Los Agrupamientos de Empresas Para Conquistar Mercados Internacionales

8/2/2019 Los Agrupamientos de Empresas Para Conquistar Mercados Internacionales

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E N C O U V E R T U R E C O V E R F E A T U R EDo ss ie r p ar R e po rt by A s ha M e ra llL S te pl 1a ni e S al ti. M a ri e L u gm s la nd , v al er ie D em on. .DES FIL IERESD'ENTREPRISJSPOUR CONQUERIRLESMARCHESINTERNATIONAUXPou r g agn e r d e nouv e lle s p a rts d e marche . cer ta inese ntre prise s, a ve c le so u tie n des p ou vo irs p ublics e td es a cte urs te rr ito ria u x, fo n t le pa r i d e s ' a llie r av ec d esp a rte na ire s, v o ire d es co n cu rre n ts d'un me lle se cteu r,au se in de filieres a la lo gis tiqu e e t au x s tra te gie sco mm u nes . A n alyse d es dillerentes in itia tiv e s e nFrance, au RovaumeUni. en Allemagne e t en Esp agn e .

- A V RI L 2 01 2

BUSINESSSTREAMS FORCONQUERINGINTERNATIONALMARKETSTowin new market shares,

certain enterprises, with thesupport ofpublic powers andterritorial authorities, areplacing their bets on joiningup with partners, even rivals,from the one sector, withinstreams sharing the samelogistics and strategies.An analysis of differ~ntinitiatives in France, the UnitedKingdom, Germany and Spain.


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ENCOUVERTURE C O VER F EA TU RE

FrancePACK HUNT ING FOR EXPORT

IfPrance does not export sufficiently, it is because most ofits businesses lack the criti-cal size to attack foreign markets. Viameasures promoting grouping into streams, pub-lic powers are encouraging SMEsto get launched internationally.At th e 3" e ditio n o f th e A s s is e s d eI 'Expo rt (an even t a im ed a t frenc He xp or te r SME s) in 2 01 1 , th e S ec re ta ry o fS ta te f or F or ei gn I ra d e, P ie rr e L e l! ou c he ,dep lored th a degradat ion in f renchexpor t f ig u re s i n th e l as tf if le e n y ea r s d u eto ~3w e ak , w ifte d ( . . .), fra g me nt ed (. . . )expor ter ne tw ork fo cused on l argeg ro u p s ( . , . ) and th e European m a rk et. "Indeed, Fran ce h as 8 5,0 00 exp orterSMEs, in other w ords 3 .5 few er thanGermany a n d h alf a s m a ny a s I t ll ly , rep -r es en tin g a 12 % d ec lin e in th e s pa ce o fle n years.

T o a ct a s a remedy, "en i ll tema t i ona ld ev e lo pm e n t s u pp or t s y s t e m h as b ee nse t up ". namely w ith th e sign ing o f a" n a t i o n a l c ha rt e r o n e x { !o r t" b y th e m a info re ig n tra de p la yers a nd its reg io na ld ec le n si on , a s w e l l a s a n " Ex p or t P a c t"s i g n e d w it h 1 9 1a r ge c om pa n ie s c omm it -til ig t o . s up p o rt SME s o v er se as . A n E x-p o r t P ar tn er s T ea m is n Qw a t t h e d is p o s-a l o f c o m pa n ie s, m a d e u p 0 1 r e le va n tse rv ices rep resen t ing th e Sl a te , reg iona lc ou nc ils, Fre nc h a nd o ve rse as C ha m-bers o f C om m erce, Oseo an d C of ace ,fe de ra tio ns a nd c om p etitiv en ss s c lu s-ter s . Th e l at te r a re also p re se nte d a sspear headso ! fren ch in du stry a nd ap e rf ec t il lu s tr at io n o f s tr en g th in u n ily .

T h e imp lem e n ta ti ono f c lu ste r p olic yG ro up ed to geth er o n th e o ne te rr ito rya n d m a d e u p o f b u S i n e s s a s s o c l e u o n s ,re se arc h c en tre s a nd tra in in g O f Dan -i sm s , " p 1 l! es de c am p il ti !i vi te " ( c om pet i-tiv en es s c lu ste rs ) w er e in itia te d in 2 00 4b y th e I nte r- Min is te ria l C o mm itte e fo rT er ri to ri al D e ve lo p m en t Vi a a ca lf fo rp ro je cts. A s th e c ap ac ity to in no va te ison e o f th e keys to co mp etn ven ess, th eobject ive w a s t o en abl e c lu s te r s t o de ve l-o p j oin t s tr at eg ie s a n d s yn e rg ie s a ro u ndin n ov a ti ve p ro je ct s. O ve r t he 2 0 09 -2 0 11per io d, a 1 .5 billi o n-euro bu dg et w as

th us a cc ord ed to th em t o s u pp o rt R & Dp ro je ct s, f in a nc e le a de rs h ip s tr uc tu re s( w it h l oc a l a u th o rit ie s a n d b us in e ss es )an d 10 f inancial ly ass st t he ir co l lec t iveini t iat ives, O n t he i nte rn a li on a ll ev e l. t h i sw as a m atte ro f h elp in g m em be r c om pa -n ie s fo rm t e c hno l og l c a l partnersh ips"cent red on v a l u e creat ion " an d a c qu ir -in g " th e s uf fic ie n t c ri tic a l m a s s fo ra c qu ir in g a n d de v e lo p in g i n tema t io n a ivisibi l i ty" I n e xc ha ng e fo r th is s up po rt.clusters g i v e an a c c o u n t o f t he ir in it ia -t ives by transm itting to tile D GC IS(O i r ec to ra te f or C om p et it iv en e ss , I nd u s-tr y a nd S er vic es ) in fo rm a tio n he lpingt o a s se s s t he ir e f fi c iency .

N o t o n ly d o c om pe ti tiv e ne ss c lu st er sg iv e F re nc h c om p an ie s g re ate r v is ib il-it y o v er se a s, t he y a ls o s uo p o rt them linth eir in te rn atio na l d ev elo pm en t. S ys -t em a t ic P a r is -Reg io n , a g lo ba l c lu s te rS p e c l a ll se d in l eT , a llo w s its b us in es -se s to be ne fit fro m th e "P ro gra mm eA mb-itio n P ME" a ctio n p la n fo r S ME s,fin an ced by th e Sta te an d the Reg io n,w hic h c om pr is es a n in te rn atio na l s up -port componen t I n p a r tn e rs h ip withIh ~ Par is ee l , i t h e l, p s S M E s t o p re p ar eth eir in te rn atio na l a pp ro ac h, to u nd er -s ta nd th e c on te xt o f th e ta rg et c ou ntry,to m e et p o te n na l p a rt ne rs a n d t o c o nc re -lis e a gre em en ts a nd s ettin g u p. In th isway , 0u t o f the 50 S Mfs it has helped,1 7 h av e b ee n a bl e t o s et u p o v er se a s

Th is is the case o f H GH , a com panysp ec ia lis ed in th e d ev elo pm en t 0 1 o n -t ro n ie s a n d in fr ar ed s y. st em s .l ts M a na g -e r, T h ie rr y C am p os , r ec o un ls : " W e w e rea lr ea dy e xp o r1 ln g b efo re t Oin m g Sys-te m stic. b ut w e w an te d to C on so lid ateo ur e xp ort turn ov er by s ettillg u p alloff ice Il1 t h e Un i te d S t a te s . S y s tema t ich e l p e d us to se t up t h e r e by p utt in g u sin t ou ch w i t h a c om p an y t l m t has ted u sin Boston an d t h a t carr ied out tile firstco mm ercia l p ro ce dure s fo r us. T he seserv ices , f i nanced by th e P r og r amme

A mb itio n PM E, p ro ve d fruitful a s th eyr e s u l t e d ill a first o rd e r T od ay , w e c ar r you t 35 % o f o u r tu rnover in th e U S A . "

T h e p r og ra mm e o ff er s c o ns id er ab lehelp , but m any reg ret tha t such a id iso nly a va ila ble to h i-tec h c om pa niesbelong ing 1 0 t he 7 1 c om pe ti tiv e ne ssclusters l i s t e d in F [( In c 6 . . . T h e "grappesd 'ent repr ises" ( bu sin es s c lu ste r) la be lw a s In u 5 s ub se qu en tly c re ate d byD A T A R ( In te r-Mi nis te ria l D e le g at io nfo r T er ri to ri al D e ve lo p m en t a n d R e g i ona lAttract iveness) to p ro lo ng th is p ol i cyQ f s tr u ct ur in ll io c al e c on om ic a c ti vi ty .Bu si ne ss c lu s te rsa n d jo in t s tr ate g yW h ile c om pe titiv l1 es S c lu ste rs a rela rg ely fo cu se d o n r es ea rc h, d ev elo p-m en t a nd tech no lo gic al in no va tio n,b us in es s c lu sle rs p ri m a rily tllr ge t e co -n om ic d ev elo pm en t T he ir fie ld o f a c tio n. is f a r w id er t ha n t ha t o f c o m pe ti ti ve ne ssc lu sters. w ith a ll secto rs sta nding tob en e fi t ( in d us tr y, b ut also t rade.craf ts,tour i sm, etc.) . A bu sin ess c lu ster ism ain ly m ad e u p o f S ME s a nd V SE s ro ot-ed in th e on e terr ito ry a nd o ften po si-tio ne d o n th e s am e p ro du ctio n n ic he a ~dthe sam e stream . In a ll, 126 b u s i n e s sc lusters h av e been la belled a fter tw oca lls fo r ten ders la un ch ed in Oc to ber20 09 a nd J une 2 01 0. a nd a 2 4 m illlrln '

eu r o bu clg et h as been p la ced a t th eird isposa l b y th e M in is tr y f o r Ag ri cu lt u re .Fis hin g, R ura l Is su es a nd Te rr ito ria lD ev elo pm en t Ea ch bu sin ess c lusterr ec eiv ed a n a ve ra ge o f 300 , 000 eueosin su pp ort o ver th re e ye ars ( fir st c alto r te nd er s) , o r 200,000 e ur os o ve r tw oy ea rs ( se co n d c a ll t or te nd er s) . T he la betheretore does no t a im to crea te bus-iness g roup ings ~ they m ust a lreadybe o rg an is ed in a n etw ork fo r th eir p ro j-e c t t o be s ele cte d - ', b ut r ath er to fin an -c ia l ly support thei rdevelopmen 1.

B usin ess c lu sters h ave their o w nl eadersh ip s t r u c t u r e an d th e role 0 1 c o m -pany heads i s v e r y i m p or ta n t. S tr a te g ie sfo r im prov ing com petitiveness andt he ir i m plem en ta tio n a r e d e ci de d o n co lle ctiv ely. w ith th is c olle ctiv e d yn am ica im in g t o b en e fit th e w h o le g r o u p .

