The Jordanian government should understand the obstacles of using the new technology by the SMEs and set the required policies to eliminate these obstacles. There is a pressing need to alert business owners and managers to the importance of the computer technology in modern business and the role of the computer in simplifying and facilitating business transactions and in improving communication. The SMEs should use a customized packaged Internet application appropriate for their particular strategies.
Using ready-made packages and the Internet can be introduced in the SMEs’ businesses stage by stage (Porter 2001). The Jordanian government may succeed in information technology promotion, but still there is a need for information technology training, legal framework for information technology development and creating laws relating to the Internet use.
The procurement process of the SMEs working in the natural stone sector in Jordan is still predominately based on traditional approaches, tools and communication channels.
The proposed approach is to promote B2B e-commerce by using the electronic bidding.
The objective of the electronic bidding solution is to overcome the drawbacks of the traditional procurement by providing:
Quick access to up-to-date product information (i.e. automated update of company's local product data and search facilities),
Improved product characteristics including color information and common product identifiers to support the selection of the "right" product,
Advanced price requests for negotiation support, and
Direct ordering and invoicing of product components defined in the bidding process.
The semi-structured interviews investigate the impact of the ICT on the five competitive forces, as shown in Box 5.2, in order to investigate the impact of the ICT on the threats of the natural stone industry.
Box. 5.2.
Four firms, involved in the semi-structured interview in Jordan, showed that the threat of rivals will increase due to the increase in the number of competing firms.
The customers then will have the ability to look for the competitors’ prices through the Internet by one click. On the other hand, six firms explained that the threat of rivals will decrease. They believe that few Jordanians are able to buy directly from foreign companies due to the economic circumstances and trade restrictions i.e.
import procedures and high transportation costs. As well, they do believe that there is a limited number of Jordanians who have the willingness to take the risk and to buy through the Internet. Five firms showed that the Internet will increase the bargaining power of the local buyers especially the Jordanians who have money and have the willingness to buy through the Internet. At the same time, the Internet provides the overseas buyers with an easier access to the Jordanian products. Six of the firms expected that the Internet is going to decrease the bargaining power of physical intermediate channels since the customers can buy immediately from the supply. At the same time, the six firms expected that new electronic inter-mediators (electronic brokers) will be created.
The bidding system will automat and synchronize the product data with the respective information provided by the broker. Instead of contacting several quarries, the SME can specify a request and send it electronically to the broker service and receive a list of matching components in return with price comparisons. The broker service can provide standardized product identifiers and precise color information. The natural stones are mainly purchased by color and pattern. Samples have to be exchanged physically to get an idea of the stones' look. Once the appropriate existing techniques have been identified, advanced selection features for stones are possible, e.g. color matching mechanisms for finding stones in a certain color or color range or checking whether a new series of natural stones still has the same color as its predecessor series.
As shown in Box 5.3 the SMEs involved in the semi-structured interviews were asked about the impact of the ICT on the value chain of these firms in order investigate the impact of the ICT on the internal businesses.
Box 5.3.
The owners/ managers of the ten firms use the Internet to communicate but not yet to make decisions. A full decision support system is not present yet in any of the ten SMEs. In addition, none of the firms have been automated an interface with their customer and only four SMEs using automation in another area of the company. This automation is on a very low scale and not directly related to the implementation of the e-business. However, the ten firms agree that the waste within their firms has decreased; the burden of general office work, data handling and keeping of archives has become easier. Nevertheless, in most firms the archives are not digital yet.
Although none of the ten firms using the Internet in their internal businesses transactions or conducting financial transactions with banks, they believe that the Internet will eliminate redundancies, reduces cycle time and increases the ability to innovate. Furthermore, all of the firms believe that the Internet will help in improving the image of their firms, adding value to existing products through the information content and contributing to solving the problem of lack resources and access to technology.