The global market place is just round the corner - and the time to act is now

Why do you think your customers/ users/members/employees are different from you when it comes to service, dialogue and the need for information?

Are you connected to a netbank, and can you keep tracks of movements in your accounts?
Can you use it to transfer money from one account to another, and to pay your bills?
Do you enjoy being able to go to the bank most of the day – from home?

If you can answer 'yes' to these three simple questions, it's easy to put yourself in the position of your customers/users/members/employees. Because if you introduced an e-business facility they could also communicate with you, 'shop' with you, buy your product, and so on – from home or from work. But can they? Probably not.

E-business is for many a half-hearted list of products and a "shopping basket”

This is because all too few Danish companies have seen the light where e-business is concerned. There are many reasons for this: Websites – and e-business in particular – are not given much priority. Attractive sites have been developed, but they are based on technology and communication trends that are seven years behind the times.

Companies are terrified of being among the first (wasn't there something about companies who concentrated solely on e-business going bankrupt?). They don't believe their customers/members/users would ever use an e-business facility: "My target groups certainly wouldn't", they argue. They have difficulty getting to grips with the market for e-business platforms, and they have no proper in-house logistics. This may of course be all very well. But do these arguments hold water? The answer is 'no'.

E-business is self-service, dialogue and knowledge sharing

E-business should be considered in a broader perspective: E-business is buying and selling, it is customer self-service, and it is customer service (or rather, 'perceived' customer service because the customer himself does the work). E-business is also dialogue, knowledge sharing, project management, and the chance to bind customer and collaboration partner closer together. E-business is a company's unique opportunity to become global, and where systems do the work automatically. One thing is certain: If you don't 'invest' in e-business yourself, your competitors will soon discover its fantastic possibilities. And can you afford that?

E-business knows no boundaries

E-business gives ALL companies in the global marketplace opportunities that have not previously existed. And many of the barriers that may be related to setting up in other countries have virtually vanished overnight. E-business knows no boundaries, and that's something that customers/users/members appreciate. As a global citizen and employee, the opportunities for success, for establishing the best contacts, for buying the right products at the right price and in the right quality – are virtually unlimited.

So what's stopping you?

Companies in Denmark have approached e-business very conservatively. Even though, for example, more than half the products sold via the net are exports and sales have tripled (from 23 bnDKK to 60 bnDKK). B2B is well represented and shows the biggest increase (Source: business journal Erhvervsbladet, 16 September 2004).

But it's still early days. Most companies are leaving the decision about e-business – whether or not to go for it, the problem of finding a suitable platform, and their logistic capability to handle a product flow - to an IT department. Instead of starting in the right strategic place: by seeing it as a wonderful opportunity to do really good business, to get into dialogue with customers and partners, and to get ahead in the international race – in real time.

So there's nothing stopping you.

The global market place is just round the corner - and the time to act is now

E-business is for many a half-hearted list of products and a "shopping basket”

E-business is self-service, dialogue and knowledge sharing

E-business knows no boundaries

So what's stopping you?

By Lotte Kühl, Managing Director, Kühl+co A/S

Other articles

What is good graphic design?

The situation is often the key to success

Value-based branding