A t E d e n .a bu si ne s s c lu s te r d edi ca t edto defen ce, secu rity a nd sa le ly in th eR h 6 n e - A l p e . g reg ion, s u m s receivedh a v e h e lp ed 1 0 acce l er : a te t he g r o u p ' s interna l i ona l d e v e l o p m e n t " A s l i t e c os t oa s s o c i a t i o n membe r sh i p is re lat IVelyl o w : fe es d id n o t a llO W I/ S /0 imp l emen tman y ini t iat ives, " e x p la i n s J e a n - P h il ip p eB a l l a z , Delegate G e ne ra l o f E d e n. S incet he la b ellin g, w e I J av e h a d t h e means toco- f inance th e part ic ipat ion o f o u r S M Esi n b u sm e s s convent ions a n d o v e rs e asfairs, a nd w e f / a ve a ls o b ee n a ble to hirea fu / I - t ime p r o j e c t mallag8f."Every yearb us in es s c lu ste rs a re a cc ou nta ble to a na u d i t commi t tee o n ho w a ll o c a te d s u m sh av e b ee n u se d. I f measur e s u n der ta k e np ro ve In effec tiv e in c re atin g g ro wtlJ ,w ea lth a nd jo bs, th e v erdic t is to ug ~;" de -la be llin g" , a s h as a lr ea dy b ee n th ecase fo r s ix b usi nes s c lu s te r s .

COMMERCE I NTERNATIO I' il !. L 56 N"B? - AVHll, 2012


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EN COUVBR T UR E C O VER F EA TU REPa r B y A s ha M e ra lli

L A F RA N CE C OM PET IT IV EDES VECTEURSDEREGROUPEMENTPrem ie rs in te r lo cu teu rs d esPME qu i v ise nt l 'in te rn a tio n al,le s ch am bre s d e com m ercee t le s co nse ils r eq ionaux s on tau ss i le s p rem ie rs a pouvo i rle s o rg an ise r en n lie re s .La VOil:de l'internationalioation des entreprises regionalesest desormais est lin axe prumraire de la strategic dedevcloppemcnt economlque des regions, Lc rcgroupemcnten filleres ct les actions collectives, garantcs d'une plus grandecffieacitc, ont done cncouragccs un pel! partout.

C'E8t notarnment [e cas en Bret3l,'11C,unc region dej , l histori-querncnt dvnarnique sur le plan international. Elle s'est airisitout spccialcrncnt dotee d'unc Agcnce rcgionale de develop-pemeru; economique et d'innovarion =baptisee BreragneDeveloppement innovation -, dent l'une des principales mis-sions est fa s~)'ucturation de !ilie re s fo rte s p ou r j)lu s d e competi-tivite s , C'est done par le hiais de cctte agence que de nouvellesstrategies collectives sorit elaborecs et appliquees grace a desfeuilles de route precises, aux conrrats de filicres et aux plansd'actions qui en decoulcnt.

Par ailleurs, la region souticnt financierement les entreprises al'internarional ct, grJcE a l'association Bretagne Internationalqui dispose d'un reseau de 70 collaborareurs presents a travers45 pays, les conseille et lcs accornpagne lors de salons interna-tionaux et de mi slons collectives de prospection, C'est ainsique se dcvcloppe petit a petit une marque Brctagne , dontpcuvent bcncficicr routes les PME bretonnes,

Autre type d'action avec ie site ile-de-france-intemational.fr,qui est un portaildes entrcpnscs frunclliennes ;) l'internatinnal,developpe par la CRC! Paris-Ile-de-France et un large partena-riat dans le cadre du Schema regional d'tnrellrgence econo-mique ( SR IE ) . Les PM E peuvcnt y trouvcr des information -surles dif fercntC!S filicres qu'cllcs pcuvent rejoindre ct sont guidcespas a pas dans leur demarche, Enfin, pour faire tombcr le~rcti-cences des entreprises qui VOlent leurs homologues cornme desconcurrentes plutat que comrne des parrenaires, certaines autresregions, comrne la Norrnandic, conditionnent de plus en plusleurs aides au regroupement des entreprises en filieres .

A competitive FranceVECTORS BEH IND GROUPINGS

Chambers of Commerce and regional councilsare the primary interlocutors able to guide SMEsseeking to develop overseas. They are also thefirst to be able to organise SMEsinto streams.The o loba lisa llop o t reg iona l businesses is now a p rio rity fo cus inth e e co no mic d ev elo pm en t s tra te gy o f r eg io ns . G ro up in gs a cc or din gt o s tr ea m s a n d c o ll ec ti ve in it ia ti ve s. g u ar an te ei ng g re a te r e ff ec tiv e ne ss ,a re n ow b ein g e nc ou ra ge d al l o v er t he p la c e.

Th is is n ota bly th e c ase in B ritta ny. a h isto ric ally d yn am ic r eg io no n th e in te rn atio na l le ve l. B ritta ny h as th us se t u p a r eg io na l e co no micd ev elo pm e nt a nd in no va tio n a ge nc y - n am e d " tlr eta gn e D liv e lo pp em e ntIn no va tio n" - whos e m a in m is sio ns in clu de " th e s tr uc tu rin g o f s tr on gs tr ea m s f or g r ea te r c o m pe ti ti ve n e ss ". I t I s t h us v ia th is a ge nc y th at newc o ll ec li ve s tr a te g ie s a re p ut to ge th er a n d a p plie d, th a nk s to d eta ile dr oa d m a ps , s tr ea m c on tr ac ts a nd ac t ion p lans,

O n t op 0 1 th is. th e re gio n p ro vid es a ls o fin an cia l s up po rt to bu sin es -s es o ve rse as , a nd th an ks to th e a ss oc ia tio n "B re ta gn e In te rn atio na l"w .ith a n etw ork o f 7 0 co lla bo ra to rs set u p a cro ss 4 5 ccunt r tes .advlsesan d supp o rts th em a t i nt a rn a ti o na l f a ir s an d j oin t p ro s pe ct in g m i ss io n s.This is h ow a "B rit1 an y br an d" Is g ra du ally be in g de ve lo pe d, a nd fo r th ebenef i t o f a ll B r et on SMEs.A no th e r t yp e o f i nit ia ti ve I s e x em p li fie d by th e w eb site u e - a e - t n n c e -i n t e r n a t i o n a l . tt. a p orta l fo r bu sin es se s in th e l ie -d e- Fr an c e r eg io n , d ev el -oped b y th e reg io na l ch am bsr o f co mm erc e P ar is-Ile-de-Fra nce w ith ala rg e p ar tn ers hip , in th e c on te xt 0 1 th e s ch em a R eg io n al d 'in te lli ge n ceE co no mlq ue (S RIE o r R eg io na l E co no mic In te llig en ce S ch em e). S ME sc a n f in d in fo rm a ti on 0 11 th e strea ms th ey m ay jo in a nd be g uided step bys te p i n t he ir i nt er na tio n al a p pr oa c h, F in a lly , 1 0 r i d bus inesses o f t h ei r r e ti -c en ce stem mi n gfro m a v iew of th eir c ou nterp arts a s riva ls ra j h er tha np ar tn er s. c er ta in r eg i o ns , im ;1 ud i og N o rm a nd y, a re m a kin g a cc es s to s ub -sidies c o nd it io n al o n a b us in e ss 's be l ong i ng t o a s tr ea m g r oup i n g .


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E N C O U V E R T U R E C O V ER F EA T UR EP a r B y Asha Mera l l i

I NTERV IEWL'ACTION DES eelPOUR LES FILIERESLes e e l sou tiennen t les clu stersreqionoux et auss i la c re atio nde I i l ieres . Ques t ions a Chris t ineG arraud , d irectrice de e e lIn tern atio nal Picard ie (ex AREX ).C ommerce International: QueUesactions menea-vous pourinciter les entreprises a se regrouper en filieres ?Christine Garraud : Le prermer tY1Jed ' act ions es t la parriciparion,l d es s alo ns: e eu x- ci s on t [ Oujo urs se ct on els e r correspondent d o n e au n e filie re . N ou .I J} mp osom aux enc r ep r i s e s de la reg ion des espacescoUecti fs , que ce snit Jam le domaine de I'agroa iimentaiTc, d u ferro-1.ljllire (!U d e l 'a ii rrmaut iq u e. Le s sal rm s sonr l'iel1ement un e l11citatwn(I rnieux .Ie c Ol ln afrre e r a rravaille)' e ns emb1 e. "'l'ravaillez-vous exclusivement avec Ubifrance ?C . G . : Ubifnmce esr notre i)Qrrenaire l)rit1iiegie, ccrtznnes de nosactions 5 ' (wgan isem d on e m )e e l'ag ence . D ans c e cas , ) tr )us exposonsdans un s ta nd "P ic ar die " s ou __ ,e pavilion "Fmnce" , Mais loTSde cer-tain s salon s, comm e F roWein en AI1em.agne, nom r rnmto ns u n s ta nda part j Jour 1105 enz r ep ns e s n!gionales. Et en dehorsdes salons?C . G , : " N ow rravaillom be auco u} , en amom e n o rgani sant d es ate-liers Otl nou.' reunissons r eg u li er emen [ d e s g roup es d ' em re ly ri~e s. C e lafacilite I e parwge d'ex jJeTience en tre ce iie s d e j a bien lJTesente .lIil'exlmrte t c elle s q ui 1e sonc mains. Ces ate l ie rs l eur j J e rme t t e n t d e developperl eur t e .~eau, malS allisi d 'in itie r d es acriom communes. A imi, unoieiie s' es t cree, it y a t ro is ans, [ lOur le s entreprises de mach i n i s r neagrico le e t c'est devenu un g roup e r eg iona l I J ar ti e x po se r sur unsa10nen Ukraine, e n f v ri eT demier, avec {'tine de n o s c on se il le re s, D emcme, Il Leel de L 'Aisne avait irlentifie l )/ us ieu rs j )e t it s p r oduc teu rsd e ch am pag ne q ui se soo t regroupes SOI.LS I e nom de "Fine S i g na tu re s " .N ous les avons accompagnes /)iusieurs a n n e e .\ S UT d es s al om enGml1.de-Bretagne. T out c elap t'e nd d u remps, j Jarfois deuxou troisam : it [aut d ' a ho r d i ' d e m i f i e T le s entrelirises, j ) U i s reu.ssir a c re er u nespr it d e g ro up e , , , Mal.s d am ce s deux exemples, cela fonctionne plutatbien er I .e .~ rcsultats sont 1 . a ! J'aimerais ajou.tcl que l e t rava il sur ie sjI:lieres se f a i r Qu. \s iau-dela des frontiere.1 r eg io na fe s : 1 1 0 U S collaboromainsiavec 1esC CI N ord de Franceetde Nomuuvlie . LA P ICARD IE INTERNAT IONALEL a 2 7 janvier 2012, une e Convention relative Q I 'organisation du dispositif desoutien au deveroppement internat ional des entreprises en Picardie a e t esignee par les rapresentants de rBtat. de la region, d'Ubifrance, de la CerR,d'Osso et de Cofaee. A cette occasion, une "Maison de J'lnternational a Memauguree. nouveau point d'entree unique de toutes las dernandes de develop-pernent a I'etranqsr des entrepnses picardss.

