Systemic Approach of the Firm

Due to the transformation of the environment, there are short-term opportunities or threats creating new needs.

Strength Equilibrium into the Competitive System

Here is the evolution of the strength equilibrium in the competitive system. The Michael PORTER's model was adapted to the context of this survey:

Technological strength.
The purpose is to evaluate the impact of the Information and Communication New Technologies (ICNT) in the way to do the business.
Strength of direct competitors and new comers.
Our participants do not think usually to the competitive offers with a functional approach and not with a technical one.
Strength of suppliers.
We only retained the supplier that took part to build an information system - hardware, technical software or generic vertical software, IT service company / integrator.
Strength of clients.
The clients may be a mass market - individuals - or a business market - firms.

Here is the used semantic:

Technological strength.
Here is the dedicated semantic:
- Evolution.
  The ICNT allowed them a real evolution of the business - quality, offer, cost, service, etc.
- Revolution.
  The ICNT transformed the business creating new activities.
- Status quo.
  The ICNT had not brought any change for the business - quality, offer, cost, service, etc.
Other strengths.
Here is the generic semantic:
- Development.
  The pressure is growing. For example, the demand has more requirements.
- Positioning.
  The pressure is not growing but is changing in term of content. For example, the demand is evolving.
- Gathering.
  The pressure is decreasing to level for which is is needed for the same actors to gather.
- Status quo.
  The pressure is not evolving, not in intensity nor in content.

Here is the evolution of the strength according to the business lines:

Topics

Technological strength

Business line

Status quo

Evolution

Revolution

No opinion

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Ing	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
0	0	0,5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0,5	0,5	0	2,5
4	1	1,5	7	2	1	2	2	2	6,5	0,5	4	33,5
0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1

Ratio

86%

Topics

Strength of direct competitors or new comers

Business line

Development

Positioning

Status quo

Gathering

No opinion

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Ing	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
0	0	0	0,25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0,25
1	1	0	1,75	0,5	0	1	1	0	1,5	2	2	11,8
0	0	1	0,25	0,5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2,75
2	0	1	5,75	1	1	1	0	2	3,5	0	0	17,3
1	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	0	1	7

Ratio

31%

45%

18%

Topics

Strength of the suppliers

Business line

Development

Positioning

Status quo

Gathering

No opinion

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Ing	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
0	0	0	0	0,5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1,5
0	0	0	2	0,5	0,5	1	0	0,5	3,5	0,5	1	9,5
1	0	0,5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2,5
2	1	1,5	5	1	0,5	0	1	1,5	1,5	1,5	2	18,5
1	0	0	1	0	0	3	1	0	1	0	0	7

Ratio

25%

47%

18%

Topics

Strength of clients or dealers

Business line

Development

Positioning

Status quo

Gathering

No opinion

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Ing	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
2	1	1	6	2	0	2	1,5	1,5	3	1,5	0,5	22
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	0	1	2	0	1	0	0,5	0,5	3	0,5	3,5	14
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	3

Ratio

56%

36%

To keep in mind:
The Communication and Information New Technologies (CINT) have not revolutionized the activities of the firms since it is lived as a progress as any other one - 92%.

The economy is roughly mature if we are considering Business-to-Business (B2B) value chain since there is a low development of the competition - 2% - and much more gathering - 46% -, even repositioning - 27%. The pressure of clients is growing on the contrary - 57%.

New Needs Specific to the Business

Due to the transformation of the environment, there are short-term opportunities or threats.

New Needs Emerging

Here are new needs specific to the business that are not satisfied yet, mainly coming from the reactive and systemic approach of the firm i.e. face to the opportunities or the threats that were declared previously:

To increase the value-added of the offer.
Either to choose an upper product in the line ; or "to delegate to the client" the low value-added tasks for sale.
To increase the turnover per client.
To make clients faithful and to practice a volume policy.
To increase the offer.
To develop the line of products and the services or to launch new lines of products.
To focus activities around the client.
To centralize the operations around the client in order to optimize the asset rotation.
Change in the laws.
To take into account the last evolutions of the laws or of the political decisions.
To defend the competitive advantage.
To focus on niches creating value.
To develop e-Commerce.
To make the client autonomous for low value-added purchases through automatons or Internet.
To develop partnerships abroad.
To develop co-operations to reach better into international markets.
Efficiency of the support functions.
To make more efficient the finance or human resources department by improving the information system.
Efficiency of operations - Costs and delays.
To develop the efficiency of operations with costs and energy savings.
Efficiency of operations - Quality.
To develop the efficiency of operations by taking into account the requirement of clients.
To manage change.
To transmit the known-how to the future generation of employees.
Micro-marketing - Knowing the client.
To segment sharply the attending of the points of sale and the buying behavior of the client to deliver him offers that are matching much more his needs.
Micro-marketing - Evaluating the client risk.
To segment sharply the consuming and settlement behavior of the client to keep care of his financing capacities.
Reactivity.
To react more quickly to the dynamic of the environment according to the strengths of the clients or the competitors.
To reorganize.
To reorganize the operations after a change in the perimeter of the activities.
To standardize the offer.
To rationalize the catalogue of offers.
To trace the operations.
To follow the operations in order to know exactly the origin, the components, the batch numbers, etc. of each product made.
To transmit the know how.
After the renewing of generations, to transmit the implicit know how.

