Search Engine

Search Engine Optimisation & Internet Marketing

One of the most common things web designers and clients forget about is Search Engine Optimization. About 70%, if not more, of South African websites are not Search Engine friendly. People seem to think that as soon as they have a website their business is going to boom. This is the biggest mistake people make when contacting a web design company who does not provide SEO as a service. SEO is an art, not a skill, which takes years to develop and refine. Good SEO is vital to any website's internet marketing strategy.

What is SEO and Internet Marketing?

As mentioned above SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the art of making a website search engine friendly. Search engines such as Google, Ananzi, Yahoo and MSN all use computer programs called "Robots" which crawl the internet from website to website, reading and indexing web pages. SEO is the process which makes your website visible to robots. The more a robot understands your website, the better your ranking will be across search engines.

Internet Marketing is probably the most effective and affordable way of driving business to your website.

We have years of experience in SEO and Internet Marketing. We have built a strong reputation as a company which can deliver. Don't be fooled! There are many companies out there who offer SEO, but only a handful who really know what they are doing.

Why is SEO so important?

People often under-estimate the importance of SEO. What most people don't realize is that if a website is not robot friendly, it could be banned or simply not indexed by Google. Which obviously defeats the purpose of having a website in the first place. Have you ever seen these flashy websites designed completely in FLASH? They look great, but they are completely invisible to search engines. Remember, it's impossible for a robot to "SEE" text contained in graphics or FLASH animations. Therefore they will not know what the website is about, and will therefore not be able to rank the page correctly.

Certain "SEO" companies try and trick Google, by repeating certain words often throughout the website, or making the text the same colour as the websites background colour. This will result in your website being banned and is known as keyword spamming. SEO is a very complex topic to write about concisely, so why not contact us for a detailed analysis of your existing website for FREE?

What do we do?

If you ask us to design and develop a website for you, the process of standard SEO will be done on your website as part of the development process. However if you have an existing website, and want more traffic the process is as follows:

• We check all HTML code, and make sure it confirms to the industry standard
• We check that all meta tags are correct, and that no duplication is present
• The content of your website will be studied, from which 6 - 12 keywords are gathered for the entire website.
• Each individual page is analyzed for a specific theme or topic, from which 3 main keywords are retrieved.
• Keywords are then analyzed to make sure they are worth optimizing the specific page for that specific keyword
• We repeat the process throughout the entire website and check the main keywords against the title and description meta tag
• Once this is complete, we check the website against your competitors websites, and make various changes to ensure your site will outrank them
• We may be required to add additional text or content to your website so ensure proper keyword density for the content, meta tags and title
• After we are happy with the content, programming and meta tags, we will submit your website to over 150 search engines and a further 50 directory listing websites.

User Friendly

User Friendly Website - Practical Tips

We design our websites for the web user – We want to attract the user, keep the web user interested and eventually turn the web user in an actual client. To achieve this goal we want to point out the following practical tips in creating a user friendly website.

Balance and Layout

The main focus of a user entering your website will be at the top left of the page, gradually moving focus to the right of the page. A further interesting fact is that today’s web users are more focused on the text on the page, more so than images or graphics. It is therefore important to grab the users initial focus at entering point, and then keep the focus with the text throughout the rest of the page. Balance also ensures a visually appealing page - it will make your page easy to navigate, read and find the necessary items. The main aim of balance is to create a page that flows.

Simplicity

Simplify your website! At first glance, the web user wants to understand your website and find what he/she is looking for. Unnecessary visual elements may cause confusion and important items should be highlighted to immediately stand out. White space on the page is visually pleasing and easier for user to differentiate items/topics and makes navigation quick and easy. Complex websites with overpowering visual effects and cluttered content will leave the user confused and stressed in their attempt to decode information on the website. The result – the user will exit your website in a hurry!

Fonts – Size & Type

The size and type of the font will have an effect! Web users want to read the information with ease and not decipher the text, at the same time we don’t want the user to step back and read from across the room. San-serif fonts such as Arial and Verdana, with sizes no smaller than 10pt and no larger than 14pt are popular choices for on-screen reading.

Clean Backgrounds

A background is exactly that – a background! Be subtle and refrain from using textures and bright colours. Your background serves as backdrop for the main focus of the page. Background textures and graphics are distracting, and the more you add, the less noticeable your text and images become. A white background with black text will always result in a crisp, clean look and is easy to read. If you want to use colours, ensure that the colours will contrast with the colour of the text - i.e. using a lighter background with darker text. Darker and bright colours such as red and yellow causes visual fatigue - the reader will loose focus and will not continue reading the page.

Graphics

All our website are custom designed – this means that the graphics on your website will be unique, taking into account your own company profile and target market. We can therefore integrate all your design elements in a uniform format throughout your website, incorporating your branding – this makes the website visually appealing, easy to browse, and creates a lasting impression on the user.

Graphics are often overused – cluttering the page with graphics. This serves no purpose other than increasing the loading time of the page. A consistent use of graphic style ensures that the user becomes familiar with the graphics and anticipates seeing them, enabling easy navigation.

