The Government and industry have joined forces to help small firms
make the most of e-business. Jenny Searle, director of UK Online
For Business, outlines what is on offer
The days when IT was restricted to large corporates are long gone.
Today nearly all businesses use technology in one form or another.
Over the past year increasing numbers of small businesses across
the country have realised the benefits of having a presence online
and the latest figures from UK Online For Business show that 1.9
million UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) now have a Web
site, make regular use of e-mail or use electronic data interchange
(EDI).
In the continuing drive for more efficiency, and especially in the
current economic climate, many businesses are looking to harness
business-to-business technology to save both time and money.
E-procurement, e-supply chain and e-human resources are becoming
the buzzwords of the new century and more businesses are looking
beyond simply marketing and trading on the Internet.
The potential growth capabilities available to those willing to tap
into the technology are enormous and this is where UK Online For
Business can help. It is a partnership between industry and
government, led by the Department of Trade & Industry, that
helps UK companies, particularly SMEs, to understand what
e-commerce and e-business can mean to them - from firms that are
taking the first steps to get online, through to those that want to
manage their online presence more effectively. It helps these
companies to take advantage of IT and demonstrates precisely what
the real value would be to their own organisations.
The backbone of UK Online For Business is a network of advisers who
are part of Business Link in England and their counterparts in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The advisers provide
impartial, practical and cost-effective advice suited to local
companies' needs, rather than promoting technology for its own
sake. They are able to provide a whole range of e-commerce
services, ranging from direct company-specific assistance, to
training and consultancy. They also offer access to equipment and
demonstrations. Essentially, the advisers are there to show smaller
businesses where and how IT can improve their business.
The services provided by the advisers are applicable to all
companies, ranging from those with no current use of IT through to
specialist multimedia hardware and software developers. Last year
alone, about 160,000 small businesses were helped.
As well as the advisers network, UK Online For Business provides
information and advice online that encourages businesses to
actively consider the adoption of e-commerce. This information is
available through the programme's Web site and is also an integral
part of the small business service Web site. "Be online for
business" is an online toolkit that offers practical and tailored
advice on how to create and apply a realistic plan for e-business
success. It is designed to help any firm to get the best out of the
technology it uses, give advice on how to get started and identify
the e-business solutions that will provide the greatest commercial
return.
The site also offers a range of free UK Online For Business
publications on various technologies to explain the jargon that can
be confusing and alienating to non-technical people. UK Online For
Business is committed to building partnerships with public and
private sector organisations to reach more small and medium-sized
enterprises. It works with more than 270 organisations, including
leading names such as BT, Royal Bank of Scotland and the CBI and a
number of other partners representing a wide range of
industries.
Partner organisations share UK Online For Business' objectives of
making the UK the best place in the world for e-commerce and
contribute to the success of the initiative in a variety of ways.
At one level, organisations contribute resources to support
activities within the programme. For instance BT and Sage ran
seminars during this year's
E-Business Week, a national and regional event promoting the
benefits of e-business. Other companies, including Fujitsu Siemens,
have contributed content for publications and BT is distributing UK
Online For Business publications at its current programme of Easy
events. Most partners contribute lower levels of support, mainly
promoting e-commerce through events, newsletters or providing case
study materials.
The benefits of working in partnership mean UK Online For Business
can harness a wealth of additional resources and communication
channels as well as creating a forum for best e-business practice.
Larger companies can help by sharing the lessons they have learnt
in implementing e-business solutions. The partnership can help them
by encouraging their suppliers and customers to join the electronic
trading community.
By making more companies aware of the support and services
available to them, the UK Online For Business partnership can
create an environment that will help all UK organisations to
succeed in online business.
A key example of partnership work is the E-commerce Awards. Run
with InterForum, the awards recognise and reward best practice in
the use of electronic business amongst companies with fewer than
250 employees, from all business sectors.
Supported by industry sponsors which this year included the Royal
Bank of Scotland, Cisco Systems, Sage, CMP Europe and BT, the
awards take the form of 12 regional heats across England, Wales and
Northern Ireland, followed by a national final. The national winner
is awarded £30,000 with each regional winner receiving £5,000.
Scotland is not left out, there is a separate competition - Winners
at the Web - which feeds into the e-commerce awards at the national
level.
This year's national winner was legal practice Pryse Jones. The
firm launched an online conveyancing system earlier in the year and
its e-commerce strategy positioned Pryse Jones in an arena not
previously visited by the legal profession.
Next year's awards will be launched at the end of January and UK
Online For Business would like to encourage companies to apply and
help it to recognise how technology can be used to improve
business.
The programme has much to offer organisations of any size, whether
they need advice and support; want to learn from others or would
like to become a partner in helping the UK become the best place in
the world for e-commerce.
Web sites
www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk/www.ecommerce-awards.co.uk/www.businesslink.org/Case study: Maelstrom
Bournemouth retailer Maelstrom,
which sells contemporary design-led home accessories and giftware,
has seen its database of customers grow by 2,000 per month as a
result of its online business,
www.maelstrom.co.uk/,
which was set up two years ago.
Maelstrom, the shop, sells a range of furniture, home, lighting,
kitchen and bathroom gifts and accessories and was set up in 1994
by Rohan Master to appeal to customers aged between 25 and 45 with
a reasonable disposable income. After consulting UK Online For
Business adviser, Nicholas Steven at Dorset Business Link, Master
and his partner Anne Wait decided that there was potential to reach
a national and international customer base via their Web
site.
Steven has advised Maelstrom on a number of business issues over
the past few months. "When I first met Rohan and Anne, they had a
mail-order business and a good Web site that served to promote it.
But they had few details on who their customers were and how to
target them effectively, and it became clear that they did not have
the back office systems needed to provide real growth to the
business."
Maelstrom has achieved great success with its online presence.
Orders have been increasing rapidly and have been received from all
over the world - including the US, Australia, Eastern Europe, as
well as the rest of the UK - accounting for about 12% of all orders
received on the site. The US market in particular is growing
considerably and Maelstrom's site now shows prices in sterling and
dollars.
Maelstrom.co.uk has full secure e-commerce capabilities, allowing
customers to order and purchase online, and a database of more than
300 products. E-mail addresses of customers are collected so that
they can receive updates of discounted prices and new products.
Auto-response mechanisms are in place so that customers are
automatically told when their orders have been received. The site
offers a power search engine, a text-only viewing option, and a
gift-wrapping service in which customers can provide a personal
message. Specialised gateways are also in place, such as the
Maelstrom Members Club, offering exclusive deals.
Master has been delighted with the success of the Web site. He
says, "As a company, e-commerce is our only way forward. As the
customer becomes more conversant and confident buying online, we
will concentrate more on the e-commerce route rather than the
traditional mail-order route."
Master and Wait have learned a number of valuable lessons from
running an e-business. Partnership programmes with companies such
as lastminute.com, the Internet bank egg, and Securicor have been
useful, and are seen as a key area for the business to develop in
the future.
Maelstrom has also found that the Internet delivers the best
results when used in conjunction with traditional business methods
such as advertising, marketing and customer service. Master and
Wait are seeking funding to allow them to further develop the
business.
In taking the business further forward, the couple has received
some useful e-commerce advice from the Wessexbiz site provided by
Business Link Wessex, which supplies more than 800 subscribed
companies in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight with
e-commerce news directly relevant to their businesses. It was
through this service that Maelstrom heard about the UK Online For
Business/InterForum E-Commerce Awards 2000.
Steven adds, "Maelstrom is a great example of a company that is
using e-commerce to its fullest potential and achieving great
success with it. It is encouraging to see that it is not resting on
its laurels and is constantly searching for ways to both improve
the Web site and seek out partnerships with other companies to sell
its products.
"It is gratifying that the advice we have been able to provide via
UK Online for Business has assisted the company in developing its
aims and visions for the future."
www.wessexbiz.com/