The European e-Business Report 2004 - Berlecon Research GmbH

The European E-Business Report 2004develop a commonly shared strategy. At the same time, users’ acceptance is necessary for thesuccess of the initiative. If this latter condition is matched, companies involved state that relationshipswith the other players along the chain also improve.Business process efficiency: a common issueEfficiency of internal processes is one of the main drivers for e-business adoption in all sectors.Several examples from the e-Business W@tch case studies demonstrate the benefits of improvedinternal process efficiency, by simplifying processes and reducing time and costs. An interestingexample in this area, where relevant impacts have already been achieved, is the case study on STMicroelectronics. This example demonstrates that optimisation of processes within the four walls of theenterprise is becoming an ever-smaller factor in enterprise success. New opportunities for electronicscompanies rely in the creation of a solid collaboration strategy, leveraging the strength of theirpartners as well as their own, in a broader e-business vision.Exploiting the potential of e-standards: the sectoral issueDefinition and usage of e-standards are the condition for any integration strategy. The e-BusinessW@tch case studies address the issue of standardisation from the different perspectives of large andmedium to small players, in differing sectors.In the chemical industries, the long-standing compliance with eChem standards is the basis forBASF’s successful e-business strategy, focussing on total supply chain integration. In Electronics, STMicroelectronics integrated its supply chain with that of subcontractors by imposing its own standards.In transport, Masterform, a small company that has successfully adopted a number of ICT tools tooptimise internal processes, hesitates to adopt any system for external communication and dataexchange. The lack of a common system suitable for all customers across diverse industries, togetherwith considerable costs of investment, hinder the implementation of data exchange standards by thesmall firms.In textile, both survey data and the interviews with organisations, pointed out the lack of standards asone of the main constraints to integration in the sector. The AIR-CRAFT projects also highlighted whathas been defined as “a dramatic lack of industry standards on service processes”. The same appliesto the business services sector.The leading role of large companies in the process of standardisation is, not surprisingly, confirmed bythe case studies. Furthermore, these examples highlight the importance of the sectoral perspective inapproaching this issue. The variety of standards, developments and requirements within the mostfragmented sectors and across the various industries pose strategic challenges in the choice forstandards, especially for SMEs.Electronic marketing: a way of building a brandData from the e-Business Survey indicate that marketing and sales activities are not yet widelydeveloped but could gain importance in the future. The e-Business W@tch collected interesting storiesof businesses which use the net for marketing and information purposes rather than for trading.The case studies on Danish Furniture On-line and the Aksel Kjersgaard cabinetmaker factorydemonstrate how to exploit the information and marketing potential of the Internet. These case studiesshow that, even in a sector where a complete online transaction is not always suitable, the Internetcan be an important medium for product presentation, as well as for initiating contacts with customersand suppliers.Voltimum (Electronics) is a B2B portal website fulfilling the specific needs and requirements ofelectrical installation professionals. Voltimum is not a trading portal. It offers to manufacturers andother industry partners a shared platform for marketing and communication and a single entry point formarketing information. It is a rich product database for the electrical installation industry. From a64