An international company must be active in science and technology scouting not only in its home country but also in other industrialized nations. Elf Aquitaine set up a scouting system, at the corporate level, to lead coordinated actions on behalf of all of the divisions and at their request The successes achieved (notwithstanding certain failures) demonstrate that such a system requires time and patience, and that the most effective technology transfer operations are often those that involve a transfer of personnel.