ARICA & Associes

What ARICA & Associes does

ARICA & Associés is a privately-held French management consulting firm (SARL) founded in 2000 by Bruno Houzé in Orléans, operating with a five-consultant team. The firm advises French small and medium enterprises, subsidiaries, and local government entities on information and communication system management, structured around four service pillars: process optimization (vente, achat, production, livraison, installation, gestion, support), management solutions advisory (ERP, CRM, WMS, TMS, RH, Finance, BI, EDI, E-commerce), IT infrastructure consulting, and telecom infrastructure consulting. Engagements span the full transformation lifecycle from audit and diagnostic, through action plan and cahier des charges, to vendor selection, implementation support, and skills transfer, with an explicit value proposition of vendor independence.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lean and human-delivered rather than platform-based: advisory work is supported by an internal proprietary database of 450+ prior project experiences and service-provider references, and the corporate website runs on WordPress built and hosted by E21 sas. The firm does not develop or sell software products, does not expose an API or SDK, and has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities; its intellectual property is concentrated in consultant expertise, methodology, and accumulated engagement history.

The business model is professional-services consulting sold primarily through direct enterprise field sales to SME decision-makers across at least seven French regions (Centre, Ile de France, Normandie, Bretagne, Pays de Loire, Poitou Charente, Aquitaine). Pricing is quote-based with no public rate card; a free initial consultation program called 'Les Vendredis de l'Action' serves as the primary lead-generation mechanism, complemented by downloadable white papers on Diagnostic TIC, RGPD compliance, ERP sensitization, and related topics. The firm is entirely bootstrapped (SARL with €15,000 share capital), founder-owned, and has no external investors, subsidiaries, or M&A history.

Name

ARICA & Associes

Legal name

ARICA & Associés

Website

https://arica.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ARICA & Associés is a five-consultant French boutique advisory firm (founded 2000, Orléans) providing vendor-independent IT and communication system consulting — process optimization, ERP/CRM/WMS selection, and infrastructure advisory — to SMEs, subsidiaries, and local governments across seven French regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IT Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAEAI

ERP, CRM & Enterprise Applications Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Technology & Digital Consulting

SECONDARYBPAEAGAO

Enterprise Application License Advisory, Vendor Management & Optimization

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Enterprise Applications Services (ERP/CRM/HRIS)

SECONDARYBPAHAEAJ

Integration, API & Middleware Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Technology & Digital Consulting

Keywords

• IT management consulting
• Digital transformation advisory
• ERP implementation consulting
• SME IT strategy
• Telecom infrastructure consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Orléans

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services including IT audits, project specifications (cahier des charges), vendor selection support, implementation assistance, and training. Services are delivered by 5 specialized consultants to SME clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ARICA & Associés is a management consulting firm that advises SMEs, subsidiaries, and local government entities on the evolution of their information and communication systems. The firm delivers audits, action plans, project specifications (cahier des charges), vendor selection assistance, implementation support, and skills transfer across four service areas: business process optimization, management software selection (ERP/CRM/WMS/TMS/HR/Finance/BI/EDI/E-commerce), IT infrastructure design, and telecom infrastructure (LAN/WAN/VOIP). All services are delivered by a team of 5 specialist consultants on a vendor-independent basis.

Product overview

ARICA & Associés is a consulting firm (cabinet conseil) specializing in information and communication systems management since 2000. Rather than a unified software product platform, the company offers a portfolio of advisory service offerings: Process optimization consulting (Processus), Management solutions advisory for ERP/CRM/WMS/TMS/HR/Finance/BI/EDI/E-commerce, IT Infrastructure consulting, and Telecom Infrastructure consulting. Additional services include free consultation sessions (Les Vendredis de l'Action), RGPD compliance advisory, diagnostic assessments, project specifications (cahier des charges), solution selection, implementation support, and change management. The company serves SMEs in construction, industry, distribution, and logistics sectors across central France regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conseil en Système d'Information et de Communication Core consulting service providing audit, action plans, specifications (cahier des charges), solution selection assistance, implementation support, and skills transfer for information and communication systems transformation. For SME clients, subsidiaries, and local government entities.
• Processus (Business Process Optimization) Business process optimization consulting covering sell, buy, produce, deliver, install, manage, and support functions to support digital transformation of business operations.
• Solutions de Gestion (Management Software Advisory) Advisory services for selecting and implementing management solutions including ERP, CRM, WMS, TMS, HR, Finance, BI, EDI, and E-commerce platforms.
• Infrastructure Informatique (IT Infrastructure Consulting) IT infrastructure consulting covering multi-site and single-site architectures, client-server and thin-client setups, mobile and industrial computing, and hosting solutions (IAAS, PAAS, SAAS) across Windows, OS/400, Linux, Mac OS, iOS, and Android platforms.
• Infrastructure Télécom (Telecom Infrastructure Consulting) Telecom infrastructure advisory covering LAN, WAN, MAN, VPLS, MPLS networks, and VOIP, video conferencing, mobility, SIP, and convergence solutions.
• Les Vendredis de l'Action (Free Expert Consultation) Free expert consultation sessions offered to prospects to discuss evolution of their information and communication systems, covering optimization, solutions selection, infrastructure evolution, digital transformation accompaniment, and impact measurement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 450+ projects completed over 20+ years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sopra Steria: Major European IT services and consulting group headquartered in France, offering ERP, infrastructure, and digital transformation services — broader portfolio but overlapping service categories with ARICA.
• Capgemini: Global consulting and IT services leader with substantial French operations offering enterprise application, infrastructure, and telecom consulting — adjacent rather than direct competition given scale gap.
• CGI Group: Global IT and business consulting services firm with strong French presence offering enterprise applications, infrastructure, and telecom consulting — broader incumbent with overlapping capability areas.
• Devoteam: Large European IT consultancy with significant French presence, providing digital transformation, cloud, and ERP advisory across enterprise clients — overlaps with ARICA's services but at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Hardis Group: French IT consulting and digital services firm serving mid-market and enterprise clients with ERP, supply chain, and infrastructure advisory — directly comparable in targeting French businesses for IT transformation projects.
• Micropole: French digital transformation and data/BI consultancy serving mid-market clients across Europe with ERP, CRM, and BI advisory — similar SME/mid-market positioning and services overlap with ARICA.
• MC2i Groupe: French IT and management consulting firm advising public and private sector clients on digital transformation and ERP/IT system projects — comparable in French SME/public-sector focus and IT consulting services.
• Onepoint: French digital and technology consulting firm serving large enterprises and mid-market with transformation, ERP, and infrastructure advisory — comparable French SME/enterprise focus and consulting model.
• Smile (Smile Open Source): European open-source IT consultancy providing ERP/CRM integration and digital transformation services to mid-market and enterprise clients, comparable in service mix and SME focus.
• Infotel: French IT services firm specializing in ERP, databases, and digital transformation consulting for enterprise clients — comparable in French market focus and IT consulting service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 ARICA & Associes