Easy Navigation

This is an absolute must! The user must be able to find the required information quickly and easily. The user is visiting for website to gain information, if they can’t find it they will leave the website. Current practice is to place a toolbar across the top of the page or on the left hand side of the page. A well placed toolbar or navigation tool creates a sense of familiarity and facilitates quick and easy navigation.

Text Readability

You have a lot of information to share with your user – It is important to share and display this information effectively, by making your pages easy to read by breaking up blocks and creating short paragraphs. Highlight key points with clearly defined headings and subheadings also make for more effective readability.

Most users first scan a page looking for the relevant topic information and will then only read all information. Therefore highlighting key words or phrases by properly formatting content is essential.

Scrolling

Horizontal scrolling is disorienting and annoying – users will find this frustrating.

Vertical scrolling is the best option, keeping the scrolling down to a minimum – users won’t scroll down endlessly and important information will be lost should they need to do so. Consider moving larger blocks of information to another page and provide links. It is also important to provide the key information at the top of the page – if this is the relevant information the user is looking for, he/she will take the time to scroll down.

A Fast and Slick Website

Users want to make contact without hassle and in the quickest possible time. Ensure that your pages load quickly – all users get impatient when it takes too long to load a page. Eliminate unnecessary graphics and reduce the use of scripts and in-line styles. You need to make an immediate impression so that the user is enthusiastic and wants to see and read more, otherwise he/she will move on to the next website.

Graphic Design of a Good Logo

The Importance of good Logo Design

A poorly designed logo can do irreversible damage to your image. If your logo is drab and lacking in visual impact, the audience is less likely to respond with positive visual associations, while a professional, eye-catching logo immediately establishes an impact and the perception of a higher level of credibility. The logo is therefore the entry point for your audience and an asset that builds a sense of familiarity and trust.

Now that we have established the necessity of a well-designed logo we can focus on setting the course on exactly the steps you could follow to design or evaluate your current logo.

STEP 1: Establish needs and criteria for the design.

• Who is the intended audience? It is important to note that your personal tastes are not necessarily what will attract your potential clients. A breakdown of your audience will help establish their preferences and expectations.
• How much does your logo say about your company? What sort of image you want your company to portray? Does it adequately reflect the nature of your business sector?
• Evaluate the competition. Do a competitor analysis to establish your unique selling point and find a visual means to stand out from the crowd. A mere selection of colour could already aid in this regard.

In order to do a successful design that meets both your organizational and target market’s needs the above information is vital before a visual solution can be reached.

STEP 2: The visual solution

The information gathered in Step 1 will be used to design your logo. Once these factors have been adequately communicated to us, we can employ the following characteristics of good logo design in both the development and evaluation phases of the final visual solution created.

A good logo:

• must attract attention – be bold and demand its viewers to pay attention
• must have longevity – try not to focus the logo on current fashion trends that could easily become outdated. Opt rather for a more classic approach that could stand the test of time. E.g. Nike, Coca-Cola
• must be simple – the communication should be clear and uncluttered. Try to limit your colors to two or three rather than create a visual overload
• must work as a unit - the image and text should form visual synergy and should not appear to be two separate entities
• must be pleasing to the eye
• should be unique and memorable
• captures your target audience and accurately represents your business’ character
• is technically sound:
• should be scalable. In other words, it should work on a small format e.g. your letterhead as well as a large format e.g. your building’s signage
• should also translate well into black and white for the purposes of photocopies and faxes

It can therefore be deduced that a logo has the power to influence the perceptions of your target audience even if they are false. It is important to note that a well-designed logo needs to be backed up with a strong business practice. Through repeated interaction the logo becomes a form of visual shorthand – a symbol which in turn comes to represent values, experiences and instill trust.

STEP 3: The application

Apart from using it in the usual places such as your corporate stationery, a logo could act as a promotional tool on a variety of media. At every point of contact with your audience you should aim to reinforce your identity as the repetition of the logo on a variety of media will improve recall and create top-of-the mind awareness. Such areas of placement include: stationery, uniforms, vehicles, signage, promotional items etc.

ACTION PLAN

Once the quote for the corporate identity has been accepted the following will happen:

• Client must supply us with the completed questionnaire.
• We will design a minimum of 5 concepts for your new logo.
• Once a logo has been established this will now be applied to the rest of your branding.

This could include:

• Business card
• Letterhead
• Email stationery (html)
• Complimentary slip
• Document folder
• Signage
• Vehicle branding
• Launch: Many companies use the redesign of their identity as a form of marketing aimed at creating publicity and improving the awareness of your brand. We would therefore like to recommend a launch for the new logo and identity. The details can be attended to once a budget is established. The launch of your website can also be added to this marketing effort.

We offer a one-stop solution for all your communication and marketing needs. Once all the design has been finalised we will also manage all the printing or any other reproduction needed. We prefer to manage the whole process so we can ensure a high level of quality control and make sure you get the highest quality product.

by Leanne Barnard

In conclusion a quote by Gerard Kleisterlee (CEO, Phillips) is brought to mind:"Design helps us to bridge the gap between the present and the future." Considering this, please allow us to bestow some advice in respect to logo and identity design: Start with a great logo. Don’t wait for when you are big enough in your eyes to invest, for it is well known fact that the longer a logo exists the more value it acquires.

