;
12 different launches, among new products and features;
USD 4.2 million between savings and new revenue;
An average project ROI of 260%;
Customer NPS improvement from 57 to 88;
Innovation became a strategic pillar for the company.

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Redefining customer support
Creating the foundation for total digitalization
Role: Innovation Manager at MJV consultancy

What makes this case great?

The project quickly created value for the long-standing insurer, paving the way for numerous digital innovation initiatives in the years that followed.

Situation

Established over 125 years ago, SulAmérica is Brazil’s leading independent insurer, serving a diverse customer base of over 7 million individuals. Its range of offerings includes Health, Dental, Life, and Investment products and services.

By the end of 2012 the company was facing challenges with its call center operations: high costs and subpar customer experiences were key concerns for the company's leadership.

Task
As a lead consultant at MJV Innovation, I led a team of four people to tack the challenge of:

Understand the call center main offenders;
Deep dive into the customers needs and expectations;
Design new solutions to improve customer experience while reducing the call center operational costs;
Validate them with customers.

Actions

I initiated a comprehensive analysis to address SulAmérica's call center issues. Engaging with directors and senior leaders across various departments, the team delved into strategic and operational challenges. Recognizing the need for both immediate improvements and long-term solutions, our approach combined data-driven insights with qualitative research methods. By interviewing stakeholders and customers, we gained valuable insights into call center pain points and customer expectations.

Our strategy focused on proactive communication and tailored customer support, leveraging multiple channels to enhance the customer experience. We developed a pipeline of 22 innovative solutions, ranging from quick wins to transformative initiatives. These solutions aimed to streamline operations, reduce costs, and deliver superior service to SulAmérica's customers.

Results

SulAmérica implemented four solutions in subsequent months, yielding the following results:

Return exceeded project costs by USD 900k within the first year;
Achieved an ROI of over 200%;
Three solutions remain in production a decade later, continuing to deliver value to the company and its customers;
Strengthened partnership between MJV and SulAmérica senior directors, resulting in five additional project deals over the next two years;
Ignited SulAmérica's new digital strategy.

Nuvemshop's new Point of Sale
From wireframes to monetization in 3 months
Role: Innovation Director

What makes this case great?

It shows how design can contribute to the success of a new business venture from its inception, providing support for business decisions.

Situation

Nuvemshop is LATAM's latest unicorn, valued at USD 1.1 billion. The company has 1,000 employees and provides e-commerce management solutions for more than 120,000 stores across Latin America.

In 2023, the company sought to diversify its offerings by introducing a Point of Sale (POS) system for brick-and-mortar stores, marking a significant expansion into a new business sector.

Task

I collaborated with the newly appointed product director to shape this venture, joining forces to:

Define the product vision and features;
Create options for the monetization strategy;
Establish the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) criteria to guide initial development;
Craft wireframes, design guidelines, and aesthetics for subsequent product iterations.
Build and oversee the design team responsible for continuing executing the project.

Actions

We initiated discussions on the strategy with the C-level, evaluated benchmarks, and clarified product requirements. Most importantly, we engaged with several customers to gain insights into their pain points and expectations, which informed our wireframe designs.

Over the following weeks, I refined the wireframes based on feedback from both customers and the C-level, iterating until we finalized both the MVP and the design for the second release. At this moment, I appointed a new designer to concentrate on UI design and assume ongoing responsibilities, thereby facilitating the growth of the team.

Result

After one month of testing, the new POS system achieved organic adoption in over a hundred stores and began generating revenue. This success enabled us to further refine pricing strategies and expand the system's features. You can see the official launch presentation here.

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Solutions to support the business for years to come, expanding the company playing field.

Roche: new strategy for the oncology segment
Innovation beyond the molecule
Role: Managing Partner at VRD consultancy

What makes this case great?

Roche Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in oncological treatments, responded to the entry of biosimilars into the Brazilian market by reformulating its business model, going beyond the traditional focus on the molecule and on doctor-oriented benefits.

