- Assessment of technological needs. The chamber offers generic information on the minimum characteristics that the equipment should have.
- Orientation on business strategy on the Internet.
- Suggestions on courses from the Chamber adapted to their real needs.
- Assessment on how to finance investment (adapted to the characteristics of the company. The chamber will previously analyse if that company is a possible beneficiary of grant aid).
2. Once the SME sees the diagnosis, it selects the equipment it is interested in.
3. This generic demand arrives at the suppliers that have previously registered with the platform (these suppliers have to compromise to accomplish certain requirements such us: installation of the equipment, training in use of the equipment, data protection, follow the rules of the platform, after sale service). Registration and acceptance of the contract should be done with a digital certificate.
4. Suppliers offer their products indicating their characteristics, price, and improvements based on demand.
5. The SME receives all the offers, listed by price and selects the one it is interested in. 6. The supplier receives the confirmation and installs the product at the SME.
Through all this process, the company can have assessment of a technical expert on the characteristics of the products, the use of the platform, and check the state of demand. This service is accessible through telephone/fax and the web (extranet though previous
registration).
Objectives - Assessment of technological needs and orientation on business strategy on the Internet.
- Product proposals adapted to needs previously detected, with its characteristics and price (computers, printers, internet connection, virtual shop)
- Suggestions on courses from the Chamber adapted to their real needs.
- Assessment on how to finance the investment (adapted to the characteristics of the company. The chamber will previously analyse if that company is a possible beneficiary of grant aid).
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Sweden
Title Meeting point Wermland
Responsible organisation The Wermland Chamber of Commerce Name Ulrika Obstfelder Peterson
Address Södra Kyrkogatan 6 652 24 Karlstad E-mail [email protected]
Contact details
Website http://www.wermland.cci.se
Description The project Meeting point Wermland offers a range of services designed by the Wermland Chamber of Commerce to permit the cost-effective exchange of electronic messages. It is a joint e-Commerce project for municipalities,
purchasers and suppliers. It furnishes all participants with suitable tools, training and project support.
The Meeting point Wermland project was started in May 2001. It started out as a training initiative to enhance IT expertise in the region, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises. When conducting a series of seminars and training sessions for a total of 1 300 small and medium-sized enterprises, larger enterprises and local authorities, contacts with businesses and local authorities revealed an unmistakable need for an easy-to-use, functional and cost-effective e- Commerce solution. Many of the local authorities and large-Businesses realised that e-Commerce would result in important benefits but most of them were highly sceptical because previous solutions were both complex and expensive. They were in no position to pick up the solutions that would work for all their suppliers, particularly the small businesses. On the other hand, small businesses had no interest in financing training and solutions due to the large-Businesses needs.
The Portal Handelsplats Wermland came about as a result of the experience gained as it has primarily involved the municipalities of Sunne and Torsby but also the municipalities of Arvika, Kristinehamn and Vansbro. It offers a range of services designed by the Wermland Chamber of Commerce to facilitate the cost- effective exchange of electronic messages, including invoicing, ordering, certification and procurement. It is a joint e commerce project for local authorities and SMEs and it furnishes all participants with suitable tools, training and project support, In other words it provides both the sender and the receivers with training and support. During the project, local suppliers were invited to attend workshops. The idea was to explain how small companies that do not have much experience of e-commerce could use different e-business services. They have been shown step-by-step how to fill out an online form and how to send an electronic invoice to their purchasers using a simple Internet connection or a virtual printer. They have also been told how to use other types of solutions suitable for their businesses. After the workshop, each business has been visited and received help in starting up and given answers to any question they might have had. All of the participating SMEs are now using different e-business solutions in their communication with their purchasers.
The Meeting point Wermland and the Portal have turned out to be highly successful and one reason for the success is probably that the approach has been to start on a small scale and wait for the ripple or cascade effect to develop. In that way the Wermland Chamber of Commerce established a solid foundation from which it was possible to move on to a practical level. Step by step, results and the positive effect could be demonstrated. Once it was demonstrated, more businesses became attracted and involved.
Today 5 municipalities are involved in the project and more than 50 suppliers send electronic invoices to one or more of the municipalities involved. This means that the project has met its objectives which were that 3 municipalities should be involved in the project at the end of the project period and that 40 suppliers would send electronic invoices to one or more of the municipalities involved in the project at the end of the project period. Furthermore relations have been developed with approximately 100 suppliers that in one way or another are involved in the project. Several municipalities have contacted the project and are interested in getting involved.
Meeting point Wermland offers help with:
- knowledge about existing easy-to-use, functional and cost effective e- Commerce solutions by presenting existing e-Business solutions.
- project support when implementing electronic invoicing, both for sender and receiver.
- contacts between the municipality/business and suppliers when implementing electronic invoicing.
- technical solutions for electronic invoices.
Objectives The objectives with Meeting point Wermland are to:
- increase IT skills among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who would otherwise not have this type of skill easily available.
- get e-Business strategies higher up on the SMEs’ agendas and open their eyes to applications within e-business.
- make SMEs understand the advantages of e-Business and help them identify their e-Business opportunities
- provide SMEs with knowledge about different forms of collaboration in the area of e-Business.
- provide SMEs with knowledge about existing easy-to-use, functional and cost effective e-Commerce solutions by presenting existing e-Business solutions. - assist SMEs in implementing their transformation towards e-Business.
- provide specific advice tailored to the needs of given SME in order to ensure the most efficient use of the means and technologies available.
- be the link between the local authority/the company and their suppliers - give SMEs the opportunity of remaining as suppliers to companies who
would otherwise be forced to choose non-local suppliers who meet their requirements as a result of the new regulations permitting procuring units to demand that bids be submitted electronically.
- include Best Practice SMEs who already use e-Business in their activities both as sender and receivers as a participant in the proposed project.
- monitor technical solutions for e-Business via different suppliers - take on the role of catalyst
- provide a regional resource for businesses and municipalities to generate electronic invoices in a format that the recipient’s system can process.
Title SVEA – ebusiness for Swedish SMEs Responsible organisation GEA – Swedish Alliance for electronic Business
Name Mikael Von Otter
Address GEA, PO Box 5501, Stockholm
E-mail [email protected]
Contact details
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Description The project for this policy is run with sponsors from business and public support. It has established a network of 150 coaches all around Sweden. They, with some support from the main project, arrange seminars and conferences for SMEs, as well as offer consultancy guidance (which is charged for; give-aways are seldom appreciated up to a level). Staff with media background keep track of interesting examples that are published in a structured manner. Last year, more than 118 000 SMEs received e-letters about these examples as well as information about regional activities. The project also measures two things: the number of SME companies with company-run e-mail (so [email protected] not is included); and an e-Business index, where the level of acceptance for e-Business is measured.
Objectives Project objective were to:
- Create a nationwide network of "SME coaches and SME informers". - Establish a database of good examples.
- Create an easy-to-use web-based school for SMEs
- Produce and distribute newsletters on a regional basis to more than 100 000 SMEs; all of this with the ultimate objective of having 80 % of SMEs realising the potential of e-Business.