Swiss Connect 13 - PRECI-DIP SA

PRECI-DIP DURTAL SA · CH-2800 DELEMONTWWW.PRECIDIP.COMWhy Electronica?Marketplaces, once and today – an interview with Jean-Paul Donzé, VP Sales & MarketingSwiss Connect: «Preci-Dip has been a loyalexhibitor to Electronica for many years,last time in November 2002. Are you stillsatisfied with the results?»Jean-Paul Donzé : «Yes I am. We had manyvery interesting meetings, far in excess ofwhat would be possible within such a shorttime with any other method.»SC: «This may be true if you look at it froma quantitative angle, but how about thequality...?»JPD: «This is a good question. It is alwaysdifficult to judge the quality of a meeting,as long as you have no direct result allowingyou to measure it in terms of sales and money.Personally I think, there is a historicalbackground which has to be taken intoaccount.»SC: «Historical?»JPD: «Yes, historical and profoundly human.Let me explain: The direct barter is probablythe oldest form of doing business – as oldas mankind. As communities began to growand to settle down, hawkers took over. Theywere followed by more organised events inthe growing settlements.Later on, local markets, held on village orcity squares offered more choice, betterprice and quality comparisons. And theyoffered the occasion of exhibiting new productsto a greater buying public. The firstoriginal marketplaces were born in theremote past – with obvious advantages forboth customers and vendors. This type ofmarket has outlasted the centuries and it isstill alive today.»SC: «True, but with the progress of moderncommunication, marketplaces haveevolved into globalised networks and today,a big share of the daily business is a matterof virtual contacts.»JPD: «You are right, but virtual communicationis not a new invention. The oldestform of a virtual contact is no doubt the writtendocument transmitted by a messenger,followed much later by the more expeditemeans of telephone and telegraph.»SC: «Today, individuals who have neverseen each other and who will probably nevermeet, communicate by transmitting electronicdocuments, conclude bargains, placeorders, have goods shipped from one end ofthe world to the other, pay bills. All bymeans of data streams between their computersystems...JPD: «Again – you are right. This is great,this is fast and it is, no doubt, very efficient.Still, to my understanding the traditionalway of displaying one’s company and products,in our case the Trade Fair, is a good,well-tried method. It is, perfectly suited toenhance the quality of the virtual side ofour activities.»SC: «What do you mean by enhancing thevirtual side of the activities?»JPD: «It simply means that we are physicallypresent at Electronica every other year,with new products, expert associates and ahospitable, friendly environment; ready towelcome customers, agents and prospects,ready to listen to them, to give technicaladvice and information – or simply to havea few words of conversation among professionals.SC: «...and you think that this is justifiable,I mean costwise?»JPD: «More than that. Actually, I think thatdoing business of any kind implies that thepartners trust each other. This is a basic principleof sales everywhere. Being acquaintedwith each other is always a good first step tocreate a long lasting relationship. After all,human behaviour does not evolve as fast astechnology. It’s as simple as that.SC: «From what I just heard, can I deductthat you will continue to participate in Electronica?»JPD: «You certainly can.»SC: «As everybody knows, economy is inrather bad shape at present. Even so, wouldyou dare a preview on 2003?»JPD: I have no problem with this. My crewand myself have decided to accept the challengeand we have optimised our organizationin order to be even more efficient, flexibleand market-oriented. Some additionaldetails about this are stated in this issue ofSwiss Connect, I believe the title is: «Movingforward». Of course, it is difficult to makea reliable forecast, but I expect to have a satisfactorylevel of business volume this yearwith may be a small upward trend towardsthe end. For an actual revival, I think we willhave to wait until 2004.SC: «Thank you for these interesting statements.»6