InProcess

What InProcess does

InProcess is a French strategic innovation agency founded in 2002 by industrial designer Christophe Rebours, headquartered in Suresnes (Paris metropolitan area) and operating as a S.A.S. (RCS Nanterre 441 087 913). The firm provides human-centered innovation consulting to Fortune 500 enterprises across retail, luxury, consumer goods, automotive, transport, and government sectors, combining ethnographic research (anthropology, sociology, semiotics, ergonomics) with design thinking. Its intellectual property stack centers on the patented I.R.I.S.™ (InProcess' Research Ignites Solutions) seven-step methodology, the LightRoom in-vitro observation and prototyping laboratory, and My Interactive Forum™, an online ethnographic research platform supporting multi-country consumer immersion studies.

The firm monetizes through project-based professional services engagements with customized, quote-based pricing, complemented by four branded open-innovation cluster subscriptions — Impedimenta® (mobility, co-founded with Chronos Group in 2006), WhatHealth? (health and well-being), OnCourse (retail), and InHome (home/future living) — that pool non-competing Fortune 500 members (AXA, Danone, Orange, Kingfisher, Carrefour, JCDecaux, Accor, PSA, Airbus, and others) around shared consumer research. Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales engaging C-level and innovation-team buyers, supported by thought-leadership marketing including a 2016 published book ('L'expérience, le nouveau moteur de l'entreprise') and speaking at industry conferences (Esomar, Seoul Design Fair, CroissancePlus). Notable documented client outcomes include Carrefour's MOBI trolley innovation, LVMH Dior's gaze/makeup research, the Peugeot 3008 (which achieved 20% French hybrid market share by April 2012), and AmorePacific's LaNeige High Perm Curling Mascara.

The company maintains offices in Paris (HQ), Shanghai, and Boston, and InProcess Lab™ was officially certified as a Research Laboratory by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research in 2011, enabling French clients to claim R&D tax relief on engagements. Ownership remains private and founder-led with no disclosed external capital, no parent company, no venture rounds, and a registered share capital of €40,000. No revenue, ARR, or headcount figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

InProcess

Legal name

InProcess S.A.S.

Website

https://inprocess-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

InProcess is a French strategic innovation agency founded in 2002 that provides human-centered innovation consulting to Fortune 500 enterprises. Using its patented I.R.I.S.™ methodology, the company combines ethnographic research with design thinking across Paris, Shanghai, and Boston offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & IT Advisory (BPAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting services
• Ethnographic research services
• Design thinking consulting
• Consumer insights research
• Innovation cluster programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Strategic Innovation Consulting Services: InProcess generates revenue through providing strategic innovation consulting services to Fortune 500 companies. Services span from strategic framework development and ethnographic research to innovation design and implementation support. Engagement types include project-based consulting, innovation labs, and co-creation programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

InProcess is a strategic innovation agency that helps Fortune 500 companies design human-centered innovations by combining ethnographic research with design thinking. The agency delivers consulting engagements spanning strategic framework development, ethnographic field research, scenario creation, prototype design, and implementation support, anchored by its proprietary I.R.I.S.™ methodology. It also operates multi-member innovation clusters (Impedimenta®, WhatHealth?, OnCourse, InHome) where non-competing enterprise members jointly co-create insights and innovation opportunities in mobility, health, retail, and home verticals.

Product overview

InProcess is a strategic innovation agency for Fortune 500 companies that designs people-inspired innovations. Their offerings center around proprietary methodologies (I.R.I.S.™), research facilities (LightRoom, My Interactive Forum™), and innovation clusters (Impedimenta®, WhatHealth?, OnCourse, InHome). Rather than a traditional software platform, they provide consulting services supported by research tools and frameworks. The company also co-created the Karotz smart rabbit IoT device through their Violet subsidiary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InProcess Lab™: Certified research laboratory in human sciences and engineering conducting fundamental and applied research in mobility, health, retail, home, and IoT. Develops the LightRoom observation and immersion facility and proprietary ethnographic tools including My Interactive Forum™.
• I.R.I.S.™
• LightRoom
• Impedimenta®
• WhatHealth?
• OnCourse
• InHome
• My Interactive Forum™
• Impedimenta®

Products and services

• Strategic Innovation Consulting Services Custom consulting engagements for Fortune 500 companies spanning strategic framework development, ethnographic consumer research, innovation design, prototyping, and implementation support. Anchored by the proprietary I.R.I.S.™ methodology and delivered by teams of sociologists, anthropologists, ethnologists, semioticians, and designers.
• Impedimenta® — Mobility Innovation Cluster Subscription-based open innovation cluster for non-competing mobility sector companies (e.g., Accor, France Télécom, JCDecaux, Pages Jaunes, PSA, Airbus, Vinci Park). Members co-fund ethnographic research on shared mobility consumers across daily mobility, city breaks, and third locations, and co-create innovation scenarios.
• WhatHealth? — Health & Well-being Innovation Cluster

