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When you field
dozens of phone calls and get hundreds of emails from "e" everything
firms pitching their "revolutionary solutions" it's tough not to be
cynical about the next big thing. But great ideas are out there.
Last
July, we were just putting the finishing touches on our first-ever
Internet for Industry report when the wind started escaping from the
tattered sails of the Internet economy. In our July 2000 issue, we did
our best to promote the idea that the Internet was a transformational
technology that manufacturers had to adopt, adapt and integrate into
their daily business systems. I read that report over again, and fully
expected to wince and groan about our faulty predictions. But in all
honesty, I wouldn't change much. Our forecasts and analysis had one
basic thrust: where is the value for the end-user?
We
used the same standard this year to figure out which of the remaining
dot.com firms and business models have what it takes to survive in the
aftermath of the dot.com massacre that has seen as many as 100,000 jobs
cut from the Internet economy since December 2000. But
even with the doom and gloom, there are plenty of voices reminding
manufacturers that opportunities exist. "The era of eyeballs, IPOs and
billionaires' is over," says Jerry Jasinowski, president of the
National Association of Manufacturers. "But there's gold among the
ruins for manufacturers smart enough to take advantage of all the new
infrastructure and applications that the dot-bombs left behind."
Internet
analyst firm IDG predicts e-business spending to have a $5.3 trillion
dollar impact on the world economy by 2005. "It's certainly not the end
of the Internet economy," says Gigi Wang, IDG's senior vice president
of communications and Internet research.
The
firms we expect to still be standing will be those that continue to
recognize the simple business fact that it's not enough to provide a
service that has never been provided before they must do something of
value that someone's willing to pay for. The firms that provide
value-added goods and services to manufacturers will see steady and
even spectacular success.
Once
these firms shift their focus from pleasing investors to pleasing their
client base, the second B2B boom will start again. In some cases, it's
already started, and these are just some of the forces and factors at
play:
More products and Web-based services will emerge that collect
information to support real-time decision making systems that can have
a significant impact on outcomes. When company managers can directly
benefit from timely access to information, they will be willing to pay
for it.
Online procurement systems will improve and grow more popular as they
help manufacturers find better suppliers, negotiate volume discounts
and reduce the number of times an order is handled.
Manufacturers will continue to lead in their use of the Internet to
conduct their business. Statistics Canada's most recent report on
electronic commerce and technology in Canada in 2000 found that,
measured by value, e-commerce sales were highest in manufacturing,
followed by wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing and retail
trade. Manufacturers sold $1.3 billion worth of goods and services over
the Internet, which represents 0.2 percent of their operating revenue.
Most of the e-commerce sales came from transportation equipment
manufacturers.
Going mobile will be the rage, as wireless devices free up people
within the manufacturing plants. This means, you'll have to have at
least a basic familiarity with protocols and technologies like
Bluetooth, 3G, 802.11b, WAP, i-MODE, SMS and access devices like
personal digital assistants (PDAs) and pocket PCs.
More established firms will get both feet into e-commerce. "The young
dot.coms were not restricted by any bricks and mortars and had the
potential to niche you and capture lots of eyeballs out there," says
Rod Michael, director of customer e-business solutions for Rockwell
Automation in a recent interview. "I think the old manufacturers have
figured out that its more than just a Web front-end and some flash.
It's really about integrating all of your data and digitizing what you
are doing."
You will continue to hear lots about the benefits of Collaborative
Product Commerce (CPC) which analysts predict will be a growth area.
This includes digitizing documents, new methods of quickly passing
product design information and changes throughout an organization and
its supply chain.
Machine-to-machine Internet devices will continue to be built into
machines and systems and will gather and collect a host of information.
In five years, the "e" will disappear from the front of the term
"e-manufacturing" as there will no longer be anything new or mystical
about the term electronic. It will simply be the business norm.
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