SUMMARY
The concept of collaborative networks has been encountered very often lately as the answer when trying to adapt and improve enterprises in these highly competitive business environments, therefore the urge for constantly addressing this topic. A lot of work-related to collaborative networks has been done so far, from defining network types to leveling partnerships and proposing models for partnership developments. But the lack of tackling a very important obstacle, which is the difficulty of detecting and anticipating collaboration opportunities between enterprises, inspired this research. In this article, a new theoretical opportunity detection approach is proposed based on enterprise characterization concept, KPI classification as well as collaboration types. This detection approach is a table of industrial classifications that imitates the Mendeleev periodic table from the concept point of view. A fictional example from an industrial context is shown to explain the usage of this approach accompanied by discussion about future work and limitations.