A competitive FranceCCI PROMOTION OF STREAMS

Chambers support regional clusters and alsoencourage the creation ofstreams. Explanationsfrom Christine Garraud, Manager of the ee lInternationalPicardie (ex-AREXICommerce International: What initiatives are you carryingout to encourage businesses to be grouped into streams?Cbristine G a rra u .d : " Th e fir st t yp e o f in it ia tiv e is p ar tic ip at io n in tra defairs: t h e s e a re a lw ays sec to ria l a nd th us co rresp on d to a s t ream. W eo f f e r col lect ive s p a c e s to th e r eg io n 's b u s i n a s s e s whether t l le y b e f romth e fo od, ra il o r a ero na utic s in du stry. Tra de fa irs a re a rea l o pp ortu nityfo r gett ing to k no w o ne a no th er better a n d w o rk in g t og e th e r. "D o y ou w o rk e xc lu siv ely With Ub1f r a nc e?C . G .: " Ubifr an ce is o u r p riv ile ge d p ar tn er , a n d some o f our I n i ti a ti vesa re th us o rg an ised w ith th e a gen cy. I n t his c ase , w e ex hiM at a 'P iea r dy"sta nd , in th e " f r a n ce " p al/ilio n. B ut a t o th er fa irs, su ch a s P ro Wein inGe rmany , w e s et u p a n in div id ua l s ta nd fo r o ur re gio n al bu sin es se s. "And outside of t rade fairs?C . G .: "W e wor k a g re at d ea l u p st re am b y o rg a nis in g w o rk sh o psin w hic h we regular ly ga the r g ro up s o f bu sin esses. Th is h elp s th esh arin g o f ex perie nG B be tw een th ose a lre ady ex po rt in g a nd th ose th ata re exporting less. Th 8S1 1 w orksh op s a llo w th em to d ev elo p th eirn etw ork s, a nd a lso to in it ia te jo in t in itia tiv es. In th is w ay, a wor kshopw as set u p th ree yea rs a go fo r a gricu ltu ra l m ach in ery co mp an ies, a ndit b ec a m e a regional g r o u p th at w en t o n 1 0 e xh ibit a t a f a i r in U kra jn e inF eb rua r y t h is Y f l a F w ith o ne 0 1 o ur a dv iso rs. Sim ila rly, th e eC I o f Aisn eid en tif ie d sev era l sm a ll c ha mp ag ne p ro du cers th at ra llied to geth er a ndfounded a c lu b cal led ' F i n e Signaures ' . W e a cc om p an ied th em fo r s e v e r -a l y ea rs to fa irs in G rea t B r i t a i n . A ll th is ta ke s tim e , s om e tim e s tw o ort h ree yea rs: first yo u n eed to iden tify th e bu sin esses, th en su cceed inc reat ing a t ea m s pir it . .. B u t t h e tw o e xa m p le s I 'v e ju st g iv e n w o r k wel lan d resetts a re v isitJ le ! I'd like to a dd tha t stream w ork is a lso be in gc ar rie d o u t b ey on d re gio na l b ord ers : w e th us c olla bo ra te w ith th e eCls ,o f N ord d e F ra n ce a nd N orm an dy."

International PicardyOn 21 January 2012, a Convention relaring to the organisation of asupport measure in favour oithe internat ional development of busi-nesses in Picardy was signed by representatives of the State, thePicardy region, Ubitrance. cem. Oseo and Corace. Onthis occasion.an International House was inaugurated, a new single entrance doorfor all overseas development requests nom Picardy's businesses.


5/10

Interview

Ubifrance is undoubtedly the best-known French operator for the organisationofinternational trade fairs. Yetthe agency's role goes far beyond this aspect Questionsfor Henri Baissas, Chief Operating OfficerofUbifrance.Commerce International: CoUldyou explain to us how lJbifrancesupports competitiveness elus-ters?Henri Baissas: "W e s igned , in2009 , a tr ie n nia l p ar tn ersh ip w itht~e D G CIS (D irec tio n G an era le de laCompe l i t i v iM , de l'lndustrle et desS er vic es ), th e fin a nc ia l s up er vis or o fco mp et itiven ess c lu sters, a nd th ispa rtne rsh ip ha s been prt)iongedove r th e 2 01 2-2 01 4 p er io d. Weth us c rea ted a depa rtm en t o f tenperso ns ded ic a ted to co m p etiliv -{m e ss c lu ste rs , w o rk in g e xc lu siv elyo n th e e la bo ra tio n o f c olle c tive p ro -g ram m es fo r ta rge ted m arkets . Thea im is to f in d p oten tia l p ar tn ers o nthese m arkets fo r se tti~g up t ech-n olo gic al p ar tn ersh ip s. In th e s pa ceo f a yea r, w e thus set u p a round 3 5pa rtne red m issio n s . In 2011, w esu ppo rted a lm os t 500 par t i c i p -a nts f ro m c om p et itiv en es s c lu sterson pa rtn ered m iss io n s, a nd fromtile m issio n s ca rr ied ou t in 2 009and 201 0 , 1 30 techno lo q tea l p a rt -

p rocess o f b ei ng signed."How are these partnered mis-sions carried out?H.B.: "Each o f them is on a verys pe cific th em e , fo r e xa m p le t h e d s v e -to pm an t o f new m ate ria ls, a tra n s-versa l th em e re lev an t to tw o o r th reeclusters. W e gath eJ 8 to 2 0 part ic i -p an ts o n the Fren ch side a nd w eo rgan ise o verseas co n ta c ts w ithla bo ra to rie s, r es ea rc h t ea m s , u n iv er s-it ies , com pa n ies w o rk in g on thesa me to pic , in o rder to f in d p artn ersfo r th e deve lo p men t o f th ese tech -n o lo g ie s. F or t hi s, w e w ork i ll c o ll ab -o ra tio n w ith the sc ien tif ic dep art-m en ts o f em bassies and overseasc l u s te r s . .Do you carry out this type ofapproach for companies that donot belong to any competitive-ness cluster?H . B .: "Of co u rse : o u r w h o le dyn -am ic depen ds o n th is fam ou snot ion o f 'p a c k h un tin g '! Ou r ag en -cy is m ade up o f 1 ,4 0 0 p erso ns p res-en t in 56 coun tries , a nd the ta sko f ea ch is to g au ge th e Issu es la cin g

compan i e s to Mlp fin d them op-p o rtu n itie s, d is tribu to rs and im -p o rte rs. Th is is p o ss ib le m ain lyth an ks to c ollec tive o pe ra tio ns , a ndo u t o f th e th ousan d o r so ope ra t-io n s c ou n te d by th e Fra nc e Ex po rtP r og r amme , w e o rg an is e a ro u nd 8 0 0!W e th er ef or e c re ate g ro u pin gs OUJ-se lv es, ra ng in g tro m 6 p art ic ip an tsto ove r 100, such a s a t th e MobileW or ld C on gress , bu t o n a vera ge. o uro pe ra tio n s c om p ris e IO ta 15 par t -i c i pan ts . W hen yo u a re an SME andyou try to m eet a bu yer , i t 's v e r yc om p lic ated , bu t w hen a cohe ren tFren ch o f fe r is set u p W ith a round15 par t i c i pan ts , a c ata lo gu e a nd ap resen ta tio n o f .p ro d.u cts, yo u c antake adva n ta ge 0 1 a g roup dyn am ieand m any m ore buvers tn an w henp rom ot in g a sin g le bus iness. II 's am a t t e r o f l o gi c. 'So it is Ubifrance that contactsbusinesses, rather than the op-pOsite?H. B.: "Absolute ly, and t his r ep re s-en ts a n en orm ou s ta sk o f p ro sp ec t-

ti le 10 c o m o an le s th at p artic ip atein an ope ra t i on , we c on ta ct 2 00Ou r des ire is to do th is p ro sp ec tio nw o rk w ith the g rea tes t n um ber op artn ers , fo r in th e fie ld , in reg io ns ,w e on ly ha ve very few m eans ap a rf rom a lew r eg io n a l d ele g at es . W ethere fore rely o n Chambe r s of C om -m erce and Reg io na l C ou :n c ils th aare in a 1 1 1 uc h b et te r p os itio n th a n u s 1d e te c t e x p or t c a n di da t es ."Amongst Ubifrance's services.the Volontariat International enEntreprise IVlEor InternationalBusiness Volunteeringl schemeallows a number of SM.Es toshare an export manager ...H.B.: "Th e V IE is in dee d a m a gn ifi-c e n t fo rm u la fo r s tru ctu rin g th e e xp o rts t ra tegy 0 1 compan i e s . We cu r ren t lyh ave a litt le o ve r 7 ,0 0 0 vo lu n teersh o ld in g po sitio n s and over h a lf oth e users a re SME s a n d E Tl s. H o w ev erthe sh ared V IE sys tem is litt le u sedby co m p a rues as it ta kes a hu geamo u n t of en e rg y to poo l a sa l es f o r c eth at w il l ben efit a n um ber o f c om m er-c ia l en tit ie s, a nd th e s yste m im p liesmanagemen t ditliculties. How, fo rex am ple , c an w e ensure th a t th eV IE de vo tes a s m u ch t im e to o ne bu si-ness a s a no th er? Th e a pp lic atio nco ntex t is d if f ic u lt. In rea lity, th issh ared sa les fo rc e lo gic is m ore o ft-en o rg an is ed by reg io ns , C h am bers


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EN COUVER T U RE C O VE R F EA TU R EP a r Ry As h a Me r a ll i