Search Engine Optimisation & Internet Marketing

One of the most common things web designers and clients forget about is Search Engine Optimization. About 70%, if not more, of South African websites are not Search Engine friendly. People seem to think that as soon as they have a website their business is going to boom. This is the biggest mistake people make when contacting a web design company who does not provide SEO as a service. SEO is an art, not a skill, which takes years to develop and refine. Good SEO is vital to any website's internet marketing strategy.

What is SEO and Internet Marketing?

As mentioned above SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the art of making a website search engine friendly. Search engines such as Google, Ananzi, Yahoo and MSN all use computer programs called "Robots" which crawl the internet from website to website, reading and indexing web pages. SEO is the process which makes your website visible to robots. The more a robot understands your website, the better your ranking will be across search engines.

Internet Marketing is probably the most effective and affordable way of driving business to your website.

We have years of experience in SEO and Internet Marketing. We have built a strong reputation as a company which can deliver. Don't be fooled! There are many companies out there who offer SEO, but only a handful who really know what they are doing.

Why is SEO so important?

People often under-estimate the importance of SEO. What most people don't realize is that if a website is not robot friendly, it could be banned or simply not indexed by Google. Which obviously defeats the purpose of having a website in the first place. Have you ever seen these flashy websites designed completely in FLASH? They look great, but they are completely invisible to search engines. Remember, it's impossible for a robot to "SEE" text contained in graphics or FLASH animations. Therefore they will not know what the website is about, and will therefore not be able to rank the page correctly.

Certain "SEO" companies try and trick Google, by repeating certain words often throughout the website, or making the text the same colour as the websites background colour. This will result in your website being banned and is known as keyword spamming. SEO is a very complex topic to write about concisely, so why not contact us for a detailed analysis of your existing website for FREE?

What do we do?

If you ask us to design and develop a website for you, the process of standard SEO will be done on your website as part of the development process. However if you have an existing website, and want more traffic the process is as follows:

• We check all HTML code, and make sure it confirms to the industry standard
• We check that all meta tags are correct, and that no duplication is present
• The content of your website will be studied, from which 6 - 12 keywords are gathered for the entire website.
• Each individual page is analyzed for a specific theme or topic, from which 3 main keywords are retrieved.
• Keywords are then analyzed to make sure they are worth optimizing the specific page for that specific keyword
• We repeat the process throughout the entire website and check the main keywords against the title and description meta tag
• Once this is complete, we check the website against your competitors websites, and make various changes to ensure your site will outrank them
• We may be required to add additional text or content to your website so ensure proper keyword density for the content, meta tags and title
• After we are happy with the content, programming and meta tags, we will submit your website to over 150 search engines and a further 50 directory listing websites.

Doing business with government online

Over the past five years, governments at all levels around Australia have been making their information and services increasingly available online. The term for this is e-government. It refers to the use of information and communications technologies to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of government.

What can you do online with government?

Government websites throughout Australia collectively provide information, help and assistance, application forms and the means of paying for a wide range of government services.

The Australian government has created a website, the Business Entry Point (BEP) http://www.business.gov.au, which acts as an online government resource for the Australian business community. It provides business with a wide range of services and information about start-up, taxation, licensing and legislation, as well as significant activities such as taxation compliance and licence applications. The BEP enables businesses to comply with government requirements more simply and conveniently by providing free online access to essential information and services.

In addition, the Australian Government has invested in a range of initiatives to assist business to deal electronically with government including:

AusTender (formerly known as the Commonwealth Electronic Tender System (CETS))

AusTender is a web-based e-tendering facility operating as a pilot system. It provides for the publishing of Australian Government open business opportunities, download of tender documentation and upload of tender responses in a secure online environment.

Benefits to business, in particular SMEs, include 24x7 geographically independent access to open business opportunities and tender documentation. Bid development time is increased and there is potential reduction in the cost of preparing and responding to government business opportunities. http://www.tenders.gov.au

Doing Business Online with Government

The Doing Business Online with Government Guide was produced in November 2002 to assist suppliers to trade electronically with Australian Government agencies. Its key objective was to accelerate the uptake of e-commerce between small business and government. http://www.agimo.gov.au/publications/2002/11/dbowg

Commonwealth Purchasing and Disposal Gazette

Government purchasing policy requires that all agencies, subject to the Financial Management Accountability (FMA) Act 1997, publish open business opportunities, and report all contracts and standing offers of $2000 or more, in the Commonwealth Purchasing and Disposal Gazette. The Gazette consists of two parts:

• The business opportunities section of the Government Advertising website (http://www.ads.gov.au) provides information on government tenders to the public free of charge
• The Gazette Publishing System (GaPS) located at http://www.contracts.gov.au, contains information about resulting contracts and standing offers and provides searching and reporting facilities for users.

