Axkid: Future scenarios opening the door to circular product development and remanufacturing

Child car seat manufacturer Axkid works strategically and long term to develop circular strategies for its products. Within the project The Circular Car, in collaboration with RISE, the company has deepened its understanding of circularity and identified how reuse and remanufacturing can play a greater role in its operations. Through a structured foresight process, Axkid has been able to take a broader perspective, consolidate knowledge and create a more systematic foundation for its continued development.

Starting point and objectives

Early in its strategic work, Axkid identified circularity as a decisive factor in achieving its goals for reduced emissions and efficient resource use. The company recognised a need for deeper knowledge and a broader perspective.

"We wanted to gain a deeper understanding while also finding others to share experiences with. Learning from those who have come further and being able to discuss our ideas and challenges," says Johan Andersson, Chief Sustainability Officer at Axkid.

Axkid had already been working with rental models as part of its circular thinking. Through the project, the company gained additional perspectives and was able to make its work more coherent, with reuse and remanufacturing becoming clearer elements of its overall strategy.

"We now feel that we have a solid foundation and a clear vision, focused on closing loops and creating circular flows where materials and products are used to the greatest possible extent before becoming something new."

Working process and methodology

The foresight process enabled Axkid to work in a more structured way with long-term issues. An important step was assessing external changes based on their impact and uncertainty. This helped distinguish everyday operational challenges from more critical long-term strategic issues.

"The issues we deal with daily tended to fall within the safe and familiar, while the larger questions that had been forming at the edge of our awareness emerged as the most important in a long-term perspective. It was valuable to reflect on how central uncertainty is to strategic decision-making."

Scenario work as support for strategic discussions

As part of the work, several future scenarios were developed. These were not used as forecasts, but as tools to challenge assumptions, raise new questions and create structure for discussions on long-term development — for example regarding product lifespan, reuse and potential future opportunities for remanufacturing.

"Seeing several scenarios side by side, where each is equally likely or unlikely to materialise, helped us gain a more nuanced understanding and showed that we need to work along several parallel paths to ensure long-term growth."

Visualisation played an important role:

"The major advantage of the foresight methodology is its ability to create clear visual representations of complex contexts that would otherwise be difficult to grasp."

Organisational impact

The work has led to changes in how Axkid plans, prioritises and anchors strategic issues internally.

"Awareness of risk and how changeable the future is has influenced the entire management team’s work. We have also gained much greater weight in internal communication around these types of issues."

The project also helped elevate circularity to the highest strategic level — in line with Axkid’s ambition to work more with remanufacturing in the future, when safety requirements and material flows allow.

"We clearly see that certain sustainability aspects may become decisive in the long term. That is why it is important for us to initiate actions already now that move us in the right direction."

Collecting and structuring knowledge proved to be a key challenge:

"Most of the necessary knowledge exists within organisations, but the challenge lies in finding a structure to capture it and transform it into information that can be acted upon."

Collaboration and development support

Axkid describes the collaboration with RISE as an important part of developing its working methods and creating structure for addressing long-term challenges.

"Through the collaboration with RISE, we realised that there are established methods for tackling long-term challenges, along with the guidance needed to implement foresight-based ways of working."

They also emphasise the importance of collaboration to enable circular business models in practice — particularly for future remanufacturing.

"The deeper we delve into circularity, the clearer it becomes that this is not something you solve on your own. Creating circular systems requires collaboration both within and across industries. Identifying which material flows are suitable for giving our products a second life does not always involve our own internal flows. Industrial-scale reuse requires collaboration and partnerships."

Looking ahead

Axkid continues to see significant opportunities in the circular transition, where remanufacturing could eventually make an important contribution to both sustainability and business performance.

"From a sustainability perspective, the greatest opportunities lie in continuing to provide solutions that allow children to travel safely while reducing emissions in a way that also ensures a safe future for children to thrive."

Several circular strategies are being explored going forward:

"We see opportunities to extend product lifespan and utilisation through rental models, second-hand sales and maintenance, where we can guarantee safety even when products have been previously used."

In conclusion, Johan summarises the importance of the work:

"For us, foresight has been a step towards greater sustainability. We now see changes in the market that we had not fully anticipated before, giving us a clearer picture of how we can continue to deliver important solutions in a changing future."