LAFRANCECOMPtTITIVEOPERATIONSSEDUCTIONA L'ETRANGERA fin d'aider les PME et les ETI (entreprise de raillemoyenne) ~~igner davantage de Cl~~tra(s a l'export, Iesccrcraire d Etat au Commerce exterteur PIerre Lellou-chc a lance vo i l a trois ans le programme France Export, Celui-cirasserublc les operations collectives subventionnees par les POll'voirs publics et pilotees par Ubifrance, Ie reseau des Cel enFrance et a l'ctranger, et les federmions professionnelles, ainsique des opcrareurs prives. Le Sopexa, groupe de marketing inter,national specialise dans l'alimentaire, Ieyin et l'art de vivre, etl'Adepta (Asscciarion pour le dcveloppement des echanges in,ternationaux de produits et techniques agroalimcntaires, fontegaLement partie des partenaires du programme, mais sont sub-ventionncs par lc rninisrcrc de l'Agriculture, de l'Alimentationct de la Peche. Le sire Internet j lrogramme-fmnce-exj)OTLfT rc-ccnsc ainsi pour l'anncc 2012 plus de llOOoperatlous collec-tives a l'ctrangcr, classccs a la fois solon unc repartition gcogra-phiquc ct scctoricllc. Tous ccs opcratcurs bcneficicnt du labelFrance qui permer aux PME de protiter de I'image positive dusavoir-fairc francais, mais aussi, de fa~on plus prosaiquc, de fairbaisser leurs couts de participation ,lUX operations collectives.Unc eC01111m i e qui fait la difference sur certains salons, ouIe ticket d'entree peut etre dissuasif Ainsi, sur le Mobil e \ 'V o rl dCongress ; 1 Barcelone, Uhiftance a facture le poste de travail6000 eUfOS au lieu de 9500 euros, Une prestation de en mainsqui comprenait Ie stand, un ecran plasma, une connexionInternet, Lasiguaietiquc avec Le logo de l'entrcprisc, sa fichedescriptive dans le catalogue papier et Inrerner d'Ubifranccet du salon, ainsi que la mise a disposition de petites salles pourorganiser des reunions, Sans ouhlier l'organisation de confe-rences ct de rencontres BtoB quand cela etait pertinent.De maniere gencrale, une PME participant ilune actioncollective aura davanrage de visibtlite er se verra accorderbien plus de moyens d'acceder a des marches inrcrnationaux.L a Federation de fa mallie etde la lingerie organise ainsi regulie-rernent des missions de prospection a l 'etranger pour quelquesentreprises ~lqui elle fait rencontrer des partcnaires potenriels,mais aussi des operations de communication reb que des defilesOll des show-cases en parteuariat avec Prouuncor, une asso-ciation qui regroupe et promem lcs tabricants francais de linge-rie ct de balneairc. Nous t rav ai ll ons egalement en amO)1[pourfaire gagne1 ' du temps aux enzrepnses en leur [oum issora de sinfor-matiom des s ur I es ma rc h es er lew:; principm(_'"( acteuTS i o c a 1 . L " t :ou en anaiysant a1!eC el[es leu: strategie t1 /'intenw.tional lorsd e workshops ", explique Anne-Laure Linger, responsable dudeveloppement international dc la Federation. _

A competitive France...SEDUCTION OPERATIONS 'OVERSEAS; . . .. . '~ ~ - :" ) o' _ , , '' '~ J_ ~ ~ . ,- ,. '~ . - , , ;. ,. ,. .. _ .. .. .. . '

In o r d e r to h e lp SMEs a n d E T ls (m t e rm e d la te -s iz e d e n te rp ris es ) t o s ig nmo re o v e r s e a s cont racts , th e S ta le S ec re ta ry fo r F o r e ig n T ra d e PierreL eU o u ch e la u n ch ed , t h re e y e a r s a go , t h e F ra nc e E x p or t P ro g r a m m e, a s e tof c o l le c tiv e o p e r at i o n s - tr a d e f a ir s, m e e ti n g s, e x p o rt missions-susid isedb y p U b li c p ow e r s a nd s te e r e d Il y U b if r a nc e , t h e n et w or l ( o f C h a m b a r s o tC om m e rc e a nd I n du s t r y In F ra nc e a nd a b r o ad , t r a de f e de ra tio ns a s w e l la s p r iv a te o p e r at or s . S O P E X A , a n in te rn a tio n a l m a rk e ti n g g ro u p s p e c ia lis edin f ood , w in e , l i f e s t y le , a nd A D E PT A , t h e A s s oe e t i o n fo r t h e D e v elo pm e n tof In t er na t io n a l E x c h a n ge s fo r F o o d In [ i us l ry P r o d u c t s a nd T e c h n i q u e s , a rea ls o p a r tn e r s o f t h e p re q ra rn m e , b u tt h e y a re s u b s id is ed b y t h e M in is tr y o fA g ric u l t u re . fo od a n d Fish ing, T he w e b s i t e programme- t rance-exJ io/ t f rt h us i n dic a te s o ve r 1 ,1 D O c ol le ct iv e o pe ra tio ns o v ers ea s fo r 2 0 1 2 ,c la s si f ie d a c c o rd in g t o g e og ra p h ic a l lo c at io n o r s e ct or .

A l l t h e s e o p e ra to rs b e ne fi t f r o m t h e F ra n c e la b el e n a b lin g SMEs t o t a kea dv an ta ge o f t h e p os i t iv e im a ge o f F re nc h s a v o l r - t a r e . bu t a ls o , m o re p ro -s a i c a l l y , to lo w er p a r t ic ip a t io n c os ts f o r c o l le c t iv e o p e ra tio n s - s av in g s thatc a n m a k e a w o r l d o f d if fe re n ce l o r c e rt a in t r ad e fa ir s w h e re e n tr an c et ic ke tsm a y b e d is s ~ a s iv e . In t h is w a y , a t M o bile W o rld C O lJ gre ss in B a r ce lo n a ,t h e m o st i m p o r t a n t e ve n t fo r m o b i le p h o ne p la ye rs , l lb if r a nc e b il le d w o r ks ta tio n s a t 6 ,0 0 0 e u r o s in s te a d o f 9 ,5 0 0 e u ro s , t o rt u rn ke y s e r v ic es in c lu d -in g t h e s ta nd , a p l asma s cr ee n , I n te rn e t c on n ec tio n , s ig n s wi th t h e c om p a -n y lo go , a d es c r ip ti o n i n t h e p ap er a nd w e b c a ta lo gu es a t U b i f r a nc e a ndth e t r a d e la ir , a s w e l l a s th e a va ila b i l i t y o f s m a ll r o om s fo r m e et in gs . N o t t om e nt io n t h e o rg an is a tio n o f c o n fe re nc es a n d B lo B m e e t in gs i l n ee de d .

G e n era lly s p e a k in g , a n SM E t a k i n g par t in a c ol le c t iv e e ve n t w i l l e n jo yh i g h e r v is i b il it y " an d t h u s f ind m o re w ' i f ' : /s t o a c c e ss in te m a tio n a l m a rk e ts .T he F ed tr a tio n d e la M a iU e e t d e la L in g e ri e ( l in g e rie f e d e ra ti o n ) t h u s r e g u -la rly o rg a n is es o ve rs ea s c an va s s in g m is sio n s fo r b u sin e s se s , in tr o d u c in gth e m t o p o t e n t ia l p a r t n e r s , a n d a ls o c o m m un i c a t io n s o p e ra n o n s s u c ha s la s h io n p a r a d e s or s ho w c as e s in p a r tn e r s h ip w it h P R O M IN C O R , a n a s-s oc i a tio n a ss er n b lin g a nd p ro m o t in g F re nc h l i n ge rie a nd s w im w e a r m a nu -t a ct u re r s, 'W e a ls-o w ork up stre am to h elp b usirre sse s sa ve tim e b y p ro -v id in g th em w ith ke y in fo rm atio n on m arke ts aM th e m ain lo cal p la ye rso r b y a n al yS in g t tle ir i n r e m a t i o n a J strategy w i t h them ( J u r i n o wo rk s ho /J s, "e xp la in s A n n e- L au ra L in ge t, In te rn at i o na l D e v e lo pm e n t M a n ag er o ft h e F e d e r a ti o n "O ur a im is to sup po rt th em a s b est p ossib le a s it is in ou rillte re sts fo r th e stre am to d ev elo p a nd b eco m e s tr on ge r!"


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EN C OUV ER TURE COVER . F EATURE

A competitive France

In the Rhone-Alpes region, around fifty SMEsactive indefence. security and safety aregrouped together in the Eden cluster, to make economies ofscale and to benefit from agreater striking force. Questions for Jean-Philippe Ballaz, Advisor at the CCl of Lyon,Delegate General of Eden.Founl ! led in 2 0 0 8 , Eden (the EuropeanD e fe n se E co n om ic N e tw o rk ) is ded icat -e d to b oo stin q th e i n tema t io na l a c t iv i tya nd c o m p e n n v e n e s s o f b usi nes se s o p -erat ing]o 4 s e ct o rs : d e te c ti o n , p r o te c ti o na n d s u rv e ill an c e; i nd iv id u al p ro t ec ti oneq uip men t; v eh ic le , a irc ra ft a nd sh ipe q u i o m e n t ; f in a l ly , e ng i ne a r in g , t es t c e n -t re s ann s e rv i ce s .

Commerce International: Howwas Eden [European DefenseEconomic Networks) created?Iean-Phllippe Ballaz: 'The ee l o fL yo n, o rg an is ed in se cto ria l c ou n c ils,h a d b ee n a c t i v e i n th e doma i ns o f d e -r e n e e securi ty a n d sa fe ty fo r m an yyea rs. W e nam ely o rg an ised g roupsta nd s fa r R Mn eA lp ~s bu sin esse s a tthe la rgest tra de la irs in Fra nce a ndo v er se as , fo r w h ic h w e a lw a ys h a d veryg oo d feedbac k fro m com pa nies . In2 00 6, w e la un ch ed a d e ta i le d r e g io na lsurvey all co mp an ies in th e sec to r, inp artn ersh ip w ith th e G en era l D ele ga -tio n fo r Arm am en t a nd th e Reg ion alD ir ec to ra te to r In du str y, R es ea rc h a n dthe Env ironm ent. The c o n eu s l o n sw ere en co urag in g: a mo ngs t th e 1 20SMEs su rveyed, 57 reco rded a 1 5 to20 % in crea se in p ro fits p er yea r. Allo f th ese en terp rises rep resen ted atu rn ov er o f o v e r Ol l billio n eu ro s p erye ar, g ro w in g ex po ne ntia lly. a nd 4 0 to50 % wa re carr ied ou t in expo rt. Am o re th an s atisfa cto ry a sse ss men t;bu t w ith it s s ha do w y z on es .'Whatshadowyzones?I.-P, B ,: 'W e observed tha t the ;eSME s w e re very i so la te d t or th e ir l nt er -n a tio n a l d ev e lo pm e nt . F in a n ci al ly l im i te d, th ey h ad re la tiv ely fe w e mp lo ye esa nd so , o fte n n o e xp ort m a n a g er. I n a dd it io n, m o st 0 1 th em w ere p os it io ne d inte cbn olo qie al n ic he s, a llo w in g th em to

