ICT and e-Business Impact in the Furniture Industry - empirica

ICT and e-business impact in the furniture industryplayers in the various countries and regions, in order to avoid situations of e-exclusion. The availability of broadband connection, together with the developmentof standards, as pointed out above, are conditions for cooperation and activities ofjoint development of furniture enterprises.The macro-economic analysis presented in chapter 4, illustrates that the innovationactivities of furniture firms are linked to the availability of ICT skilled resources andof personnel with university degrees. It is also well known that design and creativityare points of strength of the European furniture industry. Efforts should be made ata European and national level to encourage synergies between design andsupporting technology in order to favour cross fertilisation between these two fields.Finally, ICT may have a relevant role in protecting innovation and IPR. Discussionshould be promoted about technologies (such as RFID) that may help EUcompanies to control their IPR and fight counterfeiting.Exhibit 6.3-2: Promoting a favourable environment for innovation in the furniture sectorRationale Possible actions Links with DG ENTR policyHighly competitiveenvironment at aninternational levelCritical role of ICT inprocess innovationCritical role of ICT incustomer-driven productinnovationRole of ICT-skilledresourcesAvailability of necessaryinfrastructure (broadband)to all playersEnhancement of skillsSynergies between designand technological skillsProtection of IPR(counterfeiting)DG ENTR industrial policy,involving:• Innovation centres andnational / regionalgovernments• Industry federations• Business supportnetworksImprove e-business skills within the furniture industryICT and e-business are rapidly changing the way business is conducted in this industry.Innovative applications require changes in organisation and working procedures. Skillsupgrading and training of personnel are important to assure the successfulimplementation of new applications. However SMEs may have difficulties in exploitingopportunities related to the introduction of new technologies due to the lack of thenecessary skills. Policy may have a role in:Promoting entrepreneurial and managerial understanding of e-businessapplications. The involvement of all the organisation layers and strong commitmentof the management are essential whenever e-business initiatives are implemented.The experience from the usage of CAD in the Swedish industry (section 3.2)demonstrates that management support and company-specific training areessential for the successful implementation of CAD solution within furniturecompanies.Providing information about e-business and support to decision-making, as SMEsmay have difficulties in selecting suitable systems and solutions. Furniture industryassociations may support the sharing of successful e-business practices at sectorlevel, between companies of similar size. Moreover, they should support dialogueand cooperation with software providers, with the aim to support the developmentand diffusion of sector-specific, scalable and short-term return solutions159