STRATINC Strategic Intelligence Strategic Intelligence and Innovative Clusters

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STRATINC Strategic Intelligence Strategic
Intelligence and Innovative Clusters
STRATIN.C.
COCOM 3 in Thessaloniki 7. 8.09.2004
Sectoral Situation in North-Rhine Westphalia
regarding New Materials
Susanne Jakobs, Michael Guth, Zenit GmbH
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New Materials

• Some Facts
• In total 10.154 companies within the sector of
  New Materials in NRW
• This represents 26 of all German suppliers

• Categories of New Materials
• Polymer Industry
• Metal Material and Metal Research
• Textile Sector

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The Survey

• NeMa (Interest Association New Materials in NRW)
• established in 1998 has grown to a compound
  network of more than 85 companies and research
  institutes for material technology
• NeMa became an attractive and flexible marketing
  service provider and allows the members to
  concentrate on their research-, development- and
  construction competence

• Two-stage Interview Phase
• Fax Inquiry 26 Fax Responses
• Telephone Inquiry 16 Telephone Interviews

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Outcomes Fax Inquiry (1/4)

• Size
• 75 SME with less than 250 employees
• 50 SME still with less than 50 employees

• Sector
• Plastic sector represents the highest density
  (not representative for NRW)

• Technical Infrastructure
• Mainly DSL
• Knowledge-Management Applications not that common
  in use
• Need of assistance within identification of
  suitable information sources

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Outcomes Fax Inquiry (2/4)
Regions Highest density are in the Post Code
Areas 45, 50, 51 and 58
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Outcomes Fax Inquiry (3/4)
Information Sources
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Outcomes Fax Inquiry (4/4)
Reasons for Participation in Networking
A Discovering new markets B Creation of
synergies by means of competence grouping C
Diminution of RD expenditure D Building up a
lobby E Permanent benchmarking F Diminution of
purchase expenditure G Amelioration of the
regional image and strengthening the own
location H others
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Outcomes Telephone Inquiry (1/4)

• Company Management
• The qualification of employees is distributed as
  the following
• 5 Graduation 15 University 70 skilled
  Labour 10 unskilled Labour

• Company Strategy
• Market shares
• Competitors
• Problem related issues

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Outcomes Telephone Inquiry (2/4)
1. Market Shares
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Outcomes Telephone Inquiry (3/4)

• 2. Competitors
• Concentrating on niche products, most of the
  companies have few or none competitors in their
  region
• There is a strong competition at an international
  level (competitors are producing in developing
  countries)
• Another form of competition are substitution
  technologies

• 3. Problem related issues
• Troubles with computer and equipment breakdown
• Market related influences, whether prices or
  business cycle problems
• Motivation of employees is affected by human
  resources modifications and the problem of
  finding qualified manpower

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Outcomes Telephone Inquiry (4/4)

• Innovation
• Eleven out of 26 companies are working with a
  concept of innovation watch within their daily
  business (in the broadest sense)
• Highest interest in markets, technologies and
  customers
• Product innovation is regarded as an issue with
  high priority

• Information Management Instruments
• Depending on the size of companies
• Information management is represented by intranet
  applications, project management software (bigger
  companies) databases, meetings and emails.

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Summery (1/2)

• Fax Inquiry
• Reasons for the hesitant use of
  Knowledge-Management Applications might be the
  size of the SMEs and the prices for the software.
• Customers are a significant indicator for market
  orientation.
• Affinity for management of strategic information
  can be noticed, the PSIP could be a driver for
  less fragmented networking in the New Materials
  sector in NRW.

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Summery (2/2)

• Telephone Inquiry
• Knowledge and skilled labour are very important
  factors inside SMEs.
• The ranking of company strategy activities
  underlines the identification of new markets as a
  top priority,
• but in the daily business the companies are using
  most of their time for the development of new
  products.
• For the identification of new markets, the
  Economic Intelligence Tool proposed in STRATINC
  presents a useful aiding Instrument.
• Regarding Innovation, the Survey reflects a need
  of efficiency, especially for SMEs because either
  time and staff I highly limited.

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Networking for PSIP Implementation

• FORMETA competence network
• Covers a wide range of industrial metalworking
  and metal processing expertise and is
  characterised by a unique regional concentration
  of enterprises based in and around the cities of
  Wuppertal, Solingen and Remscheid.

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Bazaar42 for the members of FORMETA

• - Creation of a Community of Experts -
• Bazaar42 supports the transfer and the generation
  of knowledge in networking.
• The Software contains an incentive system, which
  animates the provision of new information and
  renders existent information appraisable.
• Each user is requested to contribute and to
  appraise comments and answers. Due to the
  evaluation system little by little a knowledge
  map of expertise will emerge. It is a graphical
  table of knowledge carrier, -sources, -structures
  and -applications from the available knowledge in
  the system.

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Thank you for your attention!