c on q ue r m a rk ets , b ut th es e w e re a lm o ste nt ir ely o p po rt un it y m a rk ets N o n -s uc -c esse s in o th er w o rd s. An oth er o bse r-vat ion w a s t ha tt h {! ir r iv a ls w e re p r i m a -rily s ubsld ia r.es fro m la rg e g ro up s, o rev en tile la rg e g ro up s th em selv es. Final ly , th e m o st dynam ic in e xp o rt w er eta ken o ver by o versea s c om pa nies . Intile tw o y ea rs fo llo w in g th e s ur ve y, th isw as th e c ase o f 20 o f t he m I'SO you suggested that they gettogether ..,1 .- P . B .: 'Y e s, g iv en t he se c o n di ti on s ,w e a bso lu te ly h ad to r e a c t a n d a llo wt he se SMEs h o ld in g s a vo ir -f ai re in hightech no lo gy to a dv an ce to geth er to b es tr on g er , l ik e e ig h te n1 h -c en tu ry p r iv a -teers. I had i den t i fi ed, in Ih 6 c o n t e x t 01th is su rv ey , 6 c ha risrn atc a nd te ce ra t-in g c om p a ny h ea ds , e ac h 0 1 w ho m rep -r es en te d a d if fe re n t c om p a ny t yp o lo g y.Ie t t h em a w a ge r: 'C o uld n't w e jo in tlyim ag in e a w ay to g rou p bus in essesw h ere S MEs c ou ld sh are e ve ,ryth in g,n am ely bu sin ess? ' Th is in te restedth em , w e g ot to geth er a lew tim es, a ndin th e sp ace o t 3 m on th s, w e h ad set u pth e E de n p ro je ct, w h os e m a in o bje ctiv eis to co nqu er in te rn at ion al m ark etsw ith a g rou p. W e h a v e th us be en p ra c-t is ing , si n ee 2008 , th e type o f pa ckh u nt in g r ec en tly a dv o ca te d b y t h e S ec -r et~ ry o f S ta te f or F or eig n T ra de . .:What is your modus opl!l"andf?j.~P. B .: 'O ne 01o u r g r ea te st s tr B ~g th sis to s ha re in fo rm a tio n. Ta ke th e e xa m -p le o f a m em ber c om pa ny set ep o ver-s ea s . . lt o ne o f th is c om p an y's c lie ntsd es cr ib es its n ee ds a n d a m o ng st th es en ee ds , c ert ain e le m en ts e nte rth e r an g e0 1 g o o ds a n d s er vic es p ro v id ed b y oneo r sev era l m em bers o f Eden , th e co m-p an y in q ue stio n is o blig ed to tra nsferth is in fo rm atio n to th e fe llo w c om pa -n ies a nd to h elp th e la tte r g et k no wn by

th e c l i en t . A no th er e xa m p le : a few o fo u r SMEs w ill sho rtly be sett lin g inAsia . Th ose a lrea dy o n th e sp ot w ill bee xp la in in g th em e ve ry th in g t/le y n e e dto know ; w ha tth ey need to do o r n o tdo , w h ich a re the good agen ts , th egood d is tr ibu to rs, w here to set u p ,wha t m u st be produced all the sp ot o rn o t . Th e te r ra in h as al ready beenc l ea r e d. T ha t' s p r ic e le s s! "Doyou offer other services?J.-P.B.: "W e h av e set u p a da ta ba seon a co mp uter p la tfo rm m ade secu reby th e C en tra l D ire cto ra te o f In te rio rInte l l igence. E a c h membe r c a n f indin fo rm atio n th ere o n s u p p l i e r s , c om -p etito rs, o ne a no th er 's c lien ts. Th iso bv io usly im plies co mp le te tru st be-tw een m em ber com pan ies If one o fth em brea ks its co nfiden tia lity co m-m itm en t, it is im m e dia te ly e xc lu de dfro m th e g ro up . T h e 'o ne fo r a ll a nd a llfo r o ne' a ttitude is a lso seen in o u rm em bers' oblig a tio n to go to the irc lien ts w ith th e Eden bu sin ess ca ta -lo g ue a n d to s ys te m atic ally in tro du ceth e c lu ste r. A nd it w orks There's no1 in an cia l re tu rn , sim p ly rec og nitio n o fth e o th ers a nd a ssura nce th at th e liftw ill o ne da y e n d u p w h ere it's be en s en tfrom . Sin ce 2008 , n o less th an 200c on tra cts h av e be en sig ne d in th is w a y.I ev en h av e t he ca se o f a c om pa ny th atfo un d o ver th ree yea rs o f its tu rn ov erth a nk s to a n om e r c om p a ny !'Howdo you plan the presence ofEden at international fairs?- I .-P . D .: "Eden w ork s in a v ery dem o-c ra tic fa sh io n: its m em bers in fo rm th eex ecu tiv e o ffice o f th eir n eeds ev eryyea r, a nd dependin g on these, w es ele ct eig ht to te n fa irs a t w h ic h w e h oldc olla ctiv e p a vilio n s. T he c om p a nie s a res tr ic tly iden tified fro m o ne a no th er,bu t in a hom ogeneous and decorn -

COMMERCENTRNIlTtONII.L 68 W84 AVlil~ ~UI~

p a rt rn en ta lis ed m a n ne r. P O Sitio n in g isd on e in su ch a w a y t h a t prospec ts s e et ha t o u r b us in es se s a re c om p le m en ta -ry a nd c ap able o f m a kin g g lo ba l o ffe rs .I n ad d it io n , a s soon a s c om p an ies g ett og e th e r t o p a rt ie i p a t e i na t ra d e f ai r, w es up p or t th em f in a nc ia lly in th e ir e ffo rt,w ith t he a im o f s ys te m at ic ally r eln to rc -in g th e g r o u p a sp ec t . W e a l so o r g an is eb us in e ss c o nv e nt io n s a n d jo in t m e et-i ng s w i th p u rc h as er s o v er se a s. "Does the problem of competitionbetwee.n member businessesever come up?J,-P.B.: " Ed en 's s tr en g th lie s in r ec ip -ro ca l tru st. Th is does no t m ean th a tth ere is n o c om p etit io n. In de ed , w h ilecornplementarlness is stro ng , it is n ote x cl us iv e . T h er e a re r iv a ls i n t h e c lu s te rw h o h av e be nefite d m o re fro m syn erg yth an th ey h av e c om e a ga in st p oin ts a!f ri ct io n . G e n er a ll y s p ea k in g , w e a re inf av o ur g ro u pin g s. w h et he r c ap it alis tico r n o t. Tw o o f o u r SMEs tha t knewn oth in g a bo ut o ne a no th er befo re jo in -in g E de n a re soon g oin g to m erg e, Tw oo th ers h av e jo in ed to rc as a nd c re ate d av er y h ig h -le ve l in fr ar ed c am e ra , a s eg -m en t in w hic h a fo re ig n p layer h as aq ua si-m on opo ly." On an oth er lev el.Bre ton S M E s , in te re st ed in o u r m o de l,c am e to ms et u sa l it tl e u n de r a yeara g o. T he e xs cr tiv e o ffic e d ec id ed t ha t itw ou ld be better th at w e su pp ort th emra ther than fo r them to com peteaga ins t u s! So the B re to n s ha ve setth em selv es u p a s Eden B ritta ny w itho ur ch arter, reg ula tio llS, sta tu ses.W e a re in th e m ids t o f c a rryin g o ut th islicen ce co ntra ctin g p ro cedu re a ga inw ith SME s f ro m t he C e ntr e r eg io n ."SO.thisEden is being imitated .,J,-P. B .: "Yes, and a ll th e bette r!In F ra nc e w e d on 't rea lise th e extenttow hic h com pa ny hea ds a re iso la ted.w herea s th ey co uld g ain so m uc h fro mexchang ing , he lp in g one ano ther,a dv a nc in g t og eth er . T ile S ta te e nc ou r-a ges th is type o f g ro up in g w ith c om -p etitiv en ess c lu ste rs, bu sin ess c lu s-te rs, bu t SM E h ea ds ca n a lso in it ia teth e m ovem ent bo tto m u p an d crea tein te rest co mm un it ies a s w as th e ca sefo r E de n . . ."


8/10

EN COUVERT U RE C O VER F EA TU RE

United Kingdom

C l us te rs , p ro fe ss io n a l r ep re se n ta tio n b o die s a s wen a s g o ve rn m e nt a uth or it ie s e nd ea vo u r to b rin g s up p ort to B rit is hbu sin es se s w i sh in g to d ev elo p o n o th er g eo gra ph ic al m a rke ts .The story o f th e B ritish w allp aperm a nu fa ctu re r G ra ha m & B ro w n b eg an66 ye ars a go in B la ck bu rn . Th is fa milybusiness tha t cu rren tly em ploys 470p e rs on s w o rl dw id e, in c lu d in g 130 nu t -s id e th e Britisf bo rders, is to da y u p tons 1 h i rd g e n era tion o f en trep ren eu rs," T he s ta lto fo ur ilt le m a ti on a l e )( pa n si onda tes back to a round 15 y ea rs a go ,w he n w e w an te d to e )(p an d to co ntm en -t a l E u ro p e , " in dic ate s A nd re w G ra ha m ,C EO o f G r ah am & B ro wn , Fra nc e a nd th eN eth er la nd s w o uld b e th e m a nu fa ctu r-e r 's f ir s t tw o in te rn atio na l m a rk ets . B utsoon the g roup , w hose tu rnover fo re-c ast for th is yea r is 10 0 m illio n p ou nds( 12 0 .2 3 m il li on B u ra s) , w a n te d 10 e x t e n ct o o th e r c o u n tr ie s . "Russia 1$ t h e wo r ld 'slargest c ou n t r y i n terms a t wal lpaperconsumption and in th e la st twentyyea rs, the em ergence o f the m idd lec la ss h a s f os te re d a n i nc re a se d in te re stin f l amboyan t w allp ap er m atch in g th et as tes o f i nhab it an ts , " co n ti nu es A n dr ewG raham , "But in ve stm e nt In e m er gin gc ou nt rie s a ls o p re se n ts a certain nU / 11 -be r of c on si de ra ble r is ks , a n d o ur i nit -ia l establishm en t in R ussia m el W ithf Jl Ja n ci a l l os se s . W e also r IO t e d f ll a tou r Ge rma n r iv a is b e ne fi te d f rom gov -e rn m e nt- su pp o rt ed c re d it insurancefo r e xp ort, m ak in g th eir deve l opme r l !much less r is k y . "

A n u dg e fro mh e g o ve rnm e ntA lt er in te n se lo bb yi ng b e f o r e lo ca l a ndn a ti o na l B r it is h a u th o r it ie s , t h e w a ll p ap e rm anu factu rer m anaged to obta in thec re au on o f n ew in te rn atio na l d ev elo p-m en ta ld too ls from the f eGD (ExportC re dits G u ar an te e D ep ar tm e nt) . T w oin su ra nc e p olic ie s w ere th us is su ed toth e m a nu fa ctu re r th ro ug h th e in su ra nc eb ro k er A tl as R is k M a na g em e n t. " We a reg O in g to c on tin ue w ork in g W ith th e CG D a nd A t/a s 1 0co ve r sim ila r risk s a llm arke ts such a s Ea stern Euro pe a nd

tn e M id dle fa st, so a s t o tun ne t d ev elo pO U f act ivi ty." conc ludes the CEO ofG raham & B ro wil. fo llo win g in m e t rai lo f th is m ediu m-s ized bu sin ess, sin cetile p ub lic atio n in F eb ru ar y 2011 at th ew hitepa per Tra de a nd In vestm en t fo rG r ow th , t h ou s a nd s 01 B r it is h SMEs haveb en efite d fr om th e in te rn atio na l n ud gep r ov id ed b y t h e B r~ is h g o ve rn m e nt.

