Thanks to CI, you can make sounder decisions, optimise the use of scientific, technological and commercial information, in addition to managing and refining the most relevant information regarding the sectors of interest to your company.

Amaia Agirre, director of AUSOLAN Management Systems, has recently shared her organisation´s experience of the implementation process for their CI and TW system, in a webinar organised by MONDRAGON.

The main reason for deciding to implement a CI and TW system originated in the need to strategically manage the most relevant information in the catering for groups and comprehensive cleaning sectors in order to be able to detect opportunities and anticipate changes in the competitive environment, said Agirre.

The process, which started in December 2017, and ended in November 2018, has been managed by the innovation committee in which all the senior management actively participated.

At AUSOLAN, they are firmly convinced that CI allows sounder decisions to be made, the use of scientific, technological and commercial information to be optimised, and the most relevant information in the catering for groups and comprehensive cleaning sectors to be managed and refined.

She also emphasised that the CI activity is aimed at all those in the company involved in the definition of strategies and in the design and development of products, markets and technologies. That is, the management, and R&D, marketing, sales and procurement and purchasing technical divisions, which has entailed a significant organisational challenge for them, and which has been successfully overcome.

The software used to achieve these objectives was INNGUMA, which, in their words, was one of the key pieces for the satisfactory implementation of the system. It should be mentioned that the project counted on collaboration and advice from INNGUMA technical personnel and from the IK4-IDEKO Technology Centre, who have extensive knowledge and expertise in CI and TW system implementation projects.

The implementation process included several phases, which are summarised below:

• Phase 1: Diagnostic of AUSOLAN´s starting point as regards CI and TW.
• Phase 2: Design and determination of the CI and TW system where several objectives were pursued, from identifying the profiles that must be involved up to determining the Critical Watch Factors (CWF) and the sources of key information.
• Phase 3: Implementation of the INNGUMA platform.
• Phase 4: Implementation, verification and refinement of the designed CI and TW system.

The main results are highlighted below:

• Implementation of a CI and TW system in the organisation based on a definition of roles and profiles, as well as a design and implementation of information and decision flows.
• Identification and implementation of the CWFs, information sources and filters.
• Implementation of a knowledge portal for the competitive environment.
• Establishment of a periodic results dissemination dynamic.

The satisfactory results obtained of the implementation of their Competitive Intelligence and Technology Watch system were recently presented within the framework of the M4FUTURE projects, promoted by the MONDRAGON group.

The M4FUTURE challenge consists of supporting the dynamics and projects relating to Innovation in the various companies and centres of the MONDRAGON Corporation. Thus, it is intended to optimise the working methodologies, facilitate collaboration between agents, researchers and companies to finally develop and implement excellent corporate innovation models.

From INNGUMA, we would like to thank AUSOLAN for the trust placed in our system, as well as congratulating them for the achievements made and wish them much success in the development of their business.