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

The European E-Business Report 2005
However, the implementation of SCM solutions in the F&B sector appears to be still fairly low among
SMEs, although it rises to 36% in firms with more than 250 employees. In total, adoption is higher in
terms of employment (21%) than on average in the 10 sectors studied (15%).
Many firms have made considerable investments in e-procurement systems. While in larger firms the
overriding need is to overcome organisational and cultural resistance, in SMEs there are technological
and financial capability limitations to consider. Particularly for the smallest firms, it is possible for e-
procurement to take place not through the adoption of their own systems, which are usually costly to
acquire and run, but by participating in auctions and other forms of transaction that can be carried out
via specialised portals and marketplaces.
22% of firms, involving 43% of employees, in the F&B industry use online purchasing. This is lower
than on average, but in line with sectors such as the textile industry and construction. 56% of large
firms use e-procurement. For the majority of firms that buy online, supplies purchased online account
for less than 5% of the total procurement volume. The percentage of firms supporting e-procurement
processes with specific ICT solutions (dedicated software or internet-based services) is generally
quite low at 5% of all firms (28% of large companies).
Exhibit 2.1-2: Main findings of the e-Business Survey 2005 for the F&B industry
Application area
Basic ICT infrastructure
and skills
development
Integration of
Internal processes
Supplier-facing
activities
Customer-facing
activities
Main findings
• ICT infrastructure and access in the F&B sector are slightly below the weighted
average for the 10 sectors (EU-7).
• The usage of network applications such as LANs, W-LANs, Intranet, VPN
show a profound dichotomy between larger companies and micro-small ones.
• DSL is the most commonly used type of internet connection.
• As for ICT skills development, data indicate that in the past 12 months there
has been a limited request for ICT specialists in this industry.
• The F&B industry has traditionally been quite advanced in terms of management,
control and automation of internal processes, especially those linked to
production.
• The penetration of ERP systems is higher than the weighted average for the 10
sectors covered in 2005 (EU-7).
• Data indicate a trend towards internal process integration.
• For cooperation with business partners, SMEs mainly use Document Sharing
Systems, as a first step towards e-business integration.
• SCM diffusion is low in absolute terms.
• The penetration of ERP systems is higher than on average in the 10 sectors.
• SCM systems in this sector focus on logistics management rather than on
purchasing.
• Wherever applied, moreover, online purchasing has not eliminated barriers to
international purchasing.
• Making online sales is less common in the sector than e-procurement. About
8% of firms (accounting for 12% of employees) report online sales activity.
• CRM systems are predominantly used by large firms (about 25%).
• The importance of RFID technology has rapidly increased in the food industry
and could have significant implications for sales processes, due to opportunities
for reducing waste and returns, and for inventory management.
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