Footwear Industry Footwear Industry - empirica

Footwear
Main type of supply goods ordered online
Online sourcing and procurement can relate to different types of inputs. These include
MRO goods, 44 raw materials, intermediary products and services. As indicated in the
introduction to this section, the survey confirms that raw materials (such as leather and
plastics) have the highest importance for footwear companies in their e-procurement
activities. Indeed, a relative majority of firms (37%) that place orders online said that
these orders are mainly for raw materials (see Exhibit 3-21); among small and micro
firms, about 50% reported that their e-procurement is mainly for raw materials.
This differs by sector; on average in the 10 sectors studied this year by the e-Business
W@tch, a majority of firms (37%) said that the type of inputs procured online is "mixed",
while only 22% responded that raw materials are the main category. This attitude is in
contrast with the observed behaviour on average across all sectors studied this year,
where more emphasis seems to be placed on MRO goods and services. This difference
could indicate that, where needed and when economically justified, footwear firms also
exploit ICT advantages.
Exhibit 3-19: Main type of supply goods ordered online
0 20 40 60 80 100
Total Footwear (EU-10)
14
37
19
6
24
Micro (1-9 empl.)
12
45
18
12
13
Small (10-49 empl.)
17
51
14
4
14
Medium (50-249 empl.)
13
32
15
9
30
Large (250+ empl.)
18
34
36
0
12
All 10 sectors (EU-10)
21
22
6
14
37
MRO goods Raw materials Intermediary products Services Mixed / all
Base (100%): Companies placing orders online (without "don't know"). N (for sector, EU-10) = 284. Data for
larger size-bands only indicative, due to the small number of observations.
Weighting: Totals (for the sector and for all 10 sectors) are weighted by employment and should be read as
"enterprises comprising …% of employment in the sector(s)". Figures for size-bands are in % of enterprises
from the size-band. Questionnaire reference: E4
Source: e-Business W@tch (Survey 2006)
44
MRO goods are maintenance, repair, and operating supplies. This category typically includes
office supplies and diverse other items which are not materials or components directly used for
the products or services which a company produces.
57