The o rgan isa tion o f the Sum merO ly mp ic s in lo nd on th is y ea r l oo m in gin th e ba ck gr ou nd is a p r et ex t f or d ev e l-opm en t. The U K D epartm en t o f Tradea nd In du str y (U KD TI) h as th us de fin eda five-yea r stra tegy a im ed to help . inp r io ri ty , m e di um - si ze d e nt er pr is es w is h-in g to e xp ort to d ev elo p in g economies,a s w e ll a s to d ra w r etu rn in ve stm e nts .In a firs t a sse ssm en t p ublis hed a t th een d o f Febru ary, th e U KD TI in dica tedthat it h as a lre ad y h elp ed 2 0,0 00 8 M Esto g et s ta rted in d ev elo pin g c ou ntr ie sa nd a im s to brin g th is fig ure u p t o 50,000p e r y e ar b y 2015 .'Thebene f i t s o f c l u s te r i ngWh ile g ov er nm e nt s up po rt to r b us in es -ses h as a cc elera ted sin ce th e star t o fth e d ec ad e, o th er in du str y p la ye rs h av en ot w a ite d fo r S la le a id b efo re d ev elo p-in g th eir in te rn atio na l ex po rts .. G re atB rita in has favou red the crea tion o fr eg io n al a c ti vi ty c lu st er s f or m a n y y ea r s:h is to ric ally , th e r eg io n o f S he ffie ld w as ac on ce ntra tio n o f s tee lw ork s, G la sg owa nd N ew ca stle, s hip pin g, w hile L ee dss pe ci ali se d in t ex ti le s a n d B ir m in g ham .I he a u to m o bn e in d us tr y. T h e im p o rt all cB0 1 c lu st er s w a s f ur th e rm o re h ig h li gh te din 2008 in a repo rt published by theD ep ar tm en t lo r B usin ess, In no va tio na nd S k J II s: " Th e cfu st er ef fe ct , d e fin e d a sg eo gra plrica l c on ce ntra tio ns o f ilIte r-c on n ec te d c om p a ni es , s pe cia lis ed s up -p lie rs a n d in sti tu tio n s s uc h a s lm i ve rs i-tie s, sup po rt sp ecia lisa tio n, cre ste s ec ri ti ca l m as s f o r a t tr a ct il lg i n ve s to r SHndpure/lasers. " T he Adva n c ed Manuf a ct ur -

C OMM E RC E I NT ER NA T IO N AL

in g P a rk (AMP) thus developed, tenye ars a go in R oth er ha m, u nde r P ro fe s-s or K eith R id gw a y, a m e ch a ni ca l e n gi-n ee rin g r es ea rc he r fr om th e U n iv er sityo f Sh effield a nd a l oc a l e n tr e pr e neu r.A dr ia n A lla n. W h ile v is itin g B o ein g a t It sh ea d o ffic e in s es tu e, U SA , tn e iw o m enmanaged 10 co nv in ce th e B oein g m an -a ge me nt a bo ut th e in te re sts o f s ettin g u pa B oe in g a er on au tic s m a nu fa ctu rin gan d f ab ri ca ti on r es ea rc h centre at th eUn i ve rs i ty o f S I1 lf ie l d.

E ve r sin ce , th e c on ce pt n as s pre adw ide to in c lude a certa in number o ft ec h no lo g ic a l a n d r es ea rc h b us in es se s,g iv ing bir th to th e AMP "'T he A MP h asn o la rge co mp anie s. la rg e b wld in gso r e v en la rg e s il os . jt is i us ! a b out c o /l aa orat ion," s p ec i fi e s Ra ch el C ia r k, inc ha rg e o f tile p ro du ctio n a nd m a te r ia I ssector at AMP. "Each business hasw ork ed w ith at lea st o ne o f tile oth ermember s ar id th e Boe in g re sea rchc en tre h as co lla bo ra te d w ith m o re tfumh a lf o f t he p a rk 's r es id e nt s, srTh ese c lu sters a re a lso m ana gin gto e xp or t th em se lv es o ve rs ea s: th e b io -m e dI ca l c lu ste r in th e n or th w es t, w h er eth e R &D c en tr e o f th e p ha rm ac eu tic alla bo ra to ry A str aZ en ec a is lo ca te d, c ov -e rs 2 80 D I 0 m e di ca ! b u snesses a nd e m-p lo ys o v er 22,000 p er so ns . I t i s a ls o o ne

IlRal,-li;),t l lC l t o ry ~It h . F - " ll tU I " I!

72 W fl4- A V~IL ;JU l.

o f tfle m o st s ig nific an t B ritis h e xp or te rsin th e p ha rm a ce utic al s ec to r, w or th 4 .3b illio n p ou nd s (5.17 billion BUroS) in2009 . It w a s fu rth er mo re o ne o f t h e fir stw in ne rs o f th e C lu ste r M ark , a d istin ct-io n c re ate d in 2009 b y G o rd on B ro w n'sLabour g o v e rn ment a nd a im ing to re-w a r d t he m o st d yn am i e B r it is h c lu st er s.

F in d in g s u p p o rtAp art fro m g eo gra ph ica l c lu sters, th eU n ite d K in gd om fa vo ur s th e io nm a tio n oo rg an is atio ns in c ha rg e 0 1 defending asec to r 's i n te rest s . S et u p 1 8 m on th s a goi n t h e L o nd o n f in a ll ci al d is tr ic to ft he C it y,C ityU K is a bo dy p ro mo tin g fin anc ia ls e rv ic e s t h at i s e n t ir e ly f in a n c ed by bank-i ng i ns ti tu tio n s. Em p lo yin g 30 persons,th e c om p an y la un ch ed a t t he v elY s ta rt 0 1its m an da te a su rv ey a mo ng st 2 00 f in -a nc ia l in stitu tio ns in o rd er to id en tifyt he rr c en tr es o f in te re st " It v e il ' quicklyb ec am e a pp ar en t i li a! t /l eS{1 institut-io ns w an te d to d ev elo p in e me rg in ge co no m ie s a nd o ur d eS ire w as to under -s ta n d t he ir n e ed s, " e xp la in s C h ris C u m-m in gs, C h ia f Ex ec utiv e o f C ityU K . "W ew ere a /so a ble to co un t o n t h e s up po rt 01the M ayo r o f London Boris Johnsonwho spends be tw een 90 and 95 dayso v er se a s . ev e ry y e e: " Also dra win g o ng ov ern me nt s up po rt, C ityU K, h as S I JC -c eed ed in e sta blis hin g tw o m em ora n-d um s o f u n de rs ta nd in gto d ale w ith R us -s ia , a s w ell a s w ith D uba i a nd th e U nite dA ra b Em ir a te s. "T he se a re two-wayag reem en ts. In the case o f R ussiato r e Xa mp le , Britisl1 b an k5 a lso b rin gthe ir suppo rt to the deve lopm ent o fp ro je ct f in a nc in g ," says C hr is C um -m ings. B ritish banks, m em bers o fC ity UK , a ls o c on tr ib ute m a np ow er : a c er -ta in n um be r o f t he ir e mp lo ye es a re te m-P Q ra rily s ec on ded to th e bo dy to br in gh elp to a c erta in n um be r o f in itia tiv es.Th is is a m etic ulo us o rg an lsa tio n u p top ar w ith th e sta ke s o f su cc ess fu l c ev el-o pm en t o n th e in te rn atio na l s ce ne .


9/10

EN C OUVERTURE C OV ER F EA TU R E

Germany

German SMEsowe their success to an open outlook on the world, It is firstly thanks to their professional federations,then relayed by the Lander [states] and the State, that these companies are operational on international markets,Ge rma ny is o ne of th e rare Europeanc ou ntr ie s n ot to h av e a M in is tr y o f T r ad eIt is a l so a coun try w hose Sta te p ro -c la im s loud and c lea r no t to pract i sein du stria l p ol i cy. An d yet, in 2 011 , forth e s ec on d y ea r r un nin g, G e rm a ny o n c eaga i n to o k n um be r o ne p os itio n w or ld -w id e a mo ng st e xp orte r c ou ntrles . T hejew els o f G erm an in du stry a re n ot th eo nly o ne s to c nrn eto th e fo re a s c ha mp -ions in I hi s c a te g or y. A c co rd in g t o a Sllf=v e y b y K F W , 1 M G e rm an developmentb a n k , o ve r h all 0 1 th e c ou ntr y's S MEsw e r e p re se nt m te rn atio ru aH y in 2 01 0.A n d t hi s, in s pi te c lt ne c ris is .

T h e s e 8 M E s mak i ng u p th e r e n O W n -ed Mitre/stand ("m id dle c la ss" in E ng l isll) ow e tillS in tern atio na l to cu s to atr ad itio n d atin g fr om th e la st, o r e ve n la stt wo gene ra ti o~s " A ft er t im reun i f ica t ion ,M i t te is tand businesses understood thisn e w e x pa n sio n poten t ia l repres'entedby g /o b al ls at io n , " a b s e rv es S e b as ta nTbe op olo , a c on su lta nt sp ec ia lis ed ini n te r na t iD n a l s tr a te g ie s f o r SMEs .

