Terrena: modernising legal processes through an inspiring digital transformation
“We truly value the simple and transparent exchanges we have with the teams. Their in-depth understanding of both the solution and legal operations, combined with their responsiveness and solution-oriented mindset, enables us to move forward with confidence…”
Pierre-Yves COUËPEL & Virginie CHEGGARD
Head of Legal Affairs and Corporate Lawyer
In a legal sector undergoing rapid digital transformation, Terrena—a key player in France’s agriculture and agri-food industry—seized a strategic opportunity to modernise its tools and practices.
In an exclusive interview, Pierre-Yves Couëpel, Head of Legal Affairs, and Virginie Cheggard, Corporate Lawyer, reflect on the challenges and milestones of their transformation journey.
Supported by VPWhite and the Legisway Enterprise solution from Wolters Kluwer, the cooperative group is reshaping its legal data management, fostering cross-functionality, collaboration, and operational efficiency in a fast-changing environment.
Could you introduce yourself and the TERRENA group?
Pierre-Yves Couëpel & Virginie Cheggard:
Terrena is a major agricultural and agri-food cooperative group based in western France. With 19,000 member farms and 11,300 employees, it generates annual revenues of €5.5 billion across both plant (cereals, seeds, etc.) and animal (cattle, pork, poultry, rabbits, dairy, etc.) production, which is further enhanced by its agri-food subsidiaries. Terrena’s brands include several market leaders such as Paysan Breton, La Nouvelle Agriculture, Silence ça pousse, Douce France, Gastronome, and Tendre et Plus.
Background and genesis of the legal transformation project ?
Structured into three departments, the Group Legal Department safeguards the interests of the group’s companies, executives, shareholders, and employees. Already digitally equipped for over a decade, the department faced the end-of-life of its existing solutions—a generic tool and a corporate-specific tool. Rather than seeing this as a constraint, the legal team viewed it as an opportunity to review its processes and adopt a unified digital solution capable of meeting the expectations of each legal department.
Why digitise legal processes? What were the key challenges?
The project aimed to:
- Provide a single tool for all three departments (insurance/litigation, corporate, and contracts), to streamline data management, case tracking, and internal communication.
- Simplify the exchange of legal information and documents with internal and external stakeholders.
- Gain an overarching view of legal case management through relevant, customisable reporting dashboards.
- Promote cross-department collaboration via unified access to case information.
- Increase the department’s efficiency by automating low-value tasks.
- Facilitate digital access to legal data and case progress tracking.
Why VPWhite and Legisway?
Following a formal tender process involving the Legal Department and the Purchasing Department, Legisway was selected as the most suitable solution to meet the team’s needs. VPWhite was chosen by Wolters Kluwer as the implementation partner to support Terrena in the deployment.
How has the project progressed so far?
The project has been divided into four phases. While none of the modules have yet been rolled out in production, each phase follows a standard approach: workshops are held with VPWhite’s dedicated teams to define needs and clarify Terrena’s specific legal processes. Based on these sessions, VPWhite configures the solution while also suggesting improvements or optimisations. The teams’ transparent communication, deep legal and technical expertise, and proactive attitude have helped the project move forward confidently, overcoming any initial difficulties.
First results from the initial modules?
To date, we do not yet have any modules in production. We expect the solution, on the one hand, to enable the legal department to increase its effectiveness by improving its efficiency and optimising interdepartmental transversality and, on the other hand, to strengthen the impact of the legal department on its internal clients by facilitating the provision of information and relevant reporting.
What are the next milestones?
Still in the early stages, the focus now lies on successfully managing the change process for all stakeholders. The Legal Department is committed to exploring the full potential of the solution and leveraging the opportunities offered by the ongoing digital transformation in the legal domain—particularly by embracing and making the
