Strategy

Profit

ALIGNING
INNOVATION WITH MARKET EXPECTATIONS

What principles underpin this new process?

Pauline Lacom : The process is based on a cross-functional, customer-centric approach. Innovation is treated as a collective effort, involving all relevant functions from the earliest stages. This structure enables technical expertise to be combined with a structured analysis of market needs and ensures that innovation projects are aligned with the division’s overall strategy.

How is it structured in practice?

Pauline Lacom : The first stage in this process is a structured phase of collective ideation. Working sessions bring together, as needed, employees from R&D, engineering, marketing, and sales. These discussions are informed by predefined market themes or identified technological challenges, with the aim of fostering the emergence of new product ideas, solutions, and, ultimately, innovative processes.
In the second stage, the Resource Allocation Committee for Research and Innovation (CARRI) conducts an initial selection. This new mechanism is a key pillar of the process governance. Based on structured questionnaires, each project is assessed, scored, and prioritized. The committee then decides on resource allocation and determines whether projects should proceed, be put on hold, stopped, or redirected. The third stage consists of a purely technical review of the selected projects. It enables progress tracking, milestone validation, and ensures technological maturity through to completion.
Finally, the fourth stage corresponds to the launch phase, once the solution is ready. It triggers the necessary marketing and commercial actions to bring the product to market.

What prompted LISI AUTOMOTIVE to evolve its innovation process?

Pauline Lacom : LISI AUTOMOTIVE has evolved its innovation management framework to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of its projects. The objective was to establish a structured framework enabling the prioritization of initiatives, the arbitration of investments, and a clear distinction between experimental research projects and innovation initiatives with commercial potential. This approach is designed to focus innovation resources on developments addressing identified market needs.

What role do customer expectations play in this framework?

Pauline Lacom : Customer expectations are the guiding thread of the entire process. They are continuously integrated through the marketing and sales teams and inform decisions related to prioritization, resource allocation, budgeting, and timelines. This innovation process enables LISI AUTOMOTIVE to enhance the efficiency of its development efforts and sustainably strengthen the competitiveness of its product offering.

OPTIBLIND^™
A SOLUTION DEVELOPED WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, DESIGNED TO MEET THEIR INDUSTRIAL CHALLENGES

What innovations characterize the OPTIBLIND^™ system?

Estelle Gasnier : OPTIBLIND^™ is a next-generation blind fastener designed and developed by LISI AEROSPACE for structural assemblies in the aerospace and space industries. The concept is distinguished by its pull-and-thread installation process, which combines a pulling phase followed by a threading phase, delivering higher performance levels than previously used methods, particularly on composite structures. Engineered with future automation in mind, the fastener is a complete system integrating the fastening element, installation tools, and an in-process verification function to ensure proper installation. This end-to-end approach enhances assembly reliability, reduces installation times, and supports the development of customers’ future assembly lines.

Where does OPTIBLIND^™ stand in customer deployment?

Estelle Gasnier : We have entered an active commercialization phase, marking the culmination of a development program initiated more than ten years ago. The fastener range is now mature and industrialized for initial production runs, and installation tools—initially in a manual version—are currently being validated with several customers. Strong customer interest has been confirmed across both the space and aerospace sectors. The first order was recorded at the end of 2025 from a space industry supplier, with implementation planned as early as 2026. In partnership with Airbus, technical and industrial qualification initiated in 2024 is nearing completion, with initial implementation expected by 2027 on the A350. In parallel, advanced discussions are ongoing with numerous European and U.S. customers regarding qualification and deployment.

What's the next step?

Estelle Gasnier : The key priority is now scaling up to industrial production. 2026 will be a year of capacity expansion for both fasteners and tooling at our Villefranche-de-Rouergue (southern France, northeast of Toulouse) and Vignoux-sur-Barangeon (in central France, south of Bourges) sites, as well as the continued development and gradual deployment of automation on customers’ assembly lines. The OPTIBLIND™ system was designed to ultimately support the ramp-up of current programs and to prepare future aerospace programs, where automation and quality control will be critical success factors.