Situation

In 2017, Roche enlisted VRD to lead a project aimed at enhancing the value of traditional pharmaceutical distribution channels and mitigating the risk of losing market share to companies offering generic alternatives.

Task

Our mission as a partner consultancy was to design new services that would add value to established supply chains.

Actions

Working closely with Roche's internal team, I conducted interviews and field research with leading healthcare companies in Brazil, including executive leadership of Albert Einstein Hospital and SulAmérica. Engaging over 30 stakeholders, among them Roche Brazil's CEO, we initiated co-creation activities, resulting in nineteen new solutions. After that, I led the prototyping and validation with the stakeholders. In a span of 3 months, we delivered a strategy plan comprising seventeen entirely new services that interconnected distributors, pharmacies, doctors, hospitals, clinics, and insurers.

Result

Roche now offers a broader range of solutions that include medication transportation, storage, smart dosage management, and, furthermore, unprecedented services tailored for distributors and pharmacists/chemists.

General Mills: redefining the popcorn experience
Creating a new portfolio framework and products
Role: Managing Partner at VRD consultancy

What makes this case great?
How can you grow a product that is already a market leader? By taking risks outside your comfort zone. We were able to inspire a multinational company to do that and get rewarded for doing so.

Situation
In 2017, General Mills' Brazilian brand 'Yoki' decided to revitalize its popcorn portfolio as part of its strategic growth plan. At the time, consumers perceived popcorn as a commodity asset, leading to a diminishing perceived value in the company's offerings.

Task
VRD was tasked with reimagining the popcorn portfolio structure and creating new products, highlighting different moments and ways of consumption.

Actions
As the project leader, my first step was to gather all the data and insights previously generated by General Mills through previous research efforts and consultations. Subsequently, I crafted a consumer research structure to delve into aspects where our knowledge was lacking, aiming for a deeper understanding of Brazilians' perceptions of popcorn.

Engaging with over 100 popcorn consumers through iterative research, we developed a revamped portfolio structure comprising four distinct product groups, and validated new product concepts based on popcorn. In just a single month, we established the framework for the new portfolio and generated eighteen unique product ideas, encompassing new value propositions, product language, sizes, and ranges.

Results
The project successfully broadened popcorn's usage beyond its traditional association with movie-time snacks. Introducing new formats, such as the ready-to-eat line, different ingredients and flavors (like the 'Toque do Chef' line, co-branded with Kitano), and revamped packaging language, facilitated its adoption for a wider range of occasions, including aperitifs or afternoon snacking.

Cogna's distance learning: bringing the classroom experience to digital
Helping the company to scale efficiently and reduce costs
Role: innovation Manager at MJV Innovation consultancy

What makes this case great?

The project was one of the initiatives that enabled the company to reduce operational costs by 17% and increase the student base by 20% over a five-year period.

Situation

Cogna is one of the 50 largest education companies in the world, valued at $1.1 billion. With 53 years of history, the organization serves 2.4 million students across Brazil.

By 2015, Kroton (the company's universities holding) embarked on a strategic shift towards distance learning programs, aiming to scale up courses, enhance student experience, lower operational costs, and reduce student dropout rates.

Tasks

Kroton partnered with MJV Innovation consultancy to redefine that student experience. As a team manager and project leader overseeing a team of three, my responsibilities included:

Defining the new platform's vision and features.
Establishing the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) criteria to guide initial development.
Crafting wireframes, validating them with students, and setting design guidelines for subsequent product iterations.

Actions

We began with an extensive immersion into Kroton's distance learning program, conducting interviews with approximately 30 students, 20 professors, and administrative employees. Through this process, we gained insights into the course structure, syllabus, current student experience, engagement and disengagement factors, as well as students' needs and expectations regarding digital learning.

Following this, I facilitated two workshop sessions involving the Chairman, C-level executives, academic directors, teachers, and students to define the new overall digital experience. In just over three months, we prototyped an entirely new platform, which was validated by approximately twenty graduate students.

