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

ICT and e-business impact in the furniture industryReduced lead times: competitive pressures have forced the overall order fulfilmentlead times to be reduced. The actual production lead times are a small part of thisoverall lead time and relatively constant, forcing attention to other upstream anddownstream areas of the business for reductions and efficiencies (see section 3.2Supply Chain Management).Sales automation: increased access to technology within the customer base hasput pressure on furniture manufacturers to provide automated tools to configure andprice products, as well as provide visualisation of the products with dynamicgraphics and layout utilities. The ability to deliver and support this type ofautomation requires specialised applications and skill sets that may not be currentlyavailable within the organisation.Access to business information: manufacturers face the challenge of long leadtimes for raw materials and short lead times for finished products. In order toeffectively address this, access to current and historical business information todrive forecasting and material planning is criticalTechnology Integration: technology improvements throughout the supply chainhave placed an increased demand on the availability and access to businessinformation and to enhanced integration across multiple platforms. Legislation andenvironmental concernsThe main environmental EU Directives which directly affect the furniture industry areindustrial emissions – Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC, currently beingrevised 28 ), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC 29 ), and waste (Packaging and PackagingWaste 30 ). EMAS 31 schemes are already used in the sector and wooden furniture industryis being considered for a Community eco-label 32 .The impact of such regulation on the European furniture industry is relevant in terms ofcosts, arising because the more environmentally friendly solvents and varnishes are lesseffective and more expensive, and add to production time. This clearly poses a challengetowards those imported products that are not subject to the same controls. However,environmental-friendly and green design products are becoming part of the marketingstrategy of EU furniture manufactures as a response to an increasing consumers’ requestfor the responsible usage of materials, combining social needs and responsibility.Adaptation to changing demandDemand for furniture is influenced by a number of factors, including the economicclimate, demographic changes, international trends and consumer lifestyles. This industryis particularly sensitive to the overall economic performance. People tend to spendmoney on furniture when they move or redecorate their homes. This is also true for thecontract furniture market, where economic confidence is reflected in refurbishment andnew building projects in hotels, public buildings, retail shops and commercial property. If2829303132http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ippc/ippc_review_process.htmhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/stationary.htm#3http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/index.htmThe Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is the EU voluntary instrument whichacknowledges organisations that improve their environmental performance on a continuousbasis.http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/index_en.htm.32