An approach for the valorization of competitive intelligence practices in SME supply chains

Abstract

At the interface between supply chain management and business intelligence for SMEs, the focus of this paper is twofold: (i) ) it seeks to show how to develop a strategic approach and qualitative-type “business intelligence” in SME' Supply Chain; (ii) it also aims to show how the processes of competitive intelligence can be embedded in SME's supply chains and create value for everyone involved, or at least avoid leakage of strategic knowledge and know-how. The issues associated with business intelligence as they relate to SME'supply chains are therefore detailed. An extension PREVA (for PROcess EVAluation approach (Comelli et al., 2008) to qualitative “business intelligence” type processes is proposed. In the third part, we present the implementation of this approach in a case study focused on the supply chain of SME based in the French area of Thiers, operating in the cutlery sector.