Results

Cogna / Kroton initiated the deployment of the new platform across its eight universities throughout Brazil. Over a five-year period, the company achieved the following results:

Reduced student dropout rates from 28% to 16%;
The total student base increased by 20%, surpassing 1 million students in 2019;
Lowered operational costs by 17%;
Achieved a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 30%.

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Innovative products to bring organizations to a more customer-centric culture.

Leading SulAmérica's digital transformation
Cultivating strategic relationships for significant project outcomes and stakeholder engagement
Role: Innovation Manager at MJV Innovation consultancy

What makes this case great?

A series of successful projects across different business units inspired the company to create its own digital transformation department.

Situation

Following the successful implementation of the inaugural business transformation project in collaboration with MJV Innovation consultancy, SulAmérica recognized the need for further strategic advancements. In 2013, the organization faced diverse challenges across various departments, all centered around enhancing customer experiences, optimizing operational costs, and embracing a digital-first approach.

Task

Throughout 2013 and 2014, I cultivated executive relationships with SulAmérica's senior directors and C-level executives, while leading the execution of strategic projects, including:

Designing new process and mobile application for SulAmérica medical auditors;
Developing a new approach to improve Dental Plan sales;
Crafting innovative service differentiators for insurance products targeting small businesses;
Conducting executive training sessions on co-creation methods and digital representation tools.

Actions

The projects were not conducted simultaneously but rather in sequence. Despite their sequential nature, they followed a consistent structure: a senior leader would present a challenge, and together, we would define the scope and approach. I then established the project roadmap, outlining phases, deliverables, timelines, and methodologies. Upon approval from SulAmérica, I assigned the MJV team members for the project, assuming the role of senior consultant. In this capacity, I acted as the primary liaison with the client, managed stakeholder relationships, guided the work process, ensured deliverable quality, and verified that the outcomes aligned with SulAmérica's business objectives.

Result

The projects led to the development of various digital products, new services, and streamlined internal processes. Throughout this two-year period, the company achieved the following milestones:

Expanded its customer base by 16%;
Realized savings of approximately 7-8% in total operational costs;
Established its own digital transformation department, dedicated to further developing the solutions delivered by the projects and driving forward digital transformation and design thinking initiatives.

See medical auditors case

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Hapvida's beneficiary app: shaping the future of Digital Health
The customer experience that would influence the company's decision on digital strategy
Role: Head of Innovation and Design

What makes this case great?
Instead of formulating a theoretical plan and blindly executing it, we focused on crafting the ultimate customer experience, which was then translated into the app. Through validation, we determined which projects needed to be implemented to realize our envisioned future.

Situation
Hapvida is one of the largest healthcare companies in Latin America, with a market capitalization of USD 11 billion. The company provides health insurance plans as well as laboratory, medical, and hospital services to over 16 million clients in Brazil.

The company was poised for digital transformation, but it was challenging to visualize how this process would generate value for the business and its clients. After discussions with the board of administration and the advisors committee, it was decided that the desired impact should be manifested in a tangible solution, whether it be a user journey or a digital product. Thus, I proposed the envisioning of the customer mobile app, focusing on defining its features.

Task

As the head of innovation and design, my responsibility was to lead a four-person team in:

Creating an exceptional user flow and outlining new services for the app;
Designing key screens for the new app to illustrate its concept and features;
Developing executive presentations to articulate the new strategy and goals associated with the app.

Actions

My team and I dedicated a month to researching the beneficiary journey, carefully mapping their interactions with Hapvida to identify pain points, expectations, and areas for improvement. Throughout this process, we conducted interviews with approximately 35 beneficiaries and 10 medical professionals. Following our research, we crafted around 20 innovative solutions to integrate into the new app. These solutions were tested with real users and refined through iterative feedback loops.

Subsequently, I facilitated various evaluation sessions with internal stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives on the potential impact on both user experience and business objectives. This collaborative effort enabled us to define the optimal app experience and strategize its phased rollout, accelerating our ability to deliver value to our beneficiaries.

