ICT and e-Business in the Pulp, Paper and Paper ... - empirica

Pulp, paper and paper products
However, the figure for the P&P industry is primarily determined by the small companies,
where only 5-6% reported having mainly international customers in e-commerce. Among
medium-sized and large companies, more than 20% said that their e-commerce activity
was mainly international.
As can be expected, much of the e-commerce activity in the P&P industry is either
focused on B2B or is mixed. Close to 50% of those companies that accept online orders
said that these were mainly from other companies (see Exhibit 3-32). 12% said that
orders were mainly from consumers; this indicates that some specialised producers of
paper or paper products sell directly to consumers via online channels rather than going
through wholesale and retail intermediaries. Although this is certainly not the typical
distribution strategy in the P&P industry, it shows that manufacturers have different
business models in terms of sales channels.
Exhibit 3-32: Main type of customers that order online (B2B / B2C / B2G)
0 20 40 60 80 100
Total Pulp & Paper (EU-10)
48
12
4
36
All 10 sectors (EU-10)
18
39
6
37
Mainly companies (B2B) Mainly consumers (B2C) Mainly public sector (B2G) Mixed
Base (100%): Companies accepting orders online (without "don't know").
N (for sector, EU-10) = 183. Weighting: in % of firms. Questionnaire reference: F8
Source: e-Business W@tch (Survey 2006)
3.6.2 e-Integration of marketing processes: CRM and ICT links with
customers
An ICT application which can help companies to improve the distribution of their products
is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for business intelligence purposes.
CRM systems promise a company the ability to systematically increase knowledge about
its customers and their profitability, as well as to build and adapt marketing strategies on
the basis of this intelligence.
CRM is a term that refers to a broad range of methodologies and software applications
that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organised way. Normally,
this will be based on some kind of database with systematic information about customers
and the business record the company has with them. Ideally, this information will support
management, sales’ people, people providing service, and possibly the customers
themselves in their tasks, for example by matching customer needs with product plans
and offerings, and by reminding customers of service requirements. Three levels of
application of CRM are commonly distinguished: 59
59
Cf. www.mariosalexandrou.com/definition/crm.asp: "CRM Definition"
76