Here are the new business needs per business line:

Topics

New specific needs for the business

Business line

To increase the value-added of the offer

To increase the turnover per client

To increase the offer

To focus activities around the client

Change in the laws

To defend the competitive advantage

To develop e-Commerce

To develop partnerships abroad

Efficiency of the support functions

Efficiency of operations - Costs and delays

Efficiency of operations - Quality

To manage change

Micro-marketing - Knowing the client

Micro-marketing - Evaluating the client risk

Reactivity

To reorganize

To standardize the offer

To trace the operations

To transmit the know how

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Eng	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	3
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3
0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	4
0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
2	0	1	4	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	11
1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	7
0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
2	2	1	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	14
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	5
1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	4
0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3
0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	3
0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	4
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1

Ratio
4%
3%
4%
1%
3%
4%
5%
4%
3%
14%
9%
3%
18%
6%
5%
4%
4%
5%
1%

To keep in mind:
The first preoccupation of the firms is to develop the customer relationship - 40% - then to use better the industrial assets - 35%. The competition, the human resources and the external facts are not producing new needs.

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Impacts of the New Needs

Here are the impacts of the new needs about the organization and the information system:

To increase flexibility.
To make the employees and the processes more flexible.
To centralize the management of resources.
To create a referential for methods, processes, documents, etc.
To develop mobile information system.
To develop the use of information system through handhelds and personal digital assistants.
To develop business engineering.
Due to the increasing complexity of ask, the salesman designs a specific solution by integrating several specialized offers.
To develop the Intranet.
This is usually a way to centralize resources.
To develop the contact with clients.
To diversify the way of sales - office, automaton, Internet and indirectly through partners.
To develop the computer aid decision software.
Information system allowing clarifying what is economically viable from what is not.
The develop e-Business.
Information system allowing for the clients and suppliers to work in a strong collaborative way in the Business-to-Business (B2B).
To develop human resources.
To ease an education or personal development policy.
To develop outsourcing.
To externalize the activities that are not belonging to the core business and to make co-conception with suppliers.
To decrease the costs of production.
To decrease the costs to stay competitive in comparison with other competitors.
To decrease the staff.
Due to the automation of low value-added tasks.
To better use information.
In order to know better the behavior of the client - needs and risks.
To organize according to the processes.
To make flat the organization in order to increase the efficiency of operations: to optimize the rotation of assets.
To rationalize the information system.
The heterogeneity is harmful for interoperability, which is harmful to exchange information and, at the end, is making the organization few efficient.
To redefine the management of resources.
To reorganize the firm according to main business lines which are relatively autonomous - strategic bases.
To redesign the information system.
Due to an important change of the perimeter of the activities - merging / acquisition, expansion.
Information system planning.
To put the information system in logical modules that exchange logical information flows. This allows making the vertical software independent while incarnating one or more functional modules.

Here is the impact of the new business needs according of the business lines:

Topic

Impacts on the organization and the information system

Business line

To increase flexibility

To centralize the management of resources

To develop mobile information system

To develop business engineering

To develop the Intranet

To develop the contact with clients

To develop the computer aid decision software

The develop e-Business

To develop human resources

To develop outsourcing

To decrease the costs of production

To decrease the staff

To better use information

To organize according to the processes

To rationalize the information system

To redefine the management of resources

To redesign the information system

Information system planning

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Eng	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3
0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	2	1	0	7
0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	3
0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	1	5
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
0	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4
1	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	3	1	1	11
1	1	1	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	9
0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	6
3	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	10

Ratio
4%
10%
4%
1%
7%
1%
1%
4%
1%
1%
4%
3%
5%
15%
12%
3%
9%
14%

To keep in mind:
According to the needs, the operational solutions are fragmented even if three tendencies are emerging:

To organize operations following the business processes and then to make the assets turn in a way oriented client-supplier view - 27%.
To plan the information system:
- To communicate better between modules et to make more sustainable the investments - 19%.
- To redesign better parts of it - 14%.

Key Success Factors

Letting announce the key success factors that can explain the success of the firm, according to the point of view of the actors, allows revealing the personality of the corporate culture. We can thus deduce a specific marketing approach, especially for communicating to introduce our offer to the prospect.

Topics

Market driven axis

Business line

Market driver approach

Honesty

Image

Respect of the mission

Specialization

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Eng	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
5	3	2	9	2	0	0	0	2	9	3	0	35
0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
0	0	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	7
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3,5	2	0	0	5,5

Ratio

18%

Topics

Operational axis

Business line

Entrepreneurship

Flexibility

Management

Quality

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	eng	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3
3	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	3,5	3	2	6	19,5
3	1	0	7	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	3	18

Ratio

11%

Topics

Resources driven resources - Not including human resources

Business line

Resources driven approach

Economical power

Networking of partners

Know how

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Eng	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
3	0	0	15	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	24
2	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5
1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
2	0	0	3	0	0	0	2	2	7	0	4	20

Ratio

13%

11%

Topics

Human resources axis

Business line

Competences

Corporate culture

BnA	Ret	Ene	Ind	Eng	Med	Sti	Hea	Ser	PSr	Tel	Tra	Total
2	2	1	0	3	0	0	3	0	7	2	0	20
4	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	14

Ratio

11%

To keep in mind:
The key for success should be: 30% of marketing, 29% of technical know how, 24% of operational know how and 18% cultural specificity.

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