B u l w ,il[p ow er a lo ne is n ot r es po ns -ible fo r e ve ryth in g. T he re is a lso a n ee dfo r c ap ac itie s to m e et th es e m a rk ets a ndt h ei r c om p le x it y. "O ve r o ne h alf o f o urmembers ar e controtuea m o re o rte ssregular ly to expor t momtoring f or l !J e irp ro ducts m ay be u se d in s en sit iv ese c/D rs 01 activity" conf i rm s UlrichA~kermann, H e a d o f th e Fo re ig n T ra ded iv is io n a t m e V D M A {Mecl lanical C O i l "s tr u ct io n F ed er at io n ). I n h is o p in io n , th iSis ye t a no th er re aso n fo r se ek in g, fro mh is 3 M O c om p an y s tr on g fe de ra tio no rgan ised in to over 150 branches,e sse ntia l s up po rt fo r g ettin g p ast- th ebo rd er s. Th 'is is a str ate gy th at a llo wslo r sav ings in tim e and m oney, anda b o v e a ll, h e lp s t o l im i t r i s k s .

B jo rn P 6ppeler , Sales Manager a tP ore xth erm (m an ufa ctu re r 0 1 th erm alin su la tio n s olu tio ns ) c on side rs th at a n

o rg an isa llOn o f exp ort in to stream sa llo w s fo r " f i l ter ing" an d l eads directly1 0 t h e r ig ht contacts on th e spot "Th isd oe s n ot ilt ai l s lO p iH J YO l 18 f or m a k in gi nd iV id u al d e al m gs tn th e f ield. Bu t asI) e m e mb er o f a s t r e am , w e do n o : comea g a in st h e ad -o n c om pe ti ti on . We ar em o r e c om pl em e n ta ry ; w ille l, is a lsomo r e i n te r e st in g f or t fl e c l ie n t . "

The weight 01lederationsA survey by t h e l AO (F ra u n h o fe r l ns t i tutsfo r W ork Org an isa tio n) esta blish esthat 70% o f "cham pion " SMEs backn e tw o rk s t o e n su re t he ir s u cc e ss , K r is ti-na Schunk w ho m anages the epony-r n a u s c om pa n y { ac ti ve in t ig llt en in g a n dgr ipp ing t s c hn i quss ) , p resen t in 26c ou ntr ie s, c an o nly c on fir m I his fig ur e.' ' 'Contact i s s bov al l in fo rm a l. it ism a in ly a b o ut exchange on 6xperiences.Pr o fe s s /o n a l f e d er a ti o ns SIJcl1 a s t ileV D M A an d t h e A H K (Ge rman C h a m b e r so f C om merce Aoro au , ed i to r i a l note)a re a n id ea l co nte xt [o r exc / )ange w i l li int iJ e o n e s t r eam . u

In a coun try w here m em bersh ip o fth e e e l is c om p uls or y a nd m e mbe rs hipo f a p ro ts ss lo na l fe de ra tio n p ra ctic allya ss um e d, c om p an ie s a re n am ra lly tu rn -in g to wa rd s th ese str uc tu re s to bro ac hin te rn atio na l m a rk ets . T he Z D H ( te de r-anon o f sk illed c ra ttw o rksrs) thusdevo tes 1 0 % 01 its sta ll to expo 11suppo r t "Chamber s f o r c ra t tw o r k er sw ork tuna in Ila nd wit/J pro fessiona lfedera l ions to otter a Wide tlaletteo f e xp ort a id in stru me nts ," declaresM ic ha el Olm a, Fo re ig n Tr ade A dv ise ra t th e Z D H . " A p ar t f ro m p a rt ic ip a tio nIn f or ei gn f air s. w e a r g a ll /s e t (l PS t o d i f-fe ran t col lnt/ies fo r sm ail g roup ;; o fcompaflr l ; !s I n a d dl ti ol l, V i si ts f ro m f or -B lg o e ll er ll s i n G e rm a n y p la y a r ole inp ro m otin g e xp ort p arliC lila rly fo r o urc ompan ie s t ha t l ac k V i si bi li ty o v e rs e as ."

C OMM ERC E I NT CR N AT IO N AL

In terfacesFe de ra tio ns a re a ls o p la yin g th e r ole o fin te rm ed ia rie s w ith th e L an de r m in -ist ries. B y p laying th is p ivo ta l ro leb etw ee n c om p an ie s a nd r eg io na l d ev el-o pm e nt a ge nc ie s, fe de ra tio ns e nc ou r-a ge th e c re atio n o f c l u ste rs a nd s tr ea m so f e xc e ll en c e. T ha s ta te o f B a den-W i ll i-Jernberg h a s t hu s u n de rt ak e n m e a su re sto su pp ort th e g lo ba lis atio ~ o f lts c lu s-t e rs , pa r t icu l a r ly in m ac hin e to ols a nde n e r gy . Em p lo ye r o r qa n is at io n s a re a ls om ou t hp ie c e s be fo r e th e f edera l S t a t e ,

"T he 8 D1 (GemJ811 Indust ry Feder -at ion) is a lin k between i ts 38 p ro f es -siana l fed era tio n m ettib e t and theS t. te . I n t hiS w a y, m it ia tiv e s car r ied ou tm t em a ti ol 1a ll ya re a lw a y s 1 1 1 S Y I lC W l t IJt h e l il te r e st s o f com pe n e e a nd th eevo lutio n s in these reg ion s o f theworld," d es cr ib es J os et D i l f , e n . ThisMitt'e lstand Adv iser from the B D Ir em a rk s th a t, w i th o u t p r a ct is in g a n o v er -I y in te rv en tio nis t in du str ia l p olic y, th ef ede ra l S ta t e h a s been i nc r ea s in g ly s te e r-in g its a ctio ns in re ce nt ye ars to wa rd sexport t o m a t c h SME n e e d s ,In the State's handsI n t h e l as t t w o d e c a d e s or s o, a desi re t osuppo r t S M E s III the i r i n ternat iona ls tra te gie s h as e me rg ed 0(1 a f ed er a llevel. Stem ming from the Min istlY o fEconom y, a round fifty o ffices o f tneG TA I (G erm aru y T ra de a nd In ve st, Inc ha rg e o f p ro mo tin g G erm an y a .n d 10 r-e ig n tr ad e) a ro un d th e w o rld a im 1 0 be lo -c al c on ta cls to r c om pa nie s U ps tre am ,th e se a g e nc ie s de l i ve r detai led re partso n c ov ete d m a rk ets to s tr ea m s d es ir in gto expo rt. Acco rding to com pan ies,e mba ssle s th em se lv es a re m uc h m oreco op era tive to da y. Th is c ha ng e a t th eSta te lev el h as ta ken co nc rete fo rm inth e la st th re e ye ars th ro ug h th e E xp or tI n i t i a t i v e s led b y th e G TA I in cooperat ion

16 N 'B4 - A VR ]e ~(m

w il h AH Ks a n d p ro fe ss io n al f ed er at io n s.These s tr ea m -s pe cific p ro gr am m esin itia lly c on ce rn ed s po rtin g e qu ip m en tc o m pa n ie s w is h in g to e xp o rt t o B r az il .

Ever s in ce, o th er I n i t i a t l v e s haveemerged In th e fo od in du str y, e ne rg ys av in g s, r en ew a ble e ne rg ie s a nd fin al-ly , h ealth . Albert H ir tz w ho m an ag esAp op le x Me dic al Te ch no lo gie s G m bHt es ti fi es t o t h e I n it ia t iv e 's ef l ec l i l l B I lBSSin a! low ing h is com pany's to m ake itsfir st s te ps in D u ba i w n h o ih er c om p an ie sin th e h ea lth s ec to r. "Neve r could ane xp a ns io n o llt sid e o f E ur op e t ev e b ee nenv i saged wi thout t hi s s tr uc tu re ,"adm its the com pany head .. H e a lsoh op es fo r m ark etin g to m ak e its e ffe ctsf el ta H o v e rt ll e A r ab ia n p en in s u la .

Market i n g i lf fe C I S ar e a l s o w h at m o t-ivateu m a l f leck, P r e s i d e n t o f Su n se t-Solar , a n S M E spec ia l i sed in p ho to -v olta ic e ne rg y, to bec om e a m em be r 01th e R en ew a ble E ne rg ie s E xp or t I nitia t-ive. Thro ug h th e in itia tive, h e h as In -sta ll ed h is so la r p an e ts o n n um er ou sr oo fs o ve r th e w orld . a nd d ec la re s th at" {manoa l retum is certai l i ly not in thefo re fro nt b ull a m 1l0W visible in theseCO lln tf /a S a n d s ol ar e lle rg y h a s b e cam ea n iss ue o f d eb ate ." txporl lni t iat ivesdo no t m em ly serve to sell p roductsb ut a ls o to e x p o r t i deas. Th e ma i n h u r dl efo r S M E s concerns a n i n cr e as in g ly w o r -rying a s p e c t . S in c e th e c r is is a n d t he n ew8 ase lill r eg ula tio ns , ba nk s h av e h ard -e n e d th eir c on ditio ns . T od ay , it is in -c re as in gly d iffic u I t fo r e xp or te r SME s too bta i n g ua ra nte ed lo an s A p ar ad ox ic als itu atio n g iv eu !h alth e E ule r & Hermesc redit in su ran ce system , su pp ortedtly tile G e rm a n S ta te , y ie ld s a s ur plu s,F in an cia l c ov er ag e m a y w ell b e t h e n ex tc ha lle ng e fo r G e rr na n s tr ea m s a 1 a lim ew hen m ore a nd m ore co mp an ies in th es k il le d c r af t !o d u str ie s a re a ls o r us hin go n to i nt er na tio n al m a rk e ts .