Upon finalizing the conceptual product, I presented it to the C-level executives and the board of administration, who validated our implementation plan. Six months after the project's inception, we successfully launched the first release of the app - the beta version.

Results

Within the first 6 months, the beta app achieved significant results:

Over 1.2 million medical appointments were scheduled through the app.
More than 140,000 elective teleconsultations were conducted, resulting in operational cost savings of around $1.1 million.
The app's rating improved from 3.1 to 4.3 stars in the Play Store.

Additionally, the project catalyzed digital transformation efforts across the company, leading to prioritization of initiatives such as database modernization, facial recognition technology implementation, and predictive analysis models to support future launches.

Nuvemshop: core product migration
Redesigning 1,200 screens using a scalable new workflow
Role: Design Director

What makes this case great?

A simple and effective process allowed us to move faster than expected, improving the core product performance and customer satisfaction.

Situation

Nuvemshop is LATAM's latest unicorn, valued at USD 1.1 billion. The company has 1,000 employees and provides e-commerce management solutions for more than 120,000 stores across Latin America.

Our core product's technology and interface were outdated, which might cause security and usability issues for our merchants. At the beginning of 2019, the company defined the migration of the core product from a PHP monolith to microservices, as well as an UX and UI update.

Task

As design director for the core product, I had six months to organize the team and the tasks in order to redesign more than 1,200 screens.

Actions

Working alongside the product and technology directors, we made the decision to migrate the product in sections to minimize disruption to merchants' daily operations. I conducted an analysis of the product to quantify the design effort required and developed a workflow for the team of eight designers under my supervision to ensure we met the deadline while maintaining the expected UX quality.

The team adopted a collaborative approach, working across squads in pairs or trios as necessary and prioritizing tasks based on a unified stack rank, focusing initially on screens with the highest usage. This allowed us to deliver value to merchants more quickly and align with the development pace. Additionally, I established weekly team meetings for all designers to discuss decisions, address any blockers, and ensure alignment. Furthermore, every design underwent review by the Product Manager, Engineering Manager, and myself to ensure cross-product quality and avoid overlooking any details

Results

The team finished the design in 5 months, instead of 6;
Performance (stability and speed) improved at 3x;
Organic adoption reached 70%, better than the 60% we were aiming for as a company;
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) improved from 86 to 90 after the migration.

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Cultural update for companies, focused on executive stakeholders and team development.

Mentoring Saint-Gobain executives with hands-on projects
Using design methods to overcome 25 different business challenges
Role: Design Manager at INSITUM consultancy

What makes this case great?
Design methods were applied to solve complex challenges across different departments, including production workflows, people management, logistics, and R&D. This application not only fostered leadership engagement but also yielded tangible business results.

Situation

In 2018, multinational manufacturer Saint-Gobain, operating in 76 countries with over 170,000 employees, sought to enhance its leadership training by incorporating more creative and holistic approaches. To achieve this, they partnered with INSITUM (now part of Accenture Song) to provide practical training in Design Thinking and design methods.

Twenty-five executives participated, each tasked with addressing a specific business challenge from their respective departments. The objective was to apply design approaches to these projects over a period of 10 months.

Tasks

As the Innovation and Project Manager at INSITUM consultancy, my responsibilities included:

Conducting a 16-hour executive training session covering innovation concepts, user research, and Design Thinking methods;
Providing ongoing support to executives and their projects throughout the 10-month duration;
Conducting individual mentorship sessions with each executive every two months.

Actions

The project initiated with a 3-day training session, utilizing a structure and content provided by the consultancy. My role involved adapting the training to fit the executives' schedules and delivering the sessions. Subsequently, I engaged in individual meetings with each executive to plan their respective projects. Together, we applied design methods and tools to establish the projects' structures, activities, and deliverables.

Following this initial phase, each executive proceeded to develop their project. During subsequent mentorship sessions, I provided guidance on various topics, including: preparing and conducting user research and interviews, designing user journeys, generating innovative solutions, and effectively prototyping and validating them.

