Enterprise Innovation

3The BIVEE Project: an Overview of Methodology and Tools

The EU needs an effective exit strategy from crisis, with special attention being paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that represent 99% of the enterprise active in the European production system. To this end, innovation appears to be a key factor in relaunching the EU industrial system. The business innovation in virtual enterprise environment (BIVEE) project proceeded for almost four years to develop a rich framework, i.e. a methodology and a cloud-based software environment, that includes business principles, models, and best practices, plus a number of advanced software services, to support and promote production improvement and business innovation in virtual enterprise (VE) environments (essentially, enterprise networks.)

3.1. Framing

The European industrial system needs to change pace to relaunch its competitiveness, after a long downturn. To this end, new strategies need to include renewed attention to continuous production improvement and, in a seamless way, business innovation. Both are essential for business survival in highly competitive markets where it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between products and services. Rethinking the European value production system in a way capable of integrating different ideas, people and cultures, is the only way for Europe to compete with the impetuous progression of the BRIC (the rampant Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies.

Innovation is a term ...