1 junio, 2017

PIECE-i PROGRAM

Strategic Collaborative Innovation Program for the Smart Specialization of SMEs in the Duero-Douro EGTC territory.

Description of the activity

The companies located in the Duero-Douro EGTC territory are grouped according to different productive and technological profiles. Depending on the state of the technology, different ad hoc business cooperation strategies will be developed and implemented to establish temporary or permanent agreements (partnerships, networks and strategic alliances) between two or more companies, in order to obtain reciprocal advantages through joint execution of commercial, financial, logistical, technological, productive, administrative level etc. that allow to reach a pre-established objective, allowing to share and optimize resources, to reduce risks and to facilitate the execution of common projects.

The result of these cooperative strategies will be that the group of organizations that are grouped and adopt the Strategic-Organizational Model e-DOURO_EXP are more likely to achieve more development and investment than the sum of all of them taken isolated .

 

Action 1: Design of cooperative strategies adapted to territorial business groups

Cooperate means to rely on the experience and other skills that one or more organizations have in order to obtain a result that normally an organization cannot achieve on its own. The commitment to cooperation presupposes, to a greater or lesser extent, a sacrifice of the own in favour of the collective, although in the end the collective benefit also translates into individual advantages.

The Strategic-Organizational Model e-DOURO_EXP will design the following strategic configurations and adapt them to the business groups of the Duero-Douro EGTC:

1.1. COMMERCIAL COOPERATION

One of the most recurrent reasons for establishing cooperation agreements is the attempt to have access to new markets, since it is very difficult and costly to undertake by SMEs individually. Through cooperation can be achieved, either in an integrated way, or through specific agreements:

1. Information about the markets to which you want to access.
2. Reduce the risks involved in entering new markets.
3. To penetrate foreign markets, either through joint action by national companies or by an agreement with a company in the country concerned.
4. Create a distribution network or harness from an existing company.

Forms of commercial cooperation:

  • Grouping of exporters
  • Cooperation in procurement
  • Marketing cooperation
  • Distribution Agreements
  • Consortium of companies for the commercialization
  • Franchises
  • Joint purchases
  • Temporary Business Unions (UTE)
  • Economic Interest Groups (IEA)
  • European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG)
  • Cluster or Innovative Business Groupings (IBG)
  • Denominations of Origin of International character.
  • Tourist Routes of Agricultural Origin.
  • Other forms of trade cooperation:
  • – Joint promotional actions, such as joint image, attendance at fairs, brands, etc.
    – Joint market studies.
    – The joint creation of commercial networks (in which multilateral relations take place, not only between companies, but also between them and public and private institutions).
    – Exchange of commercial information.
    – Cooperation in after-sales service.
    – Etc.

1.2. FINANCIAL COOPERATION

The difficulty of access to finance is one of the most frequent problems among SMEs, especially in the immediate aftermath of its creation or in the current period of economic crisis. Financial cooperation is one of the options for greater and better access to funding through:

1. The allocation of a series of financial resources to be able to carry out a specific project.
2. The distribution of risks in operations with high uncertainty (research, launch of new products, etc.).

Some forms of financial cooperation are:

  • Joint Ventures
  • Venture Capital
  • Leveraged buy-out (LBO)
  • Financial intermediation companies

1.3. TECHNOLOGICAL COOPERATION

In many situations SMEs are in great difficulty because of their poor adaptation to the requirements of flexibility and quality of the market. Flexibility and quality can only be offered through the application of new technologies to production processes. In addition, SMEs cannot often do certain activities to escape their scope, both the magnitude of the same as the need to master some facet not contemplated in the company. The cooperation with other companies allows to expand the possibilities of SMEs, contributing to the diversification of their production or increasing their productive capacity, by means of:

1. Technological complementarity within a productive process.
2. Sharing of assets and/or know-how for the development of a productive process.
3. Sharing of resources and risks in R & D activities.

The main forms of cooperation in technological aspects are the following:

  • Research more Development (R & D)
  • Spin off
  • Licensing

1.4. COOPERATION IN THE PRODUCTION AREA

The productive sphere of an enterprise is the set of activities that produce the goods and services that are made available to consumers. The work that is invested in the productive sphere creates the product or service and the income of the company. The cooperation with other companies allows to expand the possibilities of production:

1. Contributing to the specialization of its production.
2. Increasing its productive capacity.
3. Complementing the productive process, covering all or part of it.

Some forms of cooperation in the productive sphere are:

  • Outsourcing
  • Specialization

Action 2: Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Strategic-Organizational Model e-DOURO_EXP

2.1. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MODEL

Business cooperation agreements should be implemented through a planned cooperation plan and objectives. The Strategic-Organizational Model e-DOURO_EXP will perform an analysis of the legal aspects that may influence the negotiation process, knowing the legal environment of reference for the agreement, whether it is local or international. Existing regulations that affect matters such as:

a. Type of cooperation to be established.
b. Type of activity to be developed.
c. Specific aspects that may affect the agreement (taxation, movement of capital, etc.).
d. Specificities of the different regulatory regimes between Spain and Portugal.

Subsequently, the cooperation agreement between the participating companies will be negotiated, taking into account:

1. Prepare in advance the aspects to be addressed.
2. Assemble a negotiating team that has a decision-making capacity and is trustworthy.
3. Objectives of each of the participating companies.
4. Negotiate step by step, dealing with each and every one of the issues involved in the cooperation agreement.

From the negotiation, the agreement must be structured in a way that is consistent with the objectives set, the means available and the existing legal framework. The content of the agreement should reflect, as a minimum:

  • Goals.
  • Duration.
  • Legal forms and modes or types of cooperation.
  • Contributions of the donors.
  • Direction and control instruments.
  • Communication and information tools.
  • Distribution of results.

2.2. MODEL MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The business cooperation agreements of the Strategic-Organizational Model e-DOURO_EXP should be evaluated and monitored through a plan to monitor the achievement of the proposed cooperation objectives. To prevent possible conflicts of interest during the execution of the actions between the cooperating companies, it is essential:

1. Maintain a permanent and fluid contact with the partners, so that possible conflicts can be prevented. In addition, it allows to adapt to the possible changes or evolutions of the market, to a change in the management teams of the participating companies, to face unforeseen financial difficulties, etc.

2. Set up criteria for the evaluation of the results that are being achieved and a timetable in which the deadlines for the fulfilment of the objectives are set.

 

Action 3: Implementation of two pilot projects of business cooperation within the Strategic-Organizational Model e-DOURO_EXP

The implementation of the strategic-organizational model e-DOURO_EXP will be carried out through the implementation of two pilot projects for the internationalization of SMEs in the Duero-Douro EGTC territory, one dedicated to the agri-food sector and another to the tourism sector.

>>>>>Pilot project 1. Sector: Agri-food.
Description: First Protected Denomination of Origin of international character, dedicated to the production, processing, sale and export of high quality olive oil produced by the companies located in the territory of the Duero-Douro EGTC, constituted under a strategy of commercial cooperation , technological and financial and by companies in Spain and Portugal.

>>>>>Pilot project 2. Sector: Tourism.
Description: International Wine Route among SMEs whose activity is oriented towards tourism services and wine culture: catering, accommodation, wineries, active tourism companies, etc. located on the border of Spain and Portugal and the Duero-Douro EGTC territory. The International Wine Route will be articulated under a joint commercial cooperation strategy, which will optimize the contributions and services that each of the partners have in common with the objective of maximizing the added value for the client and promoting internationally the territory of the EGTC Duero-Douro jointly.