Results

At the conclusion of the mentorship period, the outcomes for Saint-Gobain included:

25 leaders trained and mentored in innovation and design methods;
Implementation of 4 projects, with another 21 projects in different stages of development.

Nuvemshop: setting up a high-performance team
Updating work processes to deliver better results 2x faster
Role: Innovation Director

What makes this case great?

Improvements in deliverable quality, launch pace, and team motivation can be achieved without requiring structural changes.

Situation

Nuvemshop is LATAM's latest unicorn, valued at USD 1.1 billion. The company has 1,000 employees and provides e-commerce management solutions for more than 120,000 stores across Latin America.

Over the years, the product designers had been dedicated to specific squads, resulting in individual contributors often being tied to projects that weren't maximizing value. Consequently, our design pace wasn't ideal for launching new features, often leading to bottlenecks in the process and an excess of feedback sessions and rework.

Task

Re-design the way the team was working with the squads;
Optimize our design process;
Improve the team performance as individual contributors.

Actions

I identified instances of below-average performance and conducted individual discussions with each designer to understand their perspectives. Additionally, I gathered insights from stakeholders, including Product Managers, Directors, and Engineering Managers. Using this feedback, I facilitated a workshop with the design team to identify areas for improvement.

As a result, I implemented a cross-squad approach, utilizing a unified stack rank for the core product initiatives and collaborating in pairs or trios as needed. I also redefined our design process, established new ownership agreements for product designers, and developed individualized improvement plans covering both soft and hard skills.

Result

After three months:

We increased our speed by 25%, eliminating bottlenecks in the process;
The new work process led to a 60% reduction in feedback and an 80% decrease in rework;
Team motivation significantly improved, as evidenced by the results of the climate survey.

After seven months:

Two newly launched features contributed to a USD 20 million increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) annually, representing a 2% growth in the company's north star metric;
We successfully migrated approximately 1,200 screens from a PHP monolithic structure to microservices, resulting in a 70% organic user opt-in rate and an NPS of 85.

See product results

Content developed for talks, classes and business reviews.
For now, all content is in Portuguese.

2022

'Ideation Methods'

Leadership training for Eletronorte
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2021

Interview on Open Innovation

For Folha de S. Paulo
Read interview

Interview on Innovation Management

For Future Health publication
Read interview

'The future of healthcare in the Post-Pandemic Era'

Article for Visão Hospitalar magazine
Read article

2020

How to transform healthcare experiences using Strategic Innovation

Lecture for the DevCamp event
Download lecture

2019

'Forget Customer Obsession'

Article for The Funnel Magazine. Coverage of the Service Design Global Conference in Toronto

Read article

Between Robots and People: A Look into the Future of Healthcare in Brazil

Lecture for the Hacktown event
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2018

'Service Design basics'
Post-graduation class for Istituto Europeo di Design

Download class

'Business Design'
Post-graduation class for Istituto Europeo di Design

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2015

'Business Design'

MBA class for Faculdades Rio Branco
Download class

2014

'Service Design applied to the hospitality business'

MBA final thesis
Download thesis

Innovation for creative businesses

Professional training for creative entrepreneurs
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'Hands-on Design Thinking'

Lecture for a Service Design Network event
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Case studies

Disruptive initiatives, resulting in new strategies, business units or developing new markets.

Creating Hapvida's Innovation Department Achieving financial results of $ 4.2 million on the first year Role: Head of Innovation and Design

Redefining customer support Creating the foundation for total digitalization Role: Innovation Manager at MJV consultancy

Nuvemshop's new Point of Sale From wireframes to monetization in 3 months Role: Innovation Director

Creating Hapvida's Innovation Department
Achieving financial results of $ 4.2 million on the first year
Role: Head of Innovation and Design

Redefining customer support
Creating the foundation for total digitalization
Role: Innovation Manager at MJV consultancy

Nuvemshop's new Point of Sale
From wireframes to monetization in 3 months
Role: Innovation Director