Quantifiable outcome

• Peugeot 3008 achieved market leadership with 20% hybrid vehicle market share in France by April 2012, won multiple awards including Auto Europa in Italy and Best Imported Crossover in China
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Dominique DesjeuxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner and co-designer of innovation clusters. Professor of social and cultural anthropology at Paris Descartes University (Sorbonne Paris Cité), specializing in consumption studies. Co-developer of WhatHealth?, OnCourse, and InHome clusters.
• VioletcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIoT startup co-founded by Christophe Rebours. Pioneer of Internet of Things with focus on humanizing connected technologies. Created Karotz/Nabaztag smart rabbit and DAL lamp. Joint research led to non-intrusive communication objects.
• Chronos GroupkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly established Impedimenta® innovation incubator in 2006 for mobility research. Chronos Group contributed to the methodology and subscriber network for the mobility innovation cluster.
• MindscapeminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAcquired Violet startup and entrusted InProcess to design Karotz and new rabbit experiences based on original design DNA.
• Exalt Laboratory (Strate Ecole de Design)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst French laboratory placing experience at the center of reflections. Four-year CIFRE research program with five doctoral students integrated into partner companies including InProcess.
• ISPIMminorOthersInnovation management association partnership for industry networking and knowledge sharing.
• APCIminorOthersFrench agency for design promotion and innovation support.
• EsomarminorOthersGlobal association for market, social, and opinion research professionals.
• AdetemminorOthersFrench marketing association.
• Cap DigitalminorOthersFrench business cluster for digital content and services.
• WhatHealth? Cluster Members (AXA, Oxylane, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Air Liquide, Danone, PSA)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-competing companies from health ecosystem participating in open innovation program to build hybrid innovation solutions and business partnerships. Includes insurers, sports/outdoor, pharma, biotech, medical devices, food, automotive sectors.
• InHome Cluster Members (Orange, Kingfisher, Carrefour, Legrand, La Poste, SEB, Pernod Ricard)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome industry leaders sharing knowledge on common consumers to drive innovation. Companies from telecoms, retail, home improvement, electrical, postal, cookware, and spirits sectors collaborating on future home scenarios.
• Impedimenta® Subscribers (Accor, France Télécom, JCDecaux, Pages Jaunes, PSA, Airbus, Vinci Park)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerMobility industry leaders participating in research programs on daily mobility, city breaks, and third locations. Non-competing companies sharing viewpoints on shared mobility consumers.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: Pioneer of human-centered design and innovation consulting. IDEO combines ethnographic research with design and strategy for Fortune 500 clients across industries — the closest direct analog to InProcess's I.R.I.S.™ methodology and cluster-based model.
• Frog Design (Capgemini Invent): Design and innovation consultancy (now part of Capgemini Invent) serving global enterprises with research-driven product and service design. Comparable offering to InProcess in combining ethnographic insight with design-led innovation delivery.
• ReD Associates: Strategy consultancy rooted in social-science and ethnographic research. Closely comparable to InProcess's anthropology/semiotics-led approach and its application to corporate strategy and innovation for global clients.
• Livework: Service design and innovation consultancy applying ethnographic methods to redesign customer experiences. Operates across multiple geographies with a similar human-centered innovation focus.
• Smart Design: Design and innovation consultancy combining research, strategy, and product design for global brands. Comparable in offering end-to-end human-centered innovation services to enterprise clients.
• Method (Method Communications): Design-driven innovation agency blending brand, experience, and product design. Comparable mid-sized competitor offering innovation consulting rooted in human insights to enterprise clients.
• Pentagram: Independent design consultancy with multidisciplinary partners across design strategy, brand, and product. Comparable as a high-end, partner-led design and innovation firm serving major enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Doblin (Deloitte): Innovation consultancy within Deloitte offering human-centered innovation services. Overlaps with InProcess on ethnographic and design-led innovation, but operates as part of a much larger professional services portfolio.
• Accenture Song (formerly ?WhatIf!): Accenture's design and innovation arm, incorporating the former ?WhatIf! innovation agency. Provides overlapping ethnographic and innovation services to global enterprises, now scaled within Accenture's broader portfolio.
• McKinsey Design (McKinsey & Company): Design and innovation practice within McKinsey serving C-suite innovation agendas. Comparable at the strategic advisory tier, though embedded within a much broader management consulting franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/inprocess
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inprocess
• Facebookfacebook.com/inprocessagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about InProcess