What to do

Consider the range of business activities that you engage in where there is a requirement or need to work with government. These activities might include:

• starting-up a business
• taxation
• paying taxes
• applying for licenses and permits
• checking legislation
• training and apprenticeships
• importing and exporting
• employing people
• grants and financial assistance
• closing down a business

Investigate whether those services, help or information are available online by exploring the relevant sections of the BEP (Business Entry Point) http://www.business.gov.au or the other websites listed above.

chain and logistics

Many businesses prosper or fail depending on the success of their relationship with their suppliers and with those who they supply. Businesses that rely on other businesses to this extent are in what is called a supply chain - each supplying each other right up to the final link in the chain, the consumer. The Internet can help make this relationship work more effectively and efficiently. This section of the e-businessguide will explain:
• what is a supply chain
• why collaboration is important
• how the Internet can assist
• what standards exist that help coordinate online activities
• the nature of global supply chains
• how the Australian Government's ITOL program can help businesses
• what you can do to investigate supply chains in your industry
About supply chains
A supply-chain encompasses all activities and information flows necessary for the transformation of goods from the origin of the raw material to when the product is finally consumed or discarded. This typically involves distribution of product from the supplier to the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer and to the final consumer, otherwise known as nodes in the supply-chain. The transformation of product from node to node includes activities such as production planning, purchasing, materials management, distribution, customer service and forecasting.
While each firm can be competitive through improvements to its internal practices, ultimately the ability to do business effectively depends on the efficient functioning of the entire supply-chain. For example, a wholesaler's inability to adequately maintain inventory control or respond to sudden changes in demand for stock may mean that a retailer cannot meet final consumer demand. Conversely, poor sales data from retailers may result in inadequate forecasting of manufacturing requirements.
However, it is not simply about passing information from one node in the supply-chain to the next. The dispatch and distribution functions need to work effectively as well, so movement of product from one node to another happens in a timely manner and meets production scheduling.
All that said, there can be little point trying to improve your bottom line through transforming your own business without similar changes to the way your supply chain as a whole is functioning. That is, there needs to be consistency between individual business objectives and the objectives of the supply-chain, and access to information in order to provide visibility of data flows.
Collaboration
Technology solutions can support greater data visibility and integration of dispatch and distribution with production scheduling. However, one element that underpins management of the supply-chain is collaboration.
Collaboration means firms share information in an accurate and timely manner so all businesses in the supply-chain can adequately plan forward inputs and outputs, dispatch product, manage risk and maximise return on investment. This improves the overall functioning of the supply-chain and ultimately the individual firm's bottom line. The key to collaboration is communication and the key to better communication is electronic transfer of information.
The Internet
Proven supply-chain models rely on the Internet to transfer information electronically, which underpins communication and collaboration between businesses along the supply-chain. Using the Internet in this way has a number of benefits, which include:
• saving money and time by removing paper transactions - purchases orders, invoices, consignment notes - and speeding up response times
• reducing errors in the information passed along the supply-chain by avoiding re-keying data from hand-written or faxed documents
• improving satisfaction of customers or suppliers (i.e. next node in the supply-chain) with the delivery of information in 'real time' (i.e. at the point at which product is moved)
• integration of dispatch and distribution data with product development data at each node of the supply-chain, resulting in real cost savings.
Standards
For information exchange associated with the movement of product along the supply-chain to work effectively, the adoption of agreed data standards and conventions is required. That is, for collaboration to result in benefits to all in the supply-chain, different systems need to be able to exchange information with each other. If agreed standards are used, with each firm suitably equipped to use information exchange standards and participate, then each business, as well as the supply-chain as a whole, will benefit.
Data standards have been developed and independent advice (such as from your industry association) should be sought in your decision about which data standard to adopt when exchanging information on the Internet. When deciding what standard to use in exchanging data along the supply-chain a number of questions should be asked, such as:
• Are the standards consistent with globally-agreed standards and is the technology, on which they are based, proven?
• Does the standard provide unique identifying numbering for products and businesses?
• Is there standardised supporting information such as date and address?
• Does the standard allow the information to be read in a machine-readable format (i.e. via a barcode)?
• Are there standard message formats for the transactions and business documents you normally use?
Global supply-chains
As part of the trend towards globalisation, the largest engineering and construction organisations are pre-qualifying firms and purchasing equipment and services through global supply chains (GSC). To access GSC, you need to be internationally competitive and possess global capability. It is important to be aware that pre-qualification does not guarantee success. You need to follow up with project-specific marketing and promotion. Once registered, and with proactive marketing firms, you can benefit from stable, long-term partnerships with project execution managers. You need to be able to provide competitive, quality equipment or services to strict timelines and exact specification. Advances in e-business and online procurement are playing a major role in the development of GSC. You should develop 'e-literacy' in order to enter the GSC market. Targeting GSC is a new and exciting way to enter global markets, because it is efficient and cost-effective. You can supply to any project anywhere being undertaken by the GSC operator. Regional procurement centres for large E&C companies, such as Singapore, are able to forward capability information to projects outside their region at no extra cost to the supplier.
See the Austrade website for more information: http://www.austrade.gov.au/australia/layout/0,,0_S2-1_CLNTXID004-2_-3_-4_-5_-6_-7_,00.html#globalsupply
Information Technology Online (ITOL)
This is an Australian Government funding program administered by DCITA. It is designed to accelerate the national adoption of e-business solutions, especially by small to medium enterprises (SMEs), across a broad range of industry sectors and geographic regions.
ITOL encourages industry groups and small business to identify and adopt commercial uses of the Internet to support productivity and profitability. The ITOL Program is a catalyst for industry groups to work collaboratively to solve common problems on an industry-wide basis, rather than working individually and developing multiple solutions and in some cases unnecessarily duplicating efforts. The preferred e-business solutions are open and inclusive for all participants.
The objectives of the ITOL Program are to provide assistance to a broad range of activities throughout Australia that:
• encourage collaborative industry-based projects which aim to accelerate the adoption of business-to-business e-commerce solutions across a wide range of industry sectors, especially by clusters of SMEs
• foster the awareness and strategic take-up of innovative e-commerce solutions within and across industry sectors which deliver sustainable economy-wide returns and contribute to increased competitiveness.
DCITA has produced a guide to successful e-business collaboration which is available at: http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_and_technology/publications_and_reports/2002/december/forging_and_managing_online_collaboration_the_itol_experience2
More information on the ITOL program can be found at: http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_for_business/funding_programs__and__support/ITOL
What to do

