Report from Accenture on E-Europe ...

The Unexpected eEurope

Foreword by Vernon Ellis
International Chairman, Accenture

 This study comes at a vital moment. World markets have been reacting
nervously to signs  of economic recession—and of course the terrorist
attacks in the US on 11 September have  added to the sense of
uncertainty and worry. For some months, we have seen declining  share
values and growing job losses in the high-technology sector, following
hard on the  heels of the demise of many dotcoms in 2000. The impression
many are left with is that the  eCommerce revolution has not only failed
but has played a major part in causing the  present economic downturn.

 But nothing could be further from the truth. As this study reveals,
some hard lessons have been  learned over the last 18 months, but there
is a strong underlying commitment to eCommerce from  businesses in
Europe, the US and Japan. The figures are powerful: 50 per cent more
European  executives than last year say that their eCommerce activities
have been successful, and on average  they expect to increase their
eCommerce spending by 15 per cent over the next year. Despite  some
recent skepticism about the demand for wireless commerce, 49 per cent
expect to be  pursuing significant opportunities in this area within
three years.

 Why is this? I think it is because there is a growing sophistication
and realism amongst executives  about eCommerce. No longer do they
expect that it will automatically transform their organizations;  but
they do understand how technology can be used to enable a huge range of
business activities.  eCommerce is no longer taken to mean a bolt-on
website or start-up; rather, it is embedded in all  aspects of
companies' operations, and is treated as a normal part of everyday
business life.

For more and more companies, eCommerce means being able to do things
better, faster and more efficiently, to make more of their brand
strengths and their market reach, and to build stronger relationships
with both suppliers and customers.

 This is our fourth annual study on eCommerce in Europe. We said in 1998
that "Europe has a  precious opportunity to create a prosperous future
through the imaginative use of eCommerce"—but  we could not claim to
have foreseen how this assessment would be brought to life. Our 2001
study  shows the sheer variety of ways in which European business has
taken advantage of the
 opportunities provided by information and communications technology.

For example, the world's largest supplier of industrial enzymes—the
Danish company Novozymes—has become a leading example of
business-to-business eCommerce. Other businesses highlighted here range
from the Dutch insurance cooperative Univé and the UK utility  Thames
Water, to an Austrian ski resort and the Czech clothing manufacturer OP
Prostejov.

 eCommerce has also transformed the way many businesses relate to one
another—they are using the Internet to enable more cooperation,
collaboration and outsourcing, as the once-solid barriers between
organizations become permeable. The establishment of major
business-to-business exchanges - such as inreon, a collaboration between
the major reinsurance companies Swiss Re  and Munich Re—is just one
tangible sign of this. The last 12 months have seen many such exchanges
established—although others have closed down or merged. The executives
we  interviewed have high expectations of exchanges—it will be
fascinating to see if these hopes are fulfilled over the next year or
two.

 By intensifying competition and effectively raising the barriers to
market entry, established  European businesses have left many dotcoms
out in the cold. They have adopted the flexibility and  entrepreneurship
more traditionally associated with smaller businesses like those dotcom
start-ups;  and eCommerce has then enabled further entrepreneurial
behavior. Some calculated risk-taking—a  key component of
entrepreneurial behavior—is vital if European eCommerce is to prosper
in future,  especially given our finding that eCommerce widens the gaps
between winners and losers. It is a  strategy that has already worked
well for many of the European businesses to which we have  spoken. If we
learn from their experiences and keep cool heads, it will work for many
more.

 We detect a quiet confidence on the part of many European businesses -
yet having faced a few  years of wildly over-optimistic assessments of
the impact of eCommerce, the broader public mood  now seems to be
veering towards the unduly gloomy. The Italian political theorist
Antonio Gramsci  is not the most obvious source of guidance for business
people in the 21st century, but it is worth  taking note of his comment:
'I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of
will'. The danger today is that we will see an inversion of this, with
people inadvertently willing a pessimistic outcome in defiance of the
business reality. If everyone talks down the prospects for  eCommerce,
we may actually see a decline. Yet, as this study demonstrates so
clearly, European business has a very positive (and sometimes
surprising) story to tell.


The full report can be downloaded from:

http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enWeb&xd=ideas\eeurope2001\eEurope2001_home.xml

or

http://www.accenture.com/eEurope2001