The European e-Business Report The European e ... - empirica

The European E-Business Report 2005
2.5 The Machinery and Equipment Industry
The e-Business W@tch sector
study on machinery and equipment
was contributed by DIW Berlin
(German Institute for Economic
Research, contact:
bpreissl@diw.de).
The full reports (parts 1 and 2) can
be downloaded from the website
(www.ebusiness-watch.org) at the
'resources' section.
The machinery and equipment industry has not been an early adopter of ICT. However, compared to
2002/03, the sector has advanced in its use of e-business. Companies have started to develop their
own strategies. Applications are planned with an understanding of their scope and potential benefits.
Companies are thereby moving away from a mere imitation strategy which was common in the early
stages of e-business. The transition from e-business as a technical ICT tool to ‘e-business as a
strategic concept’ is a major distinguishing factor in this recent phase. Customer service, and aftersales
services in particular, play an important role in this context. The increasing practice of machine
sales with accompanying services offers a vast range of opportunities via e-business channels.
Quicker procedures in pre-sales and after-sales services, an active role played by customers in
shaping and providing the service, 24-hour availability and up-to-date information about new products
and services are advantages on the customers’ side. In the B2B trading area, a number of e-markets
for industrial machinery and equipment were established in 2004.
2.5.1 Sector definition and background
Sector definition
The machinery and equipment (M&E) sector comprises seven groups as defined by the NACE
Rev.1.1 classification of business activities. 70 Reports by e-Business W@tch concentrate on groups
29.1 to 29.5. The weapons and ammunitions as well as the domestic appliances industries (29.6 and
29.7) are not included. These industries mainly produce for government agencies (29.6) or end
consumers (29.7). Therefore, the characteristics of their markets, their sales strategies and channels
differ considerably from those of the other industries in the sector, and their e-business activities
cannot be compared with those of the other NACE 29 industries.
NACE Rev. 1.1
DM 29
Exhibit 2.5-1: Business activities covered by the M&E industry (NACE Rev. 1.1)
Business Activity
Manufacture of machinery and equipment
29.1 Manufacture of machinery for the production and use of mechanical power, except aircraft,
vehicle and cycle engines
29.2 Manufacture of other general purpose machinery
29.3 Manufacture of agricultural and forestry machinery
29.4 Manufacture of machine-tools
29.5 Manufacture of other special purpose machinery
70
NACE revised version 1.1 – final draft 2002. See glossary for explanation.
105