This guide has just been produced by the Australian Government (DCITA) in conjunction with relevant associations, agencies and companies that specialise in the area of e-procurement and e-catalogues. It was funded through the Australian Government's Information Technology Online (ITOL) grants program.
Consider your supply-chain and research the firms and functions and whether using the Internet can enable your supply-chain to function more effectively. Then research the data you need from another node in the supply-chain to conduct your business.
For collaboration to work it may be necessary to champion its cause and discuss with others how to collaborate to share data openly to improve supply-chain management.
Seek advice from your industry association for guidance on technology solutions and open standards to adopt in information exchange and messaging of business documents.

chain and logistics

Many businesses prosper or fail depending on the success of their relationship with their suppliers and with those who they supply. Businesses that rely on other businesses to this extent are in what is called a supply chain - each supplying each other right up to the final link in the chain, the consumer. The Internet can help make this relationship work more effectively and efficiently. This section of the e-businessguide will explain:
• what is a supply chain
• why collaboration is important
• how the Internet can assist
• what standards exist that help coordinate online activities
• the nature of global supply chains
• how the Australian Government's ITOL program can help businesses
• what you can do to investigate supply chains in your industry
About supply chains
A supply-chain encompasses all activities and information flows necessary for the transformation of goods from the origin of the raw material to when the product is finally consumed or discarded. This typically involves distribution of product from the supplier to the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer and to the final consumer, otherwise known as nodes in the supply-chain. The transformation of product from node to node includes activities such as production planning, purchasing, materials management, distribution, customer service and forecasting.
While each firm can be competitive through improvements to its internal practices, ultimately the ability to do business effectively depends on the efficient functioning of the entire supply-chain. For example, a wholesaler's inability to adequately maintain inventory control or respond to sudden changes in demand for stock may mean that a retailer cannot meet final consumer demand. Conversely, poor sales data from retailers may result in inadequate forecasting of manufacturing requirements.
However, it is not simply about passing information from one node in the supply-chain to the next. The dispatch and distribution functions need to work effectively as well, so movement of product from one node to another happens in a timely manner and meets production scheduling.
All that said, there can be little point trying to improve your bottom line through transforming your own business without similar changes to the way your supply chain as a whole is functioning. That is, there needs to be consistency between individual business objectives and the objectives of the supply-chain, and access to information in order to provide visibility of data flows.
Collaboration
Technology solutions can support greater data visibility and integration of dispatch and distribution with production scheduling. However, one element that underpins management of the supply-chain is collaboration.
Collaboration means firms share information in an accurate and timely manner so all businesses in the supply-chain can adequately plan forward inputs and outputs, dispatch product, manage risk and maximise return on investment. This improves the overall functioning of the supply-chain and ultimately the individual firm's bottom line. The key to collaboration is communication and the key to better communication is electronic transfer of information.
The Internet
Proven supply-chain models rely on the Internet to transfer information electronically, which underpins communication and collaboration between businesses along the supply-chain. Using the Internet in this way has a number of benefits, which include:
• saving money and time by removing paper transactions - purchases orders, invoices, consignment notes - and speeding up response times
• reducing errors in the information passed along the supply-chain by avoiding re-keying data from hand-written or faxed documents
• improving satisfaction of customers or suppliers (i.e. next node in the supply-chain) with the delivery of information in 'real time' (i.e. at the point at which product is moved)
• integration of dispatch and distribution data with product development data at each node of the supply-chain, resulting in real cost savings.
Standards
For information exchange associated with the movement of product along the supply-chain to work effectively, the adoption of agreed data standards and conventions is required. That is, for collaboration to result in benefits to all in the supply-chain, different systems need to be able to exchange information with each other. If agreed standards are used, with each firm suitably equipped to use information exchange standards and participate, then each business, as well as the supply-chain as a whole, will benefit.
Data standards have been developed and independent advice (such as from your industry association) should be sought in your decision about which data standard to adopt when exchanging information on the Internet. When deciding what standard to use in exchanging data along the supply-chain a number of questions should be asked, such as:
• Are the standards consistent with globally-agreed standards and is the technology, on which they are based, proven?
• Does the standard provide unique identifying numbering for products and businesses?
• Is there standardised supporting information such as date and address?
• Does the standard allow the information to be read in a machine-readable format (i.e. via a barcode)?
• Are there standard message formats for the transactions and business documents you normally use?
Global supply-chains
As part of the trend towards globalisation, the largest engineering and construction organisations are pre-qualifying firms and purchasing equipment and services through global supply chains (GSC). To access GSC, you need to be internationally competitive and possess global capability. It is important to be aware that pre-qualification does not guarantee success. You need to follow up with project-specific marketing and promotion. Once registered, and with proactive marketing firms, you can benefit from stable, long-term partnerships with project execution managers. You need to be able to provide competitive, quality equipment or services to strict timelines and exact specification. Advances in e-business and online procurement are playing a major role in the development of GSC. You should develop 'e-literacy' in order to enter the GSC market. Targeting GSC is a new and exciting way to enter global markets, because it is efficient and cost-effective. You can supply to any project anywhere being undertaken by the GSC operator. Regional procurement centres for large E&C companies, such as Singapore, are able to forward capability information to projects outside their region at no extra cost to the supplier.
See the Austrade website for more information: http://www.austrade.gov.au/australia/layout/0,,0_S2-1_CLNTXID004-2_-3_-4_-5_-6_-7_,00.html#globalsupply
Information Technology Online (ITOL)
This is an Australian Government funding program administered by DCITA. It is designed to accelerate the national adoption of e-business solutions, especially by small to medium enterprises (SMEs), across a broad range of industry sectors and geographic regions.
ITOL encourages industry groups and small business to identify and adopt commercial uses of the Internet to support productivity and profitability. The ITOL Program is a catalyst for industry groups to work collaboratively to solve common problems on an industry-wide basis, rather than working individually and developing multiple solutions and in some cases unnecessarily duplicating efforts. The preferred e-business solutions are open and inclusive for all participants.
The objectives of the ITOL Program are to provide assistance to a broad range of activities throughout Australia that:
• encourage collaborative industry-based projects which aim to accelerate the adoption of business-to-business e-commerce solutions across a wide range of industry sectors, especially by clusters of SMEs
• foster the awareness and strategic take-up of innovative e-commerce solutions within and across industry sectors which deliver sustainable economy-wide returns and contribute to increased competitiveness.
DCITA has produced a guide to successful e-business collaboration which is available at: http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_and_technology/publications_and_reports/2002/december/forging_and_managing_online_collaboration_the_itol_experience2
More information on the ITOL program can be found at: http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_for_business/funding_programs__and__support/ITOL
What to do