10/10

EN CO lN ER TURE C O V ER F EA T UR E

Spain

Streams have historically been organised into regional clusters. The previousgovernment and the new one have multiplied initiatives for changing the situation.The globalisation policy ofSMEsis soon to be backed up.With a slugg IS h n atio na l m a rk et,a ris in g num ber o f b ud g et ar y c u ts ,a nd o bv io us ec on om ic u nc erta m ue s,Sp an ish co mp an ies n eed, m ore th ane v e r , to I O ( J K f or s a lv a ti on in te rn a ti on -al ly, lndust r ia l s t reams who se pol ic iesa re m a n a ge d by regions , a r e vel) ' o f t e ng ro up ed in to c lu sters in Sp ain , a nd int his c o nt ex t, o f1 er p r ec io u s a id 1 0SMEsTw o reg io ns, C ata lo nia a nd th e B asq ueC ou ntry, w ere p io nee rs in Eu ro pe , aswei l a s o r' ! a global leve I, a t th e sta rt o ft h e 1 9 90 s

In it ia lly g ro u pe d in to n a tu ra l m ic ro -c lu ste rs, w it tl c uttin g-ed ge stre am ss etf in gin d iffe re nt c itie s in th e re gio n,Gatalonia t he n t ur ne d i ts i n te re st to -w a rd s p o ssib le tr an sv ers a! a ctiv itie sb e t o r e def in ing, In : W 0 6 , a n ew strategy" W e a re b eg in nin g to e nco ura ge tn einstitut ionalisation o f clusters v v i t f Ja ma n a ge r fo r e a ch o f t h em , whereasin th e p ast, th e re gion w ould h elp en de n co u ra g e p r oj e ct s, " e xp la i n s A lt le rt oPOlzi , c om p etitiv e Stra teg y M an ag erlo r C om pa ny D ev elo pm en t a t Acc1 0,t ile C a ta la n g o ve rnm e nt 's d ev e lo pm en ta nd c om pe titiv en ess bo dy. To da y, th eau tonom ous com mun ity wo rks w itha r o u n d t hirty c io ste rs . A nd th es e v ar j-ous stream s have m anaged to brm gp ra c ti ca l s ol ut io n s t or t he d ev el opm e nto f jo in t p ro jec ts and 10 im prove theg lo ba lisa tio n o f a m ajo rity o f its p art-n e rs , m a in ly SME s, " six o r seven cam-p ,m ie s in tb e te xtile s se cto r tieve fo re xa mp le se t lip a c en tr s! p ur ch a si ngdepa rtm ent in H ong Kong Tnete a ren ow a bo ut tw elve of th em th at b ene fitfr om t !J is b on ue to r g lo b/llis atio 'n ,"declares Alberto Pezzi Meanwhi le ,a ro un d th ir ty com pa nies the "K id'sC luster" - a g ro up in g o f to y m anu-f ac tu rin g c om p a nie s, p u blis hin g h o us -es , f u r n it u re a nd so on , cen t red on th ee nd c lie nt , t he c hild - h av e jo in ed f or ce s

to ca rry ou t a su rvey on th e fu tu re 01t h e c h i ld r e n 's mar ke t " T fl e c omp an i esjo in t ly fin anced the pro ject and thereg ion tH a i/g ilt f i le re st o f ti le aid,"cont inues ti l i s li ne c o nn o is se u r 01 th ew orld o f c lu sters, To c o n q u e r marketso utside th e Eu ro pea n U nio n, certa inclusters a re e ven sh arin g th eir m ea nsw i th o th er E ll r o p ea n c o u n t e rp a r ts , Fo r ap il ot p ro je ct a p p ro v ed b y t h e Eu rope anC o m m is sio n , th e C a ta ia n s po rts s tr ea m( I ndesca t ] i s d e fi n in g a [ oin t strategyw i th t he F re n ch c om p et it iv e ne sa c lu s te rSpora ltec from the RhOne-Alpesreg io n, a s w ell a s t nnospo r t fro m th eNether lands

Mak in g c o n ta c tsIn th e strea m s g ro up in g to geth er riv alc om p an ie s, s yn erg ie s o r c os t p o o s n g ine xp o rt a pp ro ac hes m a y n o! c om e n atu -r a ll y, I n~he B a s q u e Co u n t! )l w h e re c lu s-la rs re m a m p rim a r ily s e c to ria l, "go ingo n s ale s m is sio ns o ve rs ea s o r o bta in -i l l{) qllali ly C8111 f ica t esema in r e l at iv e l ye asy fo r a clu ste r, b ut slJar i lJg innova-tion fo r jow l p ro jects rem ains m oredelicate," G O rn men ts J am es W ilso n,Resea rch er a t Q rk estra ,lh e B asq uec ompe ti ti ve nes s i n st it u te .

Loinlek, a n SM E w ith 2 50 em plo y-e es s pe cia lis ed in t he m a nu fa ctu rin g o fs ys te m s fo r s ola r e ne rg y, p etr oc he m i-c als o r e ng in ee rin g. h a s b e lo n ge d t o th eB a s ' q U e c lu ster En erg ie sin ce 2 00 8." TI le c lu st er h a s b e en e sp e ci al ly u S f! fu lto us fo r m ak ing con ta cts if ] la rgecompan ies, " st at es V ic to r Z a ld u rn bl de .Sa les Manager W orkin g g roups onm e n n o s c l a r en erg y o rg an ise~ by th ec luster h ave enabled il to fina lisecontac ts , " nils a ls o a l lows memb e r sto ke ep ab re ast w ith th e la test te ch -n o lo g ie s, E x po rt IS le ss c er ta in , b ut w ea re in the p ro ce ss of e xp erim en tin gw ith la rge com pan ies in vo lved in

CDMMERCE INTERNllTIONAL

iotemetioost projects, " co ntin ue s th eSa le s M an ag er. Th e reg io n o f L a R io ja ,fa r s ma lle r t ha n C a ta lo flia o rtlle B a sq u eCount ry, h a s n e ve rt he less m a n a p e d tog et o rg a nis ed a nd to h elp its c om p an ie sto a dv a nc e in in n ov atio n a n d g lo ba lisa -lio n , B en efitin g fr om a m o re s iq ru fic an tm d us tr ia l a nd a g ric ultu l'a l s ec to r th a nth e n a tio na l a ve ra g e, th e c om p an ie s a reg ro uped according to sec to r o r e l setr an sv er sa lly , a n d h a ve te ch no lo gic alc e n tr es whe re R&D r ema i n s impo rt a n t.

T h e w in e sec to r, o ne o f th e re gio n'ss p e c i a l i t i e s , i s g r o upe d a ro u nd a n inter-p ro fe ss io n al a ss oc ia tio n , A ss oc la te cS MEs m a ke fin an cia l c on tr ibu tio ns toh elp s ub sld ts e o v ers ea s p ro m otio n in i-t i a t l v e s . "Added t o wh i cl l is an overseasnetwork I I! 2 9 [ ;OIJ l l t r ies, m an ag ed b ytile reg ion , t h a t he lps wit l l companyp ro sp ec tin g, p ro du ct e va lu 8tio l's , a ndsupports them fo r SI X mootne,"exp la ins the Reg iona l Min ister fo rIn du stry , In n ov a tio n a nd E m plo ym e nt,Javie r E rm , T he f or mu la s ee m s 1 0 wor kw ell, g iven the 15% p rogress in tiler eg i on 's to ta l e xp or ts in 2 0 11 , T he c ris isis a lso u rg in g SM Es to test n ew m eth -o ds , S ev er al c om pa n ie s ill th e L a : Rio jas ho e s tr ea m , s pe cia lis ed in te ch n ic alsh oe s, h av e t h us w on a j oin t c on tra ct toobtain a Civi l G u a rd r na r ke t. "TIl is . I y p eo f g l 'oup ing , w h ic h is m u ltip ly in g, w a st rn th in ka b le j us t 0 7 fe w y ea rs ago , "reca lls J av ier On ate, M an ag er o f th eIndustr ial A S S O C i a t i o n o f Sh oes a nd th es ec to r 's T ec hno lo g i ca l Ce n tr eConcentration andqlobahsationO n a n a t l o n a l l ev el , t he f or m er S oc ia li stg o ve rn m en t u n de r J o s e Lu is Z apa te rosough t to encourage stru ctu res o fe xc elle nc e b y la un G hin g th e A ss oc ia -lio ns 0 1 In no va tiv e En terp rise s (AlE)in 2 0 0 6 fo r S ME s, 7/1/S fo rm ula h as

80 i rQ? - A VR1 L 2 0 1 2

h elp ed us to e la bo ra te d ia gn ostics,st{engt/ le!1 tilt structures o r o u t com -pany associa tions, and to d~v l1 lopstra te gic p la ns T he se A lE s d em on -s trat e a t rend, " a ssu res J av ier Erro ,Once se le c t ed b y th e M i n is tl) ' a ll n du s-t ry , E ne rg y a n d T o ur is m , t he se a s so c ia -n on s c an be nefit fro m fu nds to im p ro vet he ir c ompe t it iveness. "I r ema in c r it ica la bo ut th eir e ffe cts some SN i Es t ts v ejo ine d in an art i f icial mannB f Ih inkth ai Ih ese A lE s n av e a bo ve a ll h elp eda lre ad y e xis tin g s tr ea m s a nd c lu ste rs , "c o n s i d e r s Albe r to p ez z[ o f A c ct 0

Y e t m n o v a t i o n an d e xpo r t w ill n otp ro g re ss so le ly th an ks to tra nsv ersa lc lu ste rs o r s tr ea m s, O th er fa ct or s m u stbe in p lace, The new governm en t isa c t i v e l y backing a mode l to f avourth e ex po rt o t S p an ish SM Es. Th e C ou n-c il o f E n te rp r is e s 10 r Compet i t i veness ,fo u nd ed in . 2 0 1 1 b y th e fo rm e r g ov ern -me n t a nd camp o ss d o f th e presidentso f th e c ou nt ry 's la rg es t c om p an ie s, isprepar ing a d o cum e nt o n g lo ba li sa ti onto b e r ea d y b y J un e th is y ea r, "The tun-damen t a l ob ject ive IS t o i n cr e as e tilee x po rt c ap a ci ty o f SMES . F o r this toh ap pe n, la rg e c om pa nie s w ilt p la y th er ole o f lo co m otiv es , s erv in g a s m o ae t:a nd cre atin g o pp ortun itie s fo r S ME s, "e xp la in s t he S t a t e Se cr et a ri a t f o r I r an e .

I n c er ta in s tr eam s, t ni s l ea d -o n e n ec th a s natural ly w o rk ed, Fa r examp le ina ut om o bile s, w h er e a u xilia ry S pa nis hin du stries h av e dev elo ped a nd o ftenfo llo wed th eir fo re ig n C lie nts set u p inS pa il l, o n to in te rn a ti on a l markets . Th ea er on a utic s s tr ea m h a s a l s o ~eve lopedc on side ra bly in th e fo rm 0 1 c lu ste rs,w ith com pan ies tak ing part in la rgeg lo ba l a e ro n a ut ic a l p ro g ramme s

"O n p ap er, th e id ea o f g lo ba /lsin gvu / d rge compan i es IS gOOd , b u t SMEsn ee d to m ak e a n e ffo rt to co nce ntra te , "a ss ure s A lic ia R ev en g a, H ea d o f E ~p o rta t t he C o n st ru c ti on S ec to r O bs er va to ry(seooan) . "M ost have unoe r 50 em -o to se es. S olution s trsn sit th ro Ug /lco nso rt ium s o r t empo r a r y u ni on s, i Ju tthey need to be nudged as thay tend/, 0 w ish to re ma in in div id ua lis tic,"co nsrm s B albin a P rie to , P residen t o fth e C lu b o t Ex po rte rs,

Los Agrupamientos de Empresas Para Conquistar Mercados Internacionales

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