Since the beginning of the year, 4 specialised consultancies have been providing support for the region’s agrifood business, together with its three competitiveness clusters within the framework of their business intelligence strategy. Support which is funded by the State and the Regional Council, via the SRIE (Regional Business Intelligence Scheme)

The approach within the clusters

The approach within the clusters
• Horse industry cluster Recruited consultancy: Haras Nationaux Conseils. Aim: creation of a technology watch tool on equine research, in particular to increase awareness of emerging research themes and teams, new patents…
• Secure Electronic Transactions Competitiveness Cluster Recruited consultancy: CEIS. Aim: Technology watch, competitive watch and benchmarking based on the consultant’s own tools.
• Mov’eo Competitiveness Cluster - Association ARIA (automobile-transport). Recruited consultancy: DATEM. Aim: Increased awareness on tools and operational practice in terms of technology and strategy.
• Agrifood industry - Association ANEA. Recruited consultancy: Doriès. Aim: International competitive watch and benchmarking of clusters in the agrifood industry in France and across Europe.

“Today, competitiveness is impossible without business intelligence.” Such is the credo put forward by the State and the Regional Council, within the framework of the new Schéma Régional d’Intelligence Economique (Regional Business Intelligence Scheme). “For the 2007-2013 period, this programme includes 5 themes ⁽¹⁾, aimed at promoting business intelligence and putting it into practice,” explains Pierre Touzeau, “Business Intelligence” project leader at the regional Préfecture. “Mid 2007, we sounded out four target organisations in order to draft together specifications according to their specific needs, before launching a request for proposals among specialised consultancies.”

Aim: to provide each of them with an outside consultant in business intelligence for 2008. A substantial budget has been made available for this test year: 210,000€ of the 3 million awarded to the SRIE for a period of 6 years ⁽²⁾. The continuation and consequences of the experiment will depend on an assessment planned late 2008. Where are the competitive research centres ? What are the latest patents ? How are markets evolving ? Business intelligence covers the majority of the needs expressed by the poles involved. The support offered by the State and the Region will, consequently, focus on these specific needs.

Tailor-made consultancy

Four consultancies were therefore recruited late 2007 by a strategic committee co-chaired by the Regional Préfet and the President of the Regional Council. “One of our aims is to familiarise the clusters and their members on working with these consultants on business intelligence issues,” comments Patrice Hubert, the Region’s Economic Change manager. The recruited consultancies have been operational since the beginning of the year, the first step involving an inventory of the current situation, in order to adapt their contribution to the clusters’ needs. “Whilst undertaking our own business intelligence plan since 2006, by approaching scientific partners for example, the additional support of a consultant will now enable us to create a genuine and permanent business intelligence tool, devoted to worldwide equine research, and capable of informing us of all of the latest patents in our particular fields of interest,” explains Frédéric Chauvel, director of the horse industry cluster. He definitely regards this additional support as a godsend, “Today, it would be unthinkable to initiate any project without knowing within which context lies.”

(1) The SRIE relies on 5 themes: 1. Reinforcing business and technological intelligence among competitiveness clusters and their associated industries.
2. Increasing awareness and accompanying businesses in their business intelligence approach.
3. Reinforcing the business intelligence network and rendering its action more readily available and approachable, together with developing business intelligence tools towards maximum efficiency.
4. Reinforcing business knowledge throughout Lower Normandy.
5. Reinforcing economic security tools.

(2) For the 2007-2013 period, the SRIE will be relying on a budget of 3 million Euros, equally funded by the State, the Lower Normandy Region and the European Commission (ERDF funds).

Pierre Touzeau
Business intelligence project leader at the Regional Préfecture.
02 31 30 63 06

Patrice Hubert
Economic change manager at the Regional Council
02 31 06 98 65

Send post as PDF to