This guide has just been produced by the Australian Government (DCITA) in conjunction with relevant associations, agencies and companies that specialise in the area of e-procurement and e-catalogues. It was funded through the Australian Government's Information Technology Online (ITOL) grants program.
Consider your supply-chain and research the firms and functions and whether using the Internet can enable your supply-chain to function more effectively. Then research the data you need from another node in the supply-chain to conduct your business.
For collaboration to work it may be necessary to champion its cause and discuss with others how to collaborate to share data openly to improve supply-chain management.
Seek advice from your industry association for guidance on technology solutions and open standards to adopt in information exchange and messaging of business documents.

Putting your catalogue online

Many businesses offer a range of products or services, often with various options and models. Typically, these have been presented in a printed brochure or catalogue. The Internet provides advantages over the printed brochure by making a catalogue available to everyone, any time of the day or night, anywhere in the world.

If you would like to get straight into detailed information on e-catalogues, download the following publication released in May 2004. PDF From Paper to Procurement - effective catalogue creation and management for buyers and suppliers (574 kb).

This guide has just been produced by the Australian Government (Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) in conjunction with relevant associations, agencies and companies that specialise in the area of e-procurement and e-catalogues. It was funded through the Australian Government's Information Technology Online (ITOL) grants program. The guide is designed to help Australian suppliers publish and maintain electronic catalogue data in a format suitable for selling and buying online (ie e-procurement).

For a general introduction to e-catalogues explore the sections below.

* what is an e-catalogue?
* e-catalogues versus printed catalogues
* setting up an e-catalogue
* is an e-catalogue right for you?
* the challenges

About e-catalogues

An e-catalogue is an online presentation of information on products and services that are offered and sold by an organisation. For organisations that do not have a large range of products or services, putting its catalogue on the Internet is not a difficult task. However, for those with large product lines and many service offerings, multiple buyers, complex supply-chains and logistics, converting to an e-catalogue system is a complex task and requires careful planning and implementation.

One option for using these catalogues is to place them on an electronic marketplace for the purpose of conducting business over the Internet. Electronic marketplaces (or e-marketplaces) are described in the next section.
E-catalogues versus hard-copy catalogues

An e-catalogue has many advantages over a traditional hard-copy catalogue:

* it can be updated more efficiently and cheaply as the publishing process is faster and there are no printing and paper costs
* price changes and availability can be updated immediately a new product or service becomes available or there is a supply issue with a product or service
* it is available to customers anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week
* coupled with an online payment system, it encourages sales and assists cash-flow
* through the use of cross-links and product-to-product association the website can automatically encourage users to purchase additional products (cross-selling) and more of a product or service (up-selling)
* it can improve access to product catalogues by standardising content and providing multiple search criteria so that users can find it easily
* it can provide images and diagrams to demonstrate product features.

There are disadvantages of using an e-catalogue over a traditional hard-copy catalogue:

* if the business has a large range of products or services that change price or availability often, then an e-catalogue requires a sophisticated website solution which can be costly to establish and maintain
* to reap the full benefits of having an e-catalogue, a business would need to coordinate its customer and product databases, stock and inventory systems and financial systems and then ensure that these systems, or at least the website, could talk to the relevant systems of its suppliers and distributors - this is no mean feat.

Setting up an e-catalogue

The major challenge that small to medium enterprises (SMEs) need to be aware of is that developing and maintaining an e-catalogue is different from updating and publishing a print catalogue. Buyers use different technologies to read e-catalogues, many of which are not compatible, so suppliers - if they decide to sell to multiple buyers electronically - must learn how to adapt their catalogue information to this type of operating environment.

The first step is to develop the business case. Typical questions to answer in developing a business case are:

* Will having an e-catalogue improve my relationships with current buyers and give me access to the wider market?
* If so, what is the cost of creating and managing an e-catalogue?
* What is the Return On Investment?
* What was the time, effort and cost before and after, in terms of maintaining and distributing the catalogues to customers?
* What was the cost of processing orders and correcting errors before and after the use of an e-catalogue?

The answers to the above questions depend, in part, on knowing the options for creating and managing an e-catalogue. The two options are:

1. Contract an intermediary. This could be a supplier hub or procurement service provider or e-marketplace, who can build and host the e-catalogue that potential buyer(s) can then access.
2. Do it yourself and deal directly with the buyer(s) As mentioned above, if this is the case the supplier needs to be prepared for dealing with multiple (and perhaps incompatible) technologies used by buyers.

Is an e-catalogue right for you?

Regardless of which option is chosen, the SME needs to do research to assess the cost-benefit. Typical questions to be asked in this research include:

* What are the technical and operational requirements for engaging an intermediary or buyer(s)?
* What are the costs associated with complying with those technical and operational requirements and the integration tasks needed to make an e-catalogue compatible with the buyer(s)?
* What standards should be used for converting pictures, classifying products and services, describing specifications, defining units of measure, identifying customers, and others?
* What are entry, transaction, service and exit fees for contracting an intermediary?
* If an e-marketplace is chosen -- what is the volume of sales? Who are the buyers (and other sellers)?
* What are the legal and management arrangements of an intermediary?
* Are there any exclusion clauses or practices that prevent participation?

The real efficiencies and productivity gains from e-catalogues are made by linking the relevant parts of the business's database or financial management information system (e.g. MYOB, Quicken, Attache) to the buyer's systems.
The challenges

One of the key questions small to medium businesses need to ask is: with all the technical and operating requirements imposed on me by either buyers or intermediaries, how do I customise my data to comply with their systems, how can I reduce the necessity to re-key infortmation and orders and how do I keep my e-catalogue updated?

To this end, SMEs need to have a well-structured product/service database that uses recognised national and international standards (eg. ABN for business identification, ANZIC codes for industry classification, UNSPC for units of measure, EAN/UCC numbers for product identification). Using such standards means the catalogue information can be mapped, transformed and searched more effectively by potential buyers. This approach reduces effort in recreating and updating catalogue content, can adapt quickly to changing technologies and applications, and provide a basis for establishing a scalable e-catalogue infrastructure.

SMEs need to understand cataloguing as a publishing process separate from marketing and fulfilment operations. This can be difficult because naturally you want to differentiate your products from those of your competitors through a mixture of price, quality and service delivery -- but catalogue information also needs to be structured so that potential buyers can easily access it and be presented with comparable information.

This tension can be resolved by recognising that e-cataloguing is only one component of the wider commercial relationship with potential buyers.

E-marketplaces

Using email or having a website are very obvious ways in which businesses can participate in e-business. But perhaps just having a website that promotes your business or emailing clients is only scratching the surface of what is possible. Some businesses would benefit from participating in an online marketplace involving the businesses from whom they buy (ie below them in the supply chain) and the businesses to whom they sell (ie those above them in the supply chain). This kind of online market place is often referred to as an e-marketplace.
An e-marketplace is an electronic exchange where firms register as sellers or buyers to communicate and conduct business over the Internet. For example, firms representing each section in a supply-chain could join an e-marketplace to transfer information and purchase products.
There are many types of e-marketplaces based on a range of business models. They may operate on a cost-recovery basis by an independent third party (such as an industry association) or be set up as a business offering, with a middle-person providing a value-added function such as transaction services.
Services offered by e-marketplaces include business directory listings, electronic catalogues for online purchasing of goods and services and trading or transaction services. E-marketplaces that are worth considering are those that interconnect with other marketplaces and allow low-cost connection to a firm's financial accounting systems.
There has been significant rationalisation in the number of e-marketplaces operating over the last few years, and careful consideration is needed before making a commitment to join an e-marketplace, to determine whether it is appropriate for your business needs.
What e-marketplaces can offer
Advantages of joining an e-marketplace include:
• greater opportunities for suppliers and buyers to make new trading partnerships, either within their supply-chain or across supply-chains
• the potential to lower the costs of negotiating and making transactions with automation of standard business procedures
• the potential for more transparent pricing as buyers and sellers take the opportunity to trade in a more open environment
• the opportunity to access value-added services such as inventory control and management of dispatch and distribution processes using electronic systems
• the potential to access global markets.
To join an e-marketplace or not - the questions to address.
The following is a summary of issues to consider in assessing the case for your business to participate in an e-marketplace.
1. The purpose
• What is the purpose of the e-marketplace? Is this compatible with my business strategy?
• Who else buys from the e-marketplace?
2. Management practices
• Who owns the e-marketplace? Who shares the profits and the risks?
• What is the legal entity, financial structure and organisational structure?
• What are the contractual agreements I will be required to enter into? - eg exit clauses?
• Does participation in one e-marketplace preclude me from participating in another?
• Am I denied participation in an e-marketplace because of some exclusive arrangement brokered by a competitor?
These last two points are particularly important with respect to avoiding participating in e-marketplaces that operate under price collusion and other anti-competitive behaviour that is restricted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
3. Business model of the e-marketplace
• What does it cost to participate? - joining fee, exit fee, annual fee, transaction fee (is this per transaction or limited to a certain volume of transactions), fees for value added services
• What is the switching cost to change e-marketplaces?
• What is the potential revenue from participation? (What is the volume of sales enjoyed by current participants in the e-marketplace?)
• Are the answers to these issues consistent with my business model?
4. Branding and promotion
• Does the e-marketplace have a brand or attachment to a brand of integrity recognised by the target audience ?
• Is it promoted vigorously via suitable means? - eg email, TV, magazines, other sites
• Does it have sufficient and suitably qualified staff to promote the e-marketplace? - eg devise and implement promotional strategies and to provide held desk facilities
5. Contents
• Who owns the contents, or is the e-marketplace just a gateway? If the e-marketplace owns the contents or is the "umbrella-merchant" there are significant legal, contents, marketing, technical and maintenance ramifications.
• Services and products offered through the e-marketplace must:
o be appropriate for online selling and fulfilment - their availability, the back-end inventory and accounting systems used by the merchant/supplier
o have high potential for cross-promotion across all media - ie web, TV, newspapers
o be constantly refreshed and have new products and services added.
• How will my products be displayed on the site? - next to my competitors? showing my logo and brands?
6. Design
• Does the design and functionality make it easy for users to find my business and to purchase from me?
• Is it so easy to use that they want to come back?
7. Technical requirements
• What do I have to do with my systems to make them compatible with systems used by the e-marketplace? Also, what are the integration costs associated with making my systems compatible with those used by potential buyers or markets accessed through the e-marketplace?
• Are the services provided by the e-marketplace appropriately reliable and fast?
• Is the e-marketplace adequately and appropriately staffed to maintain services 24 hours x 7 days x 52 weeks per year?
What to do
1. Work through the questions and issues posed above and determie whether e-marketplaces are for you and/or which one is appropriate.
2. Explore e-market basics.

Download and read the following document: From Paper to Procurement - effective catalogue creation and management for buyers and suppliers (574 kb)
This guide has just been produced by the Australian Government (Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) in conjunction with relevant associations, agencies and companies that specialise in the area of e-procurement and e-catalogues. It was funded through the Australian Government's Information Technology Online (ITOL) grants program.

Access the E-market Services website at http://www.emarketservices.com/emarket_basics and read about (or download the PDF) e-markets and which one might be best for you.

E-market Services is a not-for-profit project funded by the trade promotion organisations of Australia, Denmark, Holland, Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. This organisation provides information about e-markets in different industries all over the world, including a directory of e-markets, case studies, articles, reports and newsletters. Their aim is to make it easier for companies, particularly small and medium sized companies, to use electronic marketplaces for international business. http://www.emarketservices.com
3. Undertake E-market Services' self assessment checklist. The free Self-Assessment Checklist has been developed by eMarket Services and Det Norske Veritas (DNV). DNV has developed the checklist to make it easier for visitors to eMarket Services to find quality e-markets. It is intended to help e-markets grow trust, improve their business longevity, grow the confidence of e-market users, and promote a healthy e-business environment. http://www.emarketservices.com/ebusiness_issues/SelfAssessmentChecklist_Sept03.pdf
4. Seek advice from your industry association.
5. Trade New Zealand
This site provides a checklist of issues to consider when deciding whether e-markets are applicable to your business.
http://www.tradenz.govt.nz/page_article/0,1300,4512%252d2108,00.html
6. Opportunity Wales guide to e-marketplaces
http://www.opportunitywales.co.uk/0-0-0/2-0-0/2-3-0/2-3-13
7. This website also has information on electronic trading places and selecting an e-marketplace.