Annual Report 2021

A new ecosystem intelligence approach is being tested in the Industrial Merchant activity. What does this involve ?

Essentially, it is about challenging our orthodoxies around how we look at current and new markets. The idea is to go outside our normal bounds and look at all stakeholders, their drivers of change and their interactions. We then build a strategic analysis that better addresses an individual market, prioritizing actions and reducing the time to market for relevant solutions. To do this, we need to be part of a broad, diverse ecosystem where we are connected with key stakeholders. Supported by the i-Lab⁽¹⁾, we’re testing the approach on some market segments such as water treatment in the pharmaceutical industry.

How strategic is this approach for your business ?

To stay ahead in a fast-changing world, we must detect trends and understand how they will shape our business regarding new customers, stakeholders (customers, customers’ clients, suppliers, public authorities, etc.) and business models. By being proactively involved in an ecosystem, we can deepen our knowledge and ask ourselves the right questions: What will this customer look like in five years ? How will energy transition trends affect customers, and what impact will they have on their business and on the value chain ? Who are the new players in the market ? This approach puts us at the forefront of change so we can understand how disruption impacts our customers’ needs, and we can anticipate their future expectations and come up with new solutions.

What is the value for Air Liquide and your customers ?

An ecosystem-based process gives a much better read of the customer’s environmental, regulatory and supply chain context across markets, helping us to prioritize actions and align resources. We start with their pain points and ecosystem changes and then build on them using a customer-centric approach. This can also lead to unlikely pairings or partnerships that accelerate our thinking and shape customer outcomes. By identifying critical water treatment challenges within the pharmaceutical industry that could be addressed by our technological expertise, we forge new connections to solve issues and create value for every player in the ecosystem.