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Re: eThesis: Why e-commerce use by SMEs is slow and stall?
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anastasi-@gr.pwc.com
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Nov 30, 2004 06:03 PST
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Inspired by Mr Nummela, Noor, and Roy's input:
Indeed, I agree that it is highly unlikely, the way our lives are evolving,
that e-anything declines: if any business wants to stay in business, they
go e-anything. Even if it just "info" email we are talking about.
Parallelly, the global boom of e-business caused a flood of supply, thus
the cost of IT investment for SMEs drops while the benefits multiply: as
Internet matures the levels of its use by consumers gradually increase;
also the incremental mass of the businesses which had "pioneered" in
e-volution smooths the transition for SMEs from small companies to smart
companies.
I cannot even remember how was I searching for information before Internet:
I browse for everything, and I do not know anyone in my family, workplace
or social environment who does not do the same or who uses alternative
sources of information (and I live in Athens: Greece had one of the slowest
figures in Internet penetration in EU).
Even searching for a restaurant, a hair dresser, or a bakery, if it is not
listed somewhere, I get the feeling that the particular business owner must
not want me as a client very much: I feel s/he is not reaching out to me.
Plus, if I find an innovative and smart site of a smaller supplier, I might
choose her over a bigger supplier, opting exactly for the flexibility Mr
Nummela referred to ("[...]if I need to ask something simple but important
from almost any organization with 1000+ employees, the choices are to spend
half an hour on telephone (listening to music) or wait 3-4 days to see
whether they bother to answer. Still: a good e-mail desk would be the
optimal solution for both the customers and the corporations. I think the
bigger the organization the more they overlook this. Just try to ask
something from Microsoft or Sony or Nokia and see for yourself.").
I think SMEs have a fair chance now with e-commerce. At first, the problem
was indeed the cost of the investment and the uncertainty of its future;
since this is not the case anymore, SMEs need to make fast and intelligent
choices. As doing business is not anymore just a matter of product, life
cycles, packaging etc, other parameters are adding up: flexibility,
directness, one-stop-shop, tailor-making. These new challenges have only
one way to be met: e-commerce.
SMEs must WANT to adopt e-commerce; it will become (if not already)
synonymous to "being in business".
Even the bumpy start in e-commerce's dawn cannot be used as an excuse
anymore. Trust is on the building, but building is a business which takes
many hands to join in; it needs participation, involvement and
responsibility.
Plus, if deployed smartly, e-commerce can become for SMEs the sling in
David's hands, against Goliath (the big corporations).
So, indeed a lot of small businesses have "just" a web site and/or an
e-mail address. Does that constitute engaging in e-commerce? I think the
answer is yes: is there any part of a company's operations more critical
than public's awareness? Is there any other medium more related to public
awareness today than Internet? The on-line transactions are just the happy
outcome of having been found on the Net.
Anastasia
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