Electronic Commerce, Wholesale, Retail North-West
	http://www.ec-nordwest.de

Final Report : executive summary html version - Pdf version

1. Partners involved in the project

1.1 main partner

The Ministry of Economy, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology and European Affairs (WMTE) in Bremen represents the initiative Electronic Commerce North-West having been established to introduce and foster the use of Electronic Commerce in companies. Bremen is one of the 16 German Länder and the second largest port in Germany. Its range of economic activities spans from shipbuilding to trade, transport, logistics, port services, fishing, energy, science and the development of new technologies. The Ministry of Economy, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology and European Affairs is in charge of the development of policies and strategies in the field of Information Society concerning the economy, small and medium-sized enterprises, technology and European affairs of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

1.2 co-partner

OFFIS (Oldenburger Forschungs- und Entwicklungsinstitut für Informatik-Werkzeuge und Systeme = Oldenburg Research and Development Institute for Informatic Tools ans Systems), found in 1991, engages in tools for computer supported information processing and the hardware and software systems created hereby. Central task of the institute is to research principles and methods of system development together with the tools required for this, to promote according realizations and to investigate usage and consequences of these systems and business process reengineering and reference models. OFFIS is a non profit organization with a basic financing by the state of Lower Saxony (Ministry of Science).

1.3 letters of intent

A number of important institutions have declared their interest in the project by implementing a Letter of Intent, namely:

• Trade Association of Bremen
• Trade Association of Stade
• Trade Association of Oldenburg
• Chamber of Industry and Commerce Oldenburg
• Initiative for consultancy in e-commerce in Bremen and Stade including its partners
• Chamber of Commerce Bremen
• Chamber of Industry and Commerce Stade

2. Project objectives

The introduction of electronic business processes is not a self-evident process. A number of preequisites need to be fulfilled for a successful use of electronic business - and all this simultaneously. What is thus necessary is to raise and support the awareness of the use of this new form of commerce for companies as well as to explore subsequently the future of electronically based business. Sharing knowledge between companies may accelerate this process. Industrial associations, chambers of commerce, innovation agencies etc. are major catalysts in this knowledge sharing process.

The initiative Electronic Commerce North West follows an approach of integrated measures for the promotion of electronic commerce among business executives. The idea of this initiative is:

• to motivate companies to integrate this new form of commerce in company procedures and to develop prospectures;
• to offer companies and service providers in the field of electronic business technology, a platform for marketing their products and services.

The initiative is divided into four categories: consultation, network of services, education/training and demonstration.

The structure of this initiative has been developed - following the bottom-up approach - in partnership with companies providing electronic business solutions. This method has led to a large participation of companies. The user side has expressed great interest in being brought together with the structures demand side. A number of instruments will allow for this kind of cooperation. What is missing in order to accelerate this process is a catalyst bringing both sides together.

First experiences have demonstrated the need to intensify and accelerate activities in the relationship business to business given that there exists a strong pressure of rationalisation and improving competitiveness.

3. Proposed services/project content

The experiences made so far in this eBusiness initiative have shown that it is not sufficient just to organise users and suppliers individually. Users expect solutions that are ready to be plugged into their businesses and immediately yield a profit. This is usually not the case in the area of electronic business. The market is still emerging, high margins cannot realistically be expected within the near future. Therefore most users are rather reluctant about the idea of introducing strategic eBusiness solutions. Suppliers on the other hand do not invest in the development of complex solutions unless there is a market of users ready to buy their solutions. This is a hen-and-egg-problem: What was first, the hen or the egg ?

The approach of this project for solving is to introduce a networking agent as an intermediary between users (i.e. retailers) on the one hand and offerers (i.e. wholesalers) on the other. The networking agent will concentrate on one main aspect of eCommerce, namely on electronic wholesaling in relationship with retailers.

The networing agent’s ultimate mission is to catalyse offeres and users in forming consortia to develop best-practice electronic commerce solutions. In order to fulfill this mission, the agent will have to find regional businesses that are a suitable basis for a best-practice electronic commerce solution. He/She will have to find other best-practice examples in eBusiness usage and demonstrate them to business executives. He/She will have to coordinate the formation of consortia of companies which intends to implement a best-practice solution and he/she has to coach their ideas up to the technical feasibility of the project.

4. European dimension

4.1 Added value to the programme at European level

• At present the European Commission is taking part in a number of seminars where conditions for interregional cooperation in strategic use of IT are being explored in order to draw the relevant conclusions and to launch necessary initiatives. The German seminar of experts took place on the invitation of the initiative Electronic Commerce North West in Bremen on 3-4 November 1998.

• A European Conference on „Best practice in Electronic Commerce" took place on 2 February 1999 in Bremen with the participation of Commissioner Dr. Martin Bangemann.

4.2 Linkages to other projects and programmes

Bremen has set up in cooperation with the European Commission a regional coordination center of the G-8 project on the Maritime Information Society (MARIS). Partners in the European network are Bilbao, Helsinki, Genova, Lisbon and Dublin. It is likely that a project of the MARIS regional network will be financed within RECITE II. The project will cover a number of initiatives in the field of electronic business (e.g. fishing and shipbuilding industry, ports activities etc.).

5. Anticipated impact: value of the project at local and European level

The competitiveness of retail and whole sale can be improved by introduction of technology and use of elctronic commerce as a federating application in companies. This process implies new types of partnerships among the industrial actors. Standardized solutions are only of limited use as they do not adequately consider individual solutions and situations. What is thus necessary is to raise and support the awareness of the use of this new form of commerce for companies as well as explore subsequently the future of electronically based commerce. Sharing knowledge between companies may accelerate this process. Industrial associations, chambers of commerce, innovation agencies etc. are major catalysts in this knowledge sharing process. Doing so is influenced by experiences and developments at European level:

• Doing electronic business means doing business in an increasingly global economy and within networks. One major objective of the project is therefore to raise awareness among business executives to take advantage of new - and European - markets provided by ICT and to demonstrate means of integration in existing networks. Furthermore, objective of the project is to include best practice of electronic commerce in Member States as knowledge sharing to identified and later be integrated at the benefit of companies. This is the added value of an interregional cooperation.
• European Partnerships will facilitate and even decide on the success of the implemented solutions in retail and whole sale.
• Increasing the competence of a certain region of acting European wide will raise the competitiveness of its industry and improve its reputation at interregional level.
• European orientation will increase advantaged in a future oriented market of IT and electronic commerce.
• Integration in European networks will open and improve opportunities in a global market.
• Creation of additional services
• Capacity for the innovation in selling retail.
• Sustaining the flexibility of SMEs in retail against competitors with aggressive pricing.
• Foster the introduction of logistic chains in retail.
• Accelerating the process of innovation among retailers.

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