The European e-Business Report 2004 - Berlecon Research GmbH

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The European E-Business Report 2004availability and reserve goods through the "Ring & Reserve" call centre and the"Text & Take Home" (SMS) services using their telephone or their mobile phone.Finally, Argos customers can, since December 1999, place orders and buy goodsthrough their digital television sets.Argos has to efficiently manage the flow of merchandise from an extensive base ofmore than 750 suppliers to any one of its Argos distribution centres throughout theUK. For this purpose, the company uses a UPS Supply Chain Solution, whichelectronically validates the merchandise against the needs, confirms that themerchandise is ordered and ensures correct delivery time.The company has delegated the management of the warehouse to Retek Inc. Thecompany uses "Advanced Inventory Planning", which is able to synchronize supplywith consumer demand across multiple channels, thus improving and maximizingthe performance of inventories.Results• The company has successfully developed a multi-channel approach, includingonline and off-line channels.• An important success factor in this context is that the integration of the saleschannels should be planned and implemented in parallel to a high level ofintegration of supply functions.• The supply chain is strongly integrated, both in the warehouse and in thepurchasing process.EURO-LABEL (EU)BackgroundActivitiesResultsOne of the most important barriers to the development of e-commerce is the trustand security aspect. Euro-Label is a brand that certifies the reliability andtrustworthiness of electronic commerce in Europe. The idea of the brand is targetedto European SMEs in order to increase confidence in the B2C market. A companiesthat wants to certify its website has to place a request at the "Certification body" ofits country. The Euro-Label central organization does not directly certify traders, butworks through a network of national members across Europe.There are now 231 Euro-Label certified e-shops. In all but four of the 26 retailers'categories, there is a great predominance of German enterprises. Germany has 136e-shops certified (the online market in this country represents 2% of the total retailsales). In Austria, the second country by number of certified e-shops, there are 64websites with the Euro-Label logo. In France the number of e-market is growingslowly but steadily and there are now 30 certified websites. In the other twocountries that promote the logo, Spain and Italy, the number of e-shops is still verylow and slowly developing, in spite of the efforts made by the national associations.In many cases the cooperation between the certification body and the retailers is anongoing process that does not end with awarding the logo. Many of the certifiedcompanies turn to the certification body regularly to discuss aspects of the shop thathave not been included in the certification process, for example the integration ofnew payment options, the implementation of an interactive shopping assistant, ordelivery to new countries.• Certification has a great potential. Research shows that online customers preferto buy goods or services from a company that has affixed on its website sometype of third-party recognition. Normally, this will include a label that proves itsuse of a set of enforceable business practice standards. The Euro-Label brandon a website adds value to the information that the customers are likely to usein making their purchasing decision.137
The European E-Business Report 2004• Firms located in countries with a lower share of online sales appear to be lessinterested in Euro-Label. These firms tend to regard online selling as a complementaryactivity rather than as an integrated activity.CENTRALIA (ITALY)BackgroundActivitiesResultsThe Italian food market is presently controlled by large retailers and some largechains. Small and independent non specialised retailers hardly survive the price andservice competition of large chains. It is estimated that food and beverages issubdivided among supermarkets and chains (44%), independent retailers (16%),HORECA (29%), others (5%) (source: Confcommercio).Centralia officially started its activity in October 2003 and it was founded byConfcommercio. The enterprise is owned by Confcommercio (60%), Monte deiPaschi Bank and Advanced Logistics Network (a firm specialised in logistic services).The main goal of Centralia is to efficiently integrate the purchasing process of smallretailers in the food sub-sector. Centralia presently purchase and distribute fresh andfrozen products in Lombardy, Piedmont and Aemilia; and non perishable products inthe whole country. In addition, it serves restaurants and large chains abroad only fora small amount of very typical Italian food.Centralia is working as a procurement system exclusively serving independentretailers and hotels, restaurants and caterers (HORECA). It integrates the functions ofa purchasing group and the delivery capability at the point of sale of its customers.The enterprise is fully based on web technology, reducing the transaction costs of itscustomers. The web or a call centre (working 24 hours a day) collect orders that willbe delivered to the customer point of sale, directly by Centralia or through thecooperation of logistics partners. Orders are supported by a secure cash collectionprocess (virtual purchasing card). Half of the activity is managed by its own logisticscapacity and half by external partners.The Centralia IT system is web-base and comprises a data warehouse, a CRMsystem and an ERP system (accessible for their main customers), while the demandplanning system is under development. The payment system is fully automated, doesnot request any sensitive information and is secure and trusted as such by thecustomers.• Centralia’s intermediation permits the independent retailers to take advantagefrom an integrated supply system without making investments – unless wantingto do so. The telephone connection (to the call centre) or the access to theInternet is more than enough.• Small retailers gain from significant saving costs on purchases, thanks to theparticipation in a purchasing centre. Small retailers can profit from economies ofscale and scope which are usually enjoyed by large firms.• Such a system may drive knowledge transfer and the adoption of informationtechnology among independent retailers.138
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