Study: European B2B Activity To Account For 33% Of Sales By 2005

Jan. 13, 2005
By John S. McClenahen Depending on which industry in Europe a company is in, their online B2B activity could account for one-third of total sales four years from now. A top "European 100" transportation company, for example, could generate 6.5 billion ...
ByJohn S. McClenahen Depending on which industry in Europe a company is in, their online B2B activity could account for one-third of total sales four years from now. A top "European 100" transportation company, for example, could generate 6.5 billion euros worth of business (US$5.53 billion at the current exchange rate), 33% of its total take, in the year 2005, figures Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc. But the prospect of much greater B2B activity is only a possibility. For example, Forrester says European firms will have to make an initial investment of 11 million euros -- US$9.35 million -- to support what's dubbed sell-side commerce. "With too many internal islands of applications to access for online trade, European firms are failing to deliver because features galore don't generate business, poor access to [applications] results in an inability to transact, and crippling maintenance nightmares deliver stale information," states a critical Charles Homs, a Forrester senior analyst. "The cost of integrating the plethora of applications will eat up half the IT investment in the first year," he calculates. And "once the technical infrastructure and [applications] are functioning, the workforce necessary to maintain online sales will soar -- for instance, just keeping the site up-to-date will account for 51% of the